[2025] NSWCATCD 72
General information, not legal advice.
NCAT Consumer and Commercial
2025-08-21
Original judgment source is linked above.
"8. The Tribunal notes that it is not in dispute that the claim is a consumer claim and has been lodged within time the Tribunal further notes that the applicant seeks damages of $10,000. The issues for determination will include:
(a) did the respondent breach (or repudiate) its contract with the applicant by deactivating the account?
(b) if so, what loss has the applicant suffered as a result of the breach or repudiation?
9. The parties have for legal representation, on condition that the respondent is not to make an application for costs if it is successful."
Applicant's Points of Claim and Documentary Evidence
"Hi Ali,
This is Sam from the Community Operations team at Uber. We have received a concerning report from your rider from a recent trip where you were involved in a verbal altercation. Due to the nature of this feedback, with temporarily removed your access to the Uber app while we investigate further. If you have any information as to why this feedback may have been received, you can let us know by replying to this message and will take this on board. We look forward to hearing from you."
"I went to pick them up there was six of them they were drunk and were still drinking and I told them they can't drink in the car and they weren't wearing masks and refused to wear it and also want to sit in the front seat which they're not allowed to do and they were arguing with me and I told them sorry I can't keep six people in the car as no one can sit in the front seat due to Covid. Then I started driving away and they swore at me and threw the beer bottles behind me and ran after the car and threatened to bash me. The neighbour has witnessed the whole thing."
"I went to pick up the passengers and there was six of them and they were all drunk. They still had bottles and drinks in their hands so I advise them they can't drink them in the car. They were also not wearing masks and were refusing to wear them when I advise them of the Covid safe Uber policy. Because there were six of them one want to sit in the front seat. I advise them they couldn't sit in the front seat as per the Covid guidelines bylaw. This is when all the passengers got hostile and angry and began verbally abusing me with swearing at me. I was fearful of my safety as they were not cooperating with the rule so I advise them to get another Uber that can fit them as per the guidelines and began to drive off. When I was driving off they threatened to bash me and some of the passengers through the beer bottles at my car. I felt very unsafe as they also began chasing after my vehicle. The neighbours of the passengers witness the whole incident."
"Hi Ali,
This is Sam here from the Community Operations team at Uber. We received a report from one of your riders that you verbally abused them and made threatening remarks towards them. We have looked into this matter further and as a result of our review we will be ending our partnership with you effective as of this email. It was not a swift decision as we value each and every driver who chooses to partner with Uber. Reports of behaviour of this nature are extremely concerning and are in direct violation of our Community Guidelines; as such, in the interests of maintaining the safety of all users of the Uber app a decision was made to deactivate your account as a result of this feedback. We take the welfare of our riders and driver-partners very seriously here at Uber so we hope you can understand our position. This decision is final, please do not attempt to contact Uber again regarding this matter. We wish you the best of luck for the future and thank you for your time using the Uber app."
" Hi Ali,
Thank you for letting us know you want to have your deactivation reviewed. We have looked into this and unfortunately have not decided not to proceed with your request. Based on our review we see that you have not provided any further information since your last review request, where the decision was to uphold your deactivation. We appreciate your time using the Uber in which you the best in your future endeavours."
(1) Gross earnings prior to deactivation of the Uber driver account on 7 February 2021 of $65,225.80.
(2) Deductions (Uber service fee; other charges from Uber; and charges from third parties such as tolls) of $23,923.90.
(3) Net earnings of $41,292.87 net weekly earnings from Uber of $794.09 per week (calculated as $41,292.87 divided by 52).
(4) Nil earnings from Uber after 7 February 2021.
(1) 22 November 2019-the applicant was verbally aggressive towards other drivers and told the passenger he would drop the passenger off in the middle of the street if there was excessive traffic at the destination, which made the passenger feel unsafe.
(2) 11 March 2020-the applicant drove erratically and did not know where he was going.
(3) 8 June 2020-the applicant was "very rude" and left the passenger in an "unsafe space".
(4) 9 July 2020-the applicant was verbally aggressive and swearing at other drivers and told the passenger he does not accept dogs, despite the passenger booking a pet friendly Uber.
(5) 15 August 2020-the applicant was verbally aggressive and swearing to towards other drivers.
(6) 24 October 2020-the applicant had to be asked by the passenger to wear a facemask.
(7) On 13 December 2020, the applicant was "rude" to a passenger over the phone and "cancelled the job" after the passenger had walked to the agreed pick up point. The message from the passenger to Uber stated the driver was "rude" and "unprofessional" because: "The driver was in the correct spot when we try to call him, he was really rude, yelling us by phone. We coordinate to walk where he was but when we arrived the place he just cancelled the job. I am really disappointed with the service because we are with my parents who are 70 and 75 years old walking back for nothing. I am expecting to receive my money back ASAP."
