<Li> Independent Contractors Act 2006 (Cth) </Li> <Li> Frustrated Contracts Act 1978 (NSW) </Li> <Li> Contracts Review Act 1980 (NSW) </Li> <P> The common law will hold a contract to be binding as long the essential elements for a contract are present (i.e. agreement, consideration, certainty etc .). However, in certain situations equity may intervene and make the contract either voidable or void . The rule in Yerkey v Jones and the principles of non-est factum, misrepresentation, and special disadvantage . are some of the situations in which equity may intervene and make the contract voidable or void . To note, a defence to the principle in Yerkey v Jones, is that the "wives guarantee" will not apply if the lender can show that they took reasonable steps to ensure they had reasonable grounds for believing that the consent was fairly obtained . </P>

For a contract to be valid what element(s) must it contain