Section 51AA of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) does not expand the scope of unconscionable conduct beyond that recognised by the unwritten law; it merely makes Trade Practices Act remedies available for conduct that is unconscionable within the meaning of the existing equitable principles. For an experienced business person, commercial vulnerability — however extreme — arising from the person's own default (such as failure to exercise a lease option) does not constitute 'special disadvantage' in the equitable sense; something more than commercial vulnerability is required. A landlord who demands a premium for the grant of new lease rights where the landlord was under no obligation to grant a new lease does not engage in unconscionable conduct merely because the tenant is in a weak bargaining position due to the tenant's own oversight.
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