Web content can be challenging for those with a disability to navigate and understand. All Victorian Government online services and departments working directly with people with a disability, must ensure internal and external digital content meets certain accessibility standards. For private sector businesses, these standards can also provide a great guide on what to aim for in your communications.

The ATO is offering assistance to those individuals and businesses impacted by the recent and ongoing bushfires that have impacted large parts of Australia since late 2019.

In FCT v Eichmann [2019] FCA 2155 (Eichmann), the Federal Court overruled the decision in Eichmann v FCT [2019] AATA 162 and held that land used for the storage of equipment and materials that were utilised in the respondent’s building, bricklaying and paving business was not an active asset for the purposes of accessing the small business capital gains tax (CGT) concessions contained in Division 152 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) (Act).

On 12 December 2019, the controversial Treasury Laws Amendment (Reducing Pressure on Housing Affordability Measures) Bill 2019 (Bill) was granted royal assent. 

On 13 December 2019, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released Taxation Determination TD 2019/14 (Determination), which addresses the question of whether, and how, a trust may be split.

On 2 December, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) released its report. ‘The Future of Law Reform: A Suggested Program of Work 2020-25’. The report highlights five areas of law they suggest for ALRC inquiry over the next five years, with one such topic being the legal structure for social enterprises.

On 15 October 2019, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No 2) Bill 2019 (Bill) passed the House of Representatives and has now been introduced to the Senate.

In a unanimous judgement, the High Court recently held that Connective Services Pty Ltd had breached its obligations under the Corporations Act (Act) by bringing and funding litigation in respect of the enforcement of its shareholders’ constitutional pre-emption rights against an outgoing shareholder.

You have made the decision to sell your company or business. But ask yourself, what is it that you are selling? Is it the shares in the company or is it the underlying assets and/or business? Where is the underlying value in the business that will attract potential buyers?

Lawyers are often the butt of jokes when it comes to how expensive we are. We get it. But if you are engaging a lawyer to sell (or buy) a business, the right lawyer can add value to your bottom line.

A range of factors affect whether or not an individual engaged to perform work is actually an employee or an independent contractor.

When considering whether an allied health worker is an employee or a contractor, one factor to consider is in respect of the provision of tools, equipment and other assets required to undertake the work.

Workers in the allied health industry, such as nurses, doctors and other professionals may find themselves exposed to many different risks and hazards on a day-to-day basis, including lifting and moving patients and equipment; work-related stress; slips, trips and falls; exposure to infectious diseases and occupational violence.

The tax obligations on a practice in relation to an employment relationship are often perceived as being significantly more costly (and restrictive) compared to simply engaging a practitioner as an independent contractor. However tread carefully when making this decision, as getting your characterisation of a worker wrong can be even more costly and you may find yourself on the wrong side of the law.

Upon the termination of a relationship between the practice and practitioner, who will retain the patient records? Where will they be stored? Is the practitioner permitted to access the records, or make a copy?

Goodwill is the essence of any business, and can often be a business’ most valuable (albeit intangible) asset. The value of goodwill lies in brand identity or recognition, customer networks, positive customer and employee relations, and broadly speaking, reputation.

Determining whether an individual is an employee or contractor can leave you scratching your head. There is unfortunately little clarification in the context of superannuation entitlements and determining whether payments to a contractor are covered by the superannuation guarantee (SGC) regime further blurs the line between contractor and employee.

Medical, dental and allied health professional structures have and continue to be designed to engage professional staff that are labelled and treated as independent business operators known as “independent contractors”.

Although digital manipulation of images and video has been around for some time, the combination of software that improves the realism of the fake and the speed at which fakes can be generated and disseminated to targeted audiences has made headlines in the political sphere over the last year or so. The manipulation of video images using artificial intelligence has been called ‘deepfake’, a portmanteau of ‘deep learning’ and ‘fake’.

Although digital manipulation of images and video has been around for some time, the combination of software that improves the realism of the fake and the speed at which fakes can be generated and disseminated to targeted audiences has made headlines in the political sphere over the last year or so.  The manipulation of video images using artificial intelligence has been called ‘deepfake’, a portmanteau of ‘deep learning’ and ‘fake’.