In line with its election promise to abolish the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), the Abbott Government has now released Options Paper, Australia’s Charities and Not-for-profits which seeks feedback on its proposed arrangements for charities in Australia. The Government’s proposed arrangements attempt to balance the administrative burden of reporting with the need for organisations receiving concessional tax treatment to be publicly accountable.

Have you ever stopped to consider the branding that your business or organisation uses and the photographs and images it employs on packaging and products, on its website and in brochures and advertising materials?

In 2010, the AWMU published a warning to company directors on its website, saying “if you turn your back on employees, we will fight you all the way.”  The warning was delivered in the context of a case which the AWMU and AWU fought in the Federal Court of Australia.

There are a wide variety of events that should prompt you to review your succession plans: for example, the ageing of an executor appointed in your will; the arrival of children or grandchildren; the breakdown of a child’s marriage; the threat of some commercial misfortune to a child; the graduation of a child into a professional career; or a resolve to assist a needy charity.

Any employer which has gone through the process of negotiating and making an enterprise agreement with its employees and seeking approval of the agreement from the Fair Work Commission (FWC) will know that the process and approval requirements can be complex and time consuming and that the requirements for approval are quite technical.

“There’s no need for a distribution agreement – with payment up front, what could go wrong?”

“Distribution agreements are straight forward. Cover off on transfer of title and the ordering process and you’re set – right?”

The definition of a “motor vehicle” under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (PPSA) was amended on 1 July 2014. The definition has been significantly narrowed and now excludes a great deal of motorised equipment that was previously subