(b) That's wrong. Although s 18 refers only to persons, the ACL applies both to natural and artificial persons. The result is that misleading conduct is prohibited whether engaged in by corporations or individuals.

There is another point to make. Although the director of A Pty Ltd is a natural person, he is also a representative of his company, and his acts as director are the acts of the company. It follows that both the director and A Pty Ltd have engaged in misleading conduct.

Note: Section 18 generally does not apply to publications by 'information providers'. People who are in the business of providing information are 'information providers'. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the Special Broadcasting Services Corporation (SBS) and the holders of a broadcasting licence are also 'information providers' when they publish material using the radio or television. However, there are some exceptions. For example, s 18 does apply to advertisements. This means that an information provider can breach s 18 if their conduct in publishing an advertisement is likely to mislead or deceive their audience.