Background The doctrine of freedom of contract is a fairly standard one in Australian law, as well as in most Western legal traditions. The doctrine recognises that individuals should have the freedom to strike whatever bargain they choose. However, as it turns, the situation between contracting parties in Australia is actually [...]
The recent case of FJ & SM Monaghan Pty Ltd v Slade [2018] NSWCA 79 has reiterated the importance of suppliers and lenders obtaining personal guarantees that have been carefully drafted in order to enforce them. The importance of properly drafted guarantees Although judgement was eventually awarded against the guarantors, [...]
The classification of workers as employees or contractors at common law is a continuing conundrum in various areas, including PAYG withholding, superannuation guarantee, payroll tax and general employment law. Many working arrangements are not black and white, and it is necessary to examine them closely to identify the factors indicating an [...]
The Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding for Proprietary Companies) Bill 2017 (Bill) has now been introduced into Parliament. The Bill “sets out amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) to enable proprietary companies in Australia to access crowd-sourced equity funding”.[1] Prior to the introduction of the Bill into Parliament, the [...]
In our recent article entitled “Corporate Tax Cuts. What do they mean for you?”, we referred to the relevant minister (Kelly O’Dwyer) questioning the ATO provisional interpretation of when a company would be “carrying on business” for the purpose of the reduction in the small business corporate tax rate. The [...]
Often, bankruptcy proceedings will be based on a judgement debt. In such proceedings, the Bankruptcy Court must satisfy itself that the debt being claimed by the petitioning creditor is truly owing, and often the petitioning creditor will rely on the judgement debt as proof of this. The High Court of [...]
The Treasurer has recently released exposure draft legislation (Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Tax Integrity) Bill 2017) in relation to removal of the CGT main residence exemption for foreign residents. The changes are part of the Commonwealth Government’s ‘housing affordability’ reforms announced in the 2017-18 Budget. This will affect both Australian [...]
At first thought, ‘land banking’ and primary production exemption from land tax would appear to be mutually exclusive. A landowner’s intention when land banking is to profit from future sale of its land, which is significantly different to the intention of a landowner that uses its land for primary production. [...]
Probate In Victoria, probate is the process of officially proving a will as the last will of the deceased and registering such will with the Supreme Court of Victoria. Probate is the court’s official recognition that the will is legally valid, and the executor(s) is authorised to deal with the [...]
The new PPS regime The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 has introduced some fundamental changes to the laws of securities and property (other than real estate). Pursuant to the Act, the Personal Property Securities Register (‘PPSR’) commenced operation at the end of January 2012. The PPSR is an online register [...]
