At the conclusion of the 2010 "AGM Season" we conducted a survey of the business of
In our December 2010 issue of Acumen, we published an article summarising the Exposure Draft - Corporations Amendment (Improving Accountability on Director and Executive Remuneration) Bill 2011 and...
Chartered Secretaries Australia and the Australasian Investor Relations Association have issued guidance on handling confidential, price-sensitive information. This is in response to ASIC's...
Online voting by shareholders without a proxy form has become more and more popular in the last few years. Large companies such as Telstra, Commonwealth Bank and Wesfarmers have put in place...
Stewart v Atco Controls Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) [2014] HCA 15 ("Atco") -- In a good outcome for Liquidators and litigation funders, Atco has overturned a unanimous decision of the Victorian Court
Following the 1997 decision in Re Emanuel (No 14) Pty Ltd, it became clear that payment by a third party (C) of an unsecured debt due by A to B could be classified as an unfair preference in...
On 6 June 2012, the new anti-competitive price signalling laws will come into effect. While the Government at this stage only intends to apply these laws to the banking sector, recently proposed...
On 21 June, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) issued two draft 'fact sheets' relating to the taxation of the payment of dividends. This follows amendments to section 254T of the Corporations Act...
On 29 August 2011, the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation released an Exposure Draft of the Corporations Amendment (Future of Financial Advice) Bill...
On 5 July 2011, the Federal Government released the Tax Laws Amendment (2011 Measures No. 7) Bill 2011: companies' non-compliance with PAYG withholding and superannuation guarantee obligations (the
While there has been much press that the Centro decision has lifted the bar in relation to directors actively examining and questioning information contained in financial statements rather than...
On 12 April ASIC issued a Consultation Paper and draft Regulatory Guide concerning new proposals to give guidance on the ...clear, concise and effective... requirement for prospectuses, as well as...
The Corporations Amendment (Improving Accountability on Director and Executive Remuneration) Bill 2011 was introduced before Parliament on 23 February 2011. As the debate on the Bill was adjourned...
On 4 March 2011, the Australian Government released a discussion paper on Improving the taxation of trust income (Discussion Paper). This followed the announcement by the Assistant Treasurer on...
On 24 March 2011, the Federal Government introduced the much-debated anti-competitive price disclosure Bill into Parliament....While the law is intended to apply to the banking sector only, there...
On 30 March 2011, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission issued updated Regulatory Guides on Related party transactions (RG 76), Content of expert reports (RG 111) and Independence of...
The new employee share scheme (ESS) provisions, contained in Division 83A of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) (1997 Act), apply from...
The recent decision of the full bench of the Federal Court in Leveraged Equities Ltd v Goodridge1 has unanimously overturned the contentious first instance decision of Rares J2 and, in doing so...
Mr Goodridge has lodged an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court in respect of the Full Federal Court's decision in Leveraged Equities Limited v
Many commercial contracts provide for an independent expert to resolve disputes of a financial nature. In drafting these dispute resolution clauses it is common to provide that if the parties...
On 12 December 2010, the Government announced that it will introduce legislative reforms to promote a competitive and sustainable banking system in Australia. As part of the reform package, the...
The Corporations (Sons of Gwalia) Bill was passed by Parliament on 26 November 2010, an awaits Royal assent. The Bill will reverse the effect of the Sons of Gwalia Case by subordinating the claims...
The Corporations Amendment (No. 1) Act received the Royal assent on 24 November 2010, and is awaiting...