Australian Trade Mark Register to Undergo International Harmonisation in 2024
On March 2024, Australia is set to replace its existing Goods and Services pick list with the Madrid Goods and Services list (“MGS list”). Our current pick list is a searchable list of over 60,000 descriptions of goods and services used to describe what goods [...]
Employees versus Contractors: ATO Indicators and Audit Resource Allocation
The ATO has also released their Practical Compliance Guideline 2023/2 which sets out the approach of the Commissioner to businesses that classify their workers as either employees or independent contractors. As such, the guidelines sets out how the Commissioner allocates audit compliance resources based on [...]
Importance of the original employment contract in respect of determining who is an employee for PAYG
Late last year, the ATO released their new Taxation Ruling 2023/4 which sets out the ATO’s view on whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. The purpose of this ruling is to assist businesses – who employ independent contractors and employees – in [...]
Balancing the Books: The Importance of Proper “Paper” Trails for Calculation, Claiming and Audit Purposes
Taxpayers should be reminded of keeping up to date and accurate records of their assets, especially when those assets are disposed of. Not only is it an offence to fail to keep accurate records, but keeping these records will assist in calculating your income tax [...]
Pointon Partners Employment Law Seminar: Employee Share and Option Schemes
We continue to see strong interest from employer clients in the establishment of employee share or option schemes as a means of attracting, motivating and retaining staff.Join us for a seminar as our Partner Michael Bishop discusses:reasons to establish an employee share scheme;the different types of [...]
Owies v JJE Nominees: The trustees consideration of beneficiaries in income distributions and the written reasons conundrum – Further when is a trustee not acting in the best interests of the beneficiaries and can be replaced by the Court
The landmark Victorian Supreme Court appeal case of Owies v JJE Nominees Pty Ltd (2022) VSCA 142 (Owies) has highlighted issues relating to the exercise of the power of trustees in discretionary trusts to allocate trust income with absolute discretion and the duty of the [...]
Home Sweet Hostility: FWC Rules that Working from Home on Mandatory Office Days is not a Valid Reason for Dismissal
Late last year, our Employment Team covered the case in which an employee was validly dismissed for failing to be present in the office during her mandatory office days. A recent Fair Work decision has outlined the contrary with the absence of the employee on [...]
Employment Law Update – Office Closure Periods
A ruling earlier this year from the Fair Work Commission has changed the rules around employee leave during office closure period. As a result of this 4 yearly review of modern awards, from 1 May 2023, employers may no longer require an employee to take [...]
The Three Silos for Tax-Efficient Business Restructuring
In the context of small businesses, a restructure can afford significant advantages ranging from decreased operational costs, increased efficiency and communication as well as simplifying management. Often these restructures involve the disposal of major assets which may incur CGT consequences for the business resulting in [...]
The Positive Duty on Employers to Eliminate Sexual Harassment
The positive duty was introduced into the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (SDA) in December 2022 and was a key recommendation of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (Commission) landmark Respect@Work Report in 2020 led by former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins. Organisations and businesses now have a positive [...]