Articles

Australia’s foreign investment laws: a guide for foreign investors and their counsel

When a transaction with a direct or indirect connection to Australia is proposed, foreign investors and their counsel should consider whether notification is required or advisable.

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Widening the scope for judicial review of an adjudicator’s determination

The Probuild decision is likely to undermine the objective of the Security of Payment Act to provide a means of quickly and relatively inexpensively resolving disputes in relation to progress...

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Acumen Federal Budget Special Edition 2016

This special edition of Acumen discusses the key taxation reforms for business announced on the evening of May 3rd by Treasurer Scott Morrison in the 2016 Australian Federal Budget, highlights of...

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Crown land tenure reform in WA

The WA Government is proposing to reform Crown land tenure in the State. In June 2016, the Land Administration Amendment Bill 2016 (Amending Bill) will be introduced into Parliament. Broadly, the...

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Executive bonuses and redundancy payouts – Avoiding policy pitfalls

Employers need to take care when dealing with any promises or representations about the application of company policies, particularly where discretionary incentives or redundancy payments are...

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Are you paying enough attention to your data?

Data is often hailed as the “new oil” – a raw asset which only gains value through refinement. In 2011, McKinsey predicted that data would become a new type of corporate asset that cuts across...

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New Environmental Protection Bill to go beyond Queensland Nickel Refinery

A new Queensland Bill will significantly extend liability for environmental damage beyond just Clive Palmer’s facilities.

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Spotlight on sham contracting in Australia

Australian courts and regulators are targeting employers who engage workers as contractors to avoid employee entitlements. We consider two highly publicised sham contracting investigations as well...

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Foreign Bribery Update 2015: December

This Update covers a range of important developments in Australia and overseas in the area of foreign bribery policy, investigations and regulation to 1 December 2015. These developments will...

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Can email negotiations create a binding agreement?

If negotiations fail in a deal or formal documents aren’t signed, can there still be a binding enforceable agreement between the parties inferred by an exchange of emails? Today, where negotiations...

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Foreign Bribery Update 2015: September

This Update covers a range of important developments in Australia and overseas in the area of foreign bribery policy, investigations and regulation to 1 September 2015. These developments will...

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Register of foreign ownership of agricultural land

Foreign investors holding existing interests in agricultural land as at 1 July 2015 must register those interests by 31 December 2015.

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Queensland’s infrastructure industry under construction

On 19 May 2015, the Building Queensland Bill 2015 (Qld) (Bill) was introduced to the Queensland Parliament. The Bill establishes Building Queensland, a new independent statutory body to assist the...

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Resource management regulations to strengthen WA’s petroleum & geothermal resource regulatory regime

Two new pieces of legislation are expected to commence operation later this year, and are hoped to improve the oil & gas industry.

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East coast Australian gas market reviews

Are east coast gas markets fit for purpose? Are they competitive? A closer look at the case for change.

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Substantial market power: now you have it, now you don’t – the decision in ACCC v Pfizer

The recent Federal Court decision in ACCC v Pfizer serves as strong reminder that market power is not static but must be assessed in the context of a potentially changing market over a reasonable...

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Foreign Bribery Update 2015: April

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 2015. These developments will impact...

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Australia's new oil & gas financial assurance regime

Michael Dulaney and Tom Barrett were published in the 11th Edition (2015) of Expert Guides in the Energy category.

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Meaning of land for Queensland stamp duty purposes - Sojitz Coal Resources Pty Ltd v Commissioner of

On 30 January 2015, the Supreme Court of Queensland (per McMurdo J) upheld an appeal by Sojitz Coal Resources Pty Ltd (Sojitz) against a decision of the Commissioner to impose land rich duty on its...

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Lease incentive clawback provisions potentially unenforceable following Queensland Supreme Court dec

In the recent decision of GWC Property Group Pty Ltd v Higginson & OR’s [2014] QSC 264, the Queensland Supreme Court held that the incentive clawback provisions contained in an incentive deed...

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An ACCC 'first' - breach of Australian consumer law results in director being banned for 15 years

Are you a director of a company? Did you know that the ACCC can ask the Court to ban you from managing any company if you breach the Australian Consumer Law?

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Australian rural land – changes to foreign investment thresholds

As predicted, the Federal Government has acted on an election promise to lower the screening thresholds for foreign buyers of Australian Rural Land effective from 1 March 2015. Read on to find out...

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Enforceability of ‘good faith’ clause in MOU for Gas Sales Agreement

Baldwin & Anor v Icon Energy Ltd & Anor [2015] QSC 12 Significance of the decision This case highlights the risks of relying on clauses which provide that parties will negotiate in good faith...

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Foreign Bribery Update - December 2014

This update covers a range of important developments in Australia and overseas in the area of foreign bribery policy, investigations and regulation to December 2014. These developments will impact...

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