There have been a number of significant developments in the Dispute Resolution team.
We are regularly asked the following questions: Does our company need a lease or will a licence suffice? We have excess space. Should our company sublet it or grant an occupancy licence to a third...
Recent amendments to legislation aim to improve functionality regarding entering into petroleum agreements, even if relevant geological information is not fully known.
Businesses operating in Australia that handle personal information will soon need to notify affected individuals and the Australian Information Commissioner of serious data breaches under a new...
The Federal Government's Misuse of Market Power Bill is the next step in its commitment to implement the ‘Harper’ Competition Policy Review’s misuse of market power reform recommendations
On 13 February 2017 the Federal Court delivered its decision in relation to whether claims made by Domain Group (‘Domain’) that it had the “#1 property app in Australia” were misleading or...
As technology advances, opportunities to update business practices are offered. However, the law is often one step behind, making it difficult for companies to employ new efficient business...
A spate of recent decisions approving liquidators’ remuneration on an ad valorem basis had caused some trepidation amongst insolvency practitioners facing the prospect of court fee approval.
The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Misuse of Market Power) Bill 2016 (Misuse of Market Power Bill) has passed the House of Representatives and is currently before the Senate.Prior to passing...
(Also titled Reforms for Restructures in Australia) The Australian Federal Government has released the Exposure Draft for the much anticipated introduction of: A safe harbour for company directors...
On 24 February 2017, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced its Enforcement and Compliance Policy for 2017.
The Fair Work Commission has ordered the CFMEU to stop organising covert unprotected industrial action at AGL’s Loy Yang site in Traralgon. The order, made under section 418 of the Fair Work Act...
The New South Wales Court of Appeal, in a decision released on 6 February 2017,1 has confirmed that the common law meaning of what is, or is not, a fixture applies under the Personal Property...
Liquidators can rest assured that courts are reluctant to interfere in their commercial judgments or permit liquidators to be personally exposed to mandatory examinations under s596A Corporations...
A recent decision in the Supreme Court of New South Wales has clarified the circumstances in which a registration on the PPSR will be ineffective and the consequences that can flow from this.
The High Court of Australia recently dismissed an application brought by former Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd (QN) directors Mr Clive Palmer and Mr Ian Ferguson for a declaration that section 596A of...
Insolvency sales have their own unique issues, but the agenda is always clear - maximise return to creditors.
Companies in distress often undertake a sale of assets to alleviate cash flow or debt repayment issues when other lines of credit or sources of funds have been exhausted. Such decisions are not...
In reviewing modern award penalty rates in the hospitality & retail sectors, the FWC has reduced Sunday and public holiday rates in a number of awards.
The Federal Court of Australia recently awarded an employee damages of $1,272,109 for past and future loss of wages: seeCFMEU v Hail Creek Coal Pty Ltd [2016] FCA 199 and [2016] FCA 1032. This...
The High Court has clarified the circumstances in which suppliers and their distributors / agents will be taken to be actual or potential competitors for the purposes of Australian competition law....
There continues to be doubt about the validity of certain Committees of Inspection (COI) established during a liquidation and the approvals given by them. Another decision of Pritchard J in the...
On 12 January 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto mined Block 0, Bitcoin’s ‘genesis block’, marking the first issuance of cryptocurrency and implementation of blockchain technology. A purely peer-to-peer...
New draft guidelines have been prepared to assist in understanding the potentially onerous provisions of the Environmental Protection (Chain of Responsibility) Amendment Act (“CoRA”).