(8) On 6 February 2021, the applicant had made racist remarks towards other drivers and made the passenger "uncomfortable". The complaint on the Uber App from the passenger relevantly states "the driver made several racist remarks during the journey". There are no details of the "racist remarks". There is are no details of the applicant refusing to pick up passengers.
(1) Uber Services Agreement.
(2) Uber Community Guidelines
(3) Map details of some of the trips of the applicant that were subject to complaints.
"...to the extent that the last sentence of clause 4 of the Services Agreement permits the respondents to deactivate or restrict access to the Driver App without notice or cause, or on the basis of a complaint the details of which have not been disclosed to the driver and the veracity of which has not been tested, that provision is void as an unfair contract term."
"When assessed objectively, the terms of the contractual agreement require that the following occur before a termination is legally justified under cl. 16(b) of the Services Agreement:
There is a material breach of the terms of the agreement, which includes the Community Guidelines.
The breach is sufficient, by reason of either the number of breaches for the seriousness of the particular breach to justify termination.
If a review is conducted because the driver has requested a review or reconsideration, that review must be conducted in a way that genuinely considers the reasons and explanation put forward by the driver as to whether or not there is a material breach or breaches sufficient to justify termination of the agreement. Accordingly, whether or not a "material breach" has occurred, and an internal review of the decision to deactivate access to the app must involve consideration of the following matters:
(a) The nature of the alleged breach.
(b) The number of alleged breaches.
(c) The number of the alleged breaches in comparison to the number of trips performed by the driver and the drivers overall rating by passengers.
(d) The drivers explanation in response to the alleged breaches.
In construing the terms of the contract, including implying into the contract requirements for a genuine review of the decision to do to deactivate on the merits, the Tribunal is not suggesting that the terms of the contract, or business efficacy, require an extensive or elaborate review process of a type equivalent to a review of an administrative decision by a government department. However, there must be some minimum or threshold standard for the efficacy of a review, otherwise the contractual term is devoid of any meaning.
The contract between the parties is a commercial agreement. It is arguable that the bargaining power of the parties is unequal. However any legal provisions dealing with legislation that provides a remedy to unconscionable conduct, or unfair contract terms, are separate issues to interpretation of terms of the contract and whether or not the contract has been breached.
Further, just as the safety and comfort of passengers is important, so is the decision by the respondents whether or not to terminate the Services Agreement based on "material breach" by the driver. In this matter, the applicant had been working for over 3 years full time driving for Uber, and the decision to terminate caused his income to immediately cease.
In Rehman v Rasier Pacific Pty Ltd [2024] NSWCATCD 3 (Rehman), Ellis SC SM did not set out in detail contractual principles in respect of interpreting the terms of the contract. However, the Senior Member made the following comments at [143]:
"It is convenient to here note that Uber did not contend that the words "in its sole discretion" in the Agreement meant that any decision as to deactivation was a matter for Uber, did not have to be reasonable, and could not be reviewed. Indeed, the fact that Uber suggested its decision was reasonable provide support the two points: first, that the decision to deactivate must be made on reasonable grounds; secondly, that the decision to deactivate can be reviewed by the Tribunal."
Although broad comments regarding "reasonable grounds" may be apt to conflate administrative law principles with contractual principles, the approach taken by the Tribunal in this matter to construing the terms of the contract is not obviously inconsistent with the approach taken by Ellis SC SM in Rehman. If there are no reasons provided as to why the review sought by the driver was rejected, it is difficult to conclude that a genuine review occurred.
...
The Tribunal is satisfied that the applicant has proved, on the balance of probabilities that he was not in breach of an essential term of the contract or had committed sufficient breaches of non-essential terms as of August 2023. The respondents were not justified in terminating the Service Agreement. Accordingly, the respondents have repudiated the agreement, and the applicant is entitled to damages if loss caused by the breach is proved."
