Articles

In the matter of Boart Longyear Limited

"Justice Black in In the matter of Boart Longyear Limited [2017] NSWSC 537 has confirmed that section 411(16) of the Corporations Act 2011 (Cth) (the Act), can be used to provide companies...

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Transparency on the beneficial ownership of companies

In February 2017, the Australian Government released a consultation paper titled ‘Increasing Transparency of the Beneficial Ownership of Companies’ (Consultation Paper) to explore the potential to...

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ATO to provide guidance for new financial reporting requirements of significant global entities

As part of a wider effort to combat corporate tax avoidance and improve the transparency of multinational companies’ financial affairs, in late 2015 the Australian Parliament amended existing...

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Continuous Disclosure Shareholder Class Actions in Australia

Shareholder class actions for alleged breaches of a listed company’s continuous disclosure obligations are an established part of the Australian legal landscape with more than 50 shareholder class...

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PPSR registration – Route [1]66 now closed

The New South Wales Supreme Court has found that a secured party can't rely on its own mistake when registering on the PPSR to claim that the defective registration “temporarily perfects” its...

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AFS licensing exemption under the FFSP Class Orders - reporting and disclosure requirements

Foreign financial service providers (FFSPs), that provide financial services to wholesale clients in Australia relying on one of the FFSP Class Order exemptions from holding an Australian financial...

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Acumen Federal Budget Special Edition 2017

This special edition of Acumen discusses the key taxation reforms for business announced on the evening of 9 May 2017 by Treasurer Scott Morrison in the 2017 Australian Federal Budget.

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2016 AGM Season Survey Results

At the conclusion of the 2016 AGM season, we conducted our annual survey of remuneration report voting for S&P/ASX 1001entities.

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Linc Energy (In Liq): Liquidators obliged to prioritise State environmental laws despite disclaimer

The decision of Jackson J has wide-ranging consequences for the insolvency industry, as the outcome effectively relegates (at least in QLD) liquidator remuneration, employee entitlements and all...

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Pari Passu now the norm in trust distributions

Section 433 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Act) concerns the payment to employees as priority creditors by a receiver from the assets subject to a circulating security interest. This...

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Options and risks: extending time for commencing or serving proceedings

There are a number of reasons why liquidators might want to slow things down when it comes to commencing or prosecuting proceedings. A liquidator might want more time to fully investigate certain...

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Foreign Bribery Update – April 2017

This Update covers a range of important developments in Australia and overseas in the area of foreign bribery policy, investigations and regulation to 1 April 2017. These developments will impact...

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New Country of Origin Labelling Laws are here – are you ready?

The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Country of Origin) Bill 2016 (Bill) was passed by the Senate on 8 February 2017 and will commence the day after it receives royal assent, which is imminent.

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Managing design risk through ‘fit for purpose’ warranties

Good design is critical to the overall success of any complex engineering or construction project. Sophisticated designs can produce a host of economic, environmental or social benefits, including...

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What to do when ASIC comes knocking: failure by liquidators to lodge public notifications and other

The PNW Project aims to test all registered liquidators’ compliance with the requirement to publish certain notices on ASIC’s “published notices website” and to lodge forms with ASIC.

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The push to increase penalties for breaches of the Australian Consumer Law

The ACCC has announced its intention to pursue higher penalties for breaches of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

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Roadmap for blockchain standards

The media is abuzz when it comes to blockchain technology and its ability to transform the way industries do business.

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Lack of likely recovery leads to refusal of leave to proceed against company in liquidation

A recent decision by the Federal Court of Australia may be useful for liquidators faced with an application to commence or continue civil proceedings against a company in liquidation.

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Dispute Resolution Update: Q1 2017

There have been a number of significant developments in the Dispute Resolution team.

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Lease or licence: know the difference

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...

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New rules for the apportionment of petroleum recovered from pools straddling Commonwealth and State

Recent amendments to legislation aim to improve functionality regarding entering into petroleum agreements, even if relevant geological information is not fully known.

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Long-awaited data breach notification laws pass parliament

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...

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The Misuse of Market Power Bill

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

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The risks of claiming you are “No 1” in the industry

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...

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