Estoppel by convention may be established where parties adopt a common assumption about compensation arrangements outside the strict terms of their contractual documents, particularly where one party's actions render the other's land unworkable. Where representations form part of a continuum of conduct commencing during contractual relations, they need not be characterised as pre-contractual for the purposes of estoppel by convention. The questions whether pre-contractual negotiations can found estoppel by convention and whether promissory estoppel can operate as a positive cause of action remain open in Victoria.
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