Articles

Google goes to the High Court

The JWS Corporate Counsel Seminar on 30 May offered insights into the ACCC's proceedings against Google, which alleged that Google had engaged in misleading and deceptive

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How to avoid engaging in resale price maintenance when dealing with maverick retailers

This note examines what strategies are available to suppliers where a reduction in supply price is not commercially viable, and what to do when one of your customers' heavy discounting results in

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ICANN releases applications for new top level domain program

On 13 June 2012 the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) released a list of the applications it has received for new top level...

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James Hardie in the High Court

The decision of the High Court in the James Hardie litigation has important implications for non-executive directors (and those who advise them), for general counsel, company secretaries and others...

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PJC report on Trio Capital: call for a review of the regulation of managed funds

On 16 May 2012, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services (Committee) tabled its report on its inquiry in relation to the collapse of Trio Capital the largest

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Privacy Act gets a revamp

The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012 was introduced to Parliament on 23 May 2012. The Bill amends the Privacy Act 1988 (Act) and implements the Government...s first stage...

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Commercially sensitive information - beware of s275, Personal Property Securities Act

The confidentiality of commercially sensitive information can be jeopardised by the operation of s 275 of the PPSA. If any document contains provisions which constitute a "security interest" for the

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Draft Income Tax Ruling - TR 2012/D1

On 28 March 2012, the Commissioner issued Draft Taxation Ruling TR 2012/D1 (the Draft Ruling) which sets out the Commissioner's views, in draft, in respect of the meaning of'income of the trust

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New national business names register

On 28 May 2012 (subject to the passage of legislation through State parliaments), a new national business names register will commence, allowing businesses to register their name nationally through...

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Senate report on proposed new credit reporting provisions

The Senate Committee has handed down its report on the Credit Reporting Exposure Draft Bill. The Draft Bill is the second of four parts of the Government's first stage response to the Australian...

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ACCC announces year's priorities

The Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Rod Sims, has recently announced the Commission's key goals for 2012 and outlined the five 'high level objectives

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Appealing Security of Payment legislation adjudication determinations - Chase Oyster v Hamo

This article considers the decision of the New South Wales Supreme Court of Appeal in Chase Oyster v Hamo. The case is authority for the supervisory jurisdiction of courts being available to quash...

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CAMAC reports on the derivatives definition

In January, the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC) published its report on the definition of derivatives under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The report was prepared at the...

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Carbon markets update March 2012

The Clean Energy Futures package announced in 2011 includes the carbon pricing mechanism, the new $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the $1.2 billion Clean Technology Program and the...

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Copyright a little cloudy around the edges

This article discusses the implications of the Federal Court decision in the case brought by Optus against the NRL and the AFL in relation to Optus' "TV Now...

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Disclosing non-IFRS financial information

On 12 December 2011, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission published guidance Regulatory Guide 230...on the use of financial information prepared other than in accordance with...

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Draft Taxation Ruling on dividends

On 21 December 2011, the Commissioner of Taxation issued Draft Taxation Ruling TR 2011/D8 (Draft TR) on 'Section 254T of the Corporations Act and the assessment and franking of dividends paid

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Hints for using the PPSR

The Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA) and Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) took effect on 30 January 2012. The PPSA and PPSR have replaced a large number of Commonwealth, State...

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Competition and consumer law implications of the carbon tax

The Government's carbon pricing scheme commences on 1 July 2012. This article outlines the competition and consumer law compliance implications of the "carbon tax" that are relevant to virtually

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Low hurdles to extend price signalling laws to other sectors

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...

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Treasury proposed amendments to dividend provisions

On 28 November 2011, Treasury issued a Discussion Paper in response to, among other things, concerns about the new dividend provisions inserted into the Corporations Act by the Corporations

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Dividend franking - current year profits and accumulated losses

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...

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ICANN Update - launch of new top level domains

In our May 2011 issue of Acumen, we published an article about the new generic top-level domain (gTLD) program to be launched by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers...

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Joint Ventures under the Clean Energy Package

The package of legislation to implement the carbon pricing mechanism (also called the carbon tax) was introduced into the Federal Parliament on 13 September 2011. The Clean Energy Bill 2011 (Cth...

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