"The damages to which RBD is entitled...is the monetary sum which, so far as money can, represents "fair and adequate compensation for the loss or injury" which it sustained by reason of that breach or repudiation: Commonwealth v Amann Aviation Pty Ltd [1991] HCA 54; (1991) 174 CLR 64 at 116 per Deane J. The Court must do the best it can to make a reliable assessment of damages, where damages are difficult to assess, including where a party has failed to lead the best evidence of damages: Commonwealth of Australia v Amann Aviation Pty Ltd above at 83, per Mason CJ and Dawson J, 125 per Deane J, 153 per Gaudron J. In Uszok v Henley Properties (NSW) Pty Ltd [2007] NSWCA 31 at [135], Beazley JA observed that:
"Where there has been an actual loss of some sort, the common law does not permit difficulties of estimating the loss in money to defeat the only remedy it provides for breach of contract, an award of damages....Such damages should not be nominal only, notwithstanding that the award may be difficult to assess..." (Citations omitted)
On the other hand, the case law also recognises that damages must be proved with a degree of precision which reflects the proof that is reasonably available to the parties: State of New South Wales v Moss [2000] NSWCA 133; (2000) 54 NSWLR 536 at [72]; Placer (Granny Smith) Pty Ltd v Thiess Contractors Pty Ltd [2003] HCA 10; (2003) 77 ALJR 768 at [38]. In Schindler Lifts Australia Pty Ltd v Debelak [1989] FCA 311; (1989) 89 ALR 275 at 319, Pincus J noted that "if the evidence called on behalf of [the plaintiff] fails to provide any rational foundation for a proper estimate of damages, the Court should simply decline to make one". That approach was approved by Brooking J in JLW (Vic) Pty Ltd v Tsiloglou [1994] VicRp 16; [1994] 1 VR 237 at 243 and by the Court of Appeal in Troulis v Vamvoukakis [1998] NSWCA 237 where Gleeson CJ observed that, where damages were susceptible of evidentiary proof, but there was an absence of raw material to which good sense may be applied, "[j]ustice does not dictate that ... a figure should be plucked out of the air". That decision has been approved in subsequent cases, including McCrohan v Harith [2010] NSWCA 67 at [128], where McColl JA (with whom Campbell JA and Handley AJA agreed) held that an estimate of damages, in the nature of a "guess", should not be made where precise evidence of the damages suffered could have been adduced, but was not. I followed that decision in Re Hair Industrie Penrith Pty Ltd, Hair Industrie Merrylands Pty Ltd [2015] NSWSC 1578 at [20], on which I have drawn for the summary which appears above."
The reference to British Westinghouse is to Viscount Haldane's statement that in a claim for breach of contract the plaintiff is under a "duty" to take all reasonable steps to mitigate its loss. That language is not to be understood as representing the law in Australia, even in cases of breach of contract. I am bound by what was said by the Court of Appeal in Karacominakis v Big Country Developments Pty Ltd [2000] NSWCA 313; 10 BPR 18,235 at [187]:
A plaintiff who acts unreasonably in failing to minimise his loss from the defendant's breach of contract will have his damages reduced to the extent to which, had he acted reasonably, his loss would have been less. This is often misleadingly referred to as a duty to mitigate, although the plaintiff is not under a positive duty. The plaintiff does not have to show that he has fulfilled his so-called duty, and the onus is on the defendant to show that he has not and the extent to which he has not (TCN Channel 9 Pty Ltd v Hayden Enterprises Pty Ltd (1989) 16 NSWLR 130). Since the defendant is a wrongdoer, in determining whether the plaintiff has acted unreasonably a high standard of conduct will not be required, and the plaintiff will not be held to have acted unreasonably simply because the defendant can suggest other and more beneficial conduct if it was reasonable for the plaintiff to do what he did (Banco de Portugal v Waterlow and Sons Ltd [1932] UKHL 1; [1932] AC 452; Pilkington v Wood [1953] Ch 770; Sacher Investments Pty Ltd v Forma Stereo Consultants Pty Ltd [1976] 1 NSWLR 5).
That is why the Court of Appeal has, repeatedly, made reference to the "so-called" duty to mitigate: see Galafassi v Kelly (2014) 87 NSWLR 119; [2014] NSWCA 190 at [157]; Edwin Davey Pty Ltd v Boulos Holdings Pty Ltd [2022] NSWCA 65; 20 BPR 42,355 at [75] and see Bak v Glenleigh Homes Pty Ltd [2006] NSWCA 10 at [3].
(1) The respondent, Raiser Pacific Pty Ltd, is to pay the applicant, Ali Acisulu, the sum of $3,403.24 immediately.
I hereby certify that this is a true and accurate record of the reasons for decision of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales.
Acisulu
Raiser Pacific Pty Ltd [2025] NSWCATCD 72;
(1994) 181 CLR 387
(2017) 340 ALR 368
(1991) 174 CLR 64
(2000) 54 NSWLR 536
(2003) 77 ALJR 768
(1989) 89 ALR 275
(1989) 16 NSWLR 130
(2014) 87 NSWLR 119