Protections for small business owners

Small business owners will have the same protections as consumers under a crackdown on unfair contracts.

The Senate on Monday passed an Abbott government election commitment to allow a court to declare void an unfair term of a contract under $100,000 or $250,000 over more than one year.

The government says small businesses need consumer-like protections because they lack the resources to negotiate terms and are unlikely to be able to absorb losses when they are unfair.

The Australian Greens won upper house support to increase the threshold of contract values to $300,000 and $1 million, but the change requires approval by the House of Representatives where the government controls the numbers.