The Court held that a pre-purchase pest inspection report that repeatedly stated 'no live termites were sighted' while noting old termite activity (mud trails), poor subfloor ventilation, and restricted access, without recommending further invasive investigation, was prepared without due care and skill and was misleading or deceptive. The finding of breach of AS 4349.3-2010 created a 'cascade effect' establishing both lack of due care and skill under s 19 of the CL(SRP) Act and misleading conduct under s 18 of the ACL, given the report's own representation of compliance with that standard. Disclaimers and limitations placed at the back of the report did not cure the misleading overall impression created by the report's front-end summaries, particularly where the report five times stated no live termites were found without adequately warning that this did not exclude active infestation in inaccessible areas or that the presence of mud trails necessitated further investigation.
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