Generalists’ duty to refer to specialists The High Court of England & Wales has recently held that a firm of high street chartered accountants that advised in general tax matters, had an obligation to refer a tax “mitigation” matter to a specialist, and found them negligent to the tune of £1.4M as a result of [...]
INDIVIDUAL FLEXIBILITY ARRANGEMENTS Engaging in flexible work practices can prove to be beneficial for both employees and employers. Section 3 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘the Act’) lists its objective as being to ‘provide a balanced framework for cooperative and productive workplace relations that promotes national economic prosperity and social inclusion for all [...]
Creating a family friendly and equitable workplace – new changes to the FW Act. The Fair Work Amendment Bill 2013 (‘the Bill’) was passed on 27 June 2013 and forms part of the Government’s post-implementation review of the Fair Work Act (‘the Act’). The Bill implements some more of the recommendations set out in the [...]
CORPORATE ALERT: PREFERENCE SHARES WHERE NO PREFERENCE EXISTS In summary: The High Court confirmed that a company registered under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) can have members who hold preference shares constituting one hundred percent (100%) of its issued shares. There is no requirement under the Corporations Act that ordinary shares need to [...]
DON’T LET YOUR ASSETS ‘TRANSITION’ INTO THE HANDS OF A LIQUIDATOR! THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION AND REGISTRATION With 6 months left before the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) transitional provisions end on 30 January 2014, clients should consider whether any of their assets will be at risk should they fail to take appropriate [...]
DON’T LET YOUR ASSETS ‘TRANSITION’ INTO THE HANDS OF A LIQUIDATOR! THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCUMENTATION AND REGISTRATION With 6 months left before the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) transitional provisions end on 30 January 2014, clients should consider whether any of their assets will be at risk should they fail to take appropriate [...]
ACNC and new standards: overhauling the not-for-profit sector. Background On 3 December 2012, the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission (‘ACNC’) was established under the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission Act 2012 (‘the Act’). Headed by an independent statutory officer called the ACNC Commissioner, this new national independent regulator of charities aims to maintain, protect and [...]
Defining the scope of ‘Bid Rigging’: a robust approach to cartel prohibitions – Norcast S.ár.L v Bradken Ltd (No 2) [2013] FCA 235 On 19 March 2013 the Court handed down its decision in Norcast S.ár.L v Bradken Ltd (No 2) (Bradken). The decision included a finding that Bradken and its directors had breached the [...]
LODGING CAVEATS OVER PROPERTY WITHOUT A PROPER BASIS Review of Sovereign MF Ltd (in liq.) v EOS Janus Holdings Pty Ltd [2013] VSC 347 Caveats may only be lodged over another person’s property if you have a legal or equitable interest in the property. The effect of the caveat is to give notice to the [...]
Phillip Grundy Pointon Partners is pleased to announce the promotion of Phillip Grundy as a Director of the firm on 1 July 2013. Phillip commenced with the firm in 2007 and has been an important member of the Pointon Partners team over the past 7 years. Phillip has developed strong expertise in the areas of [...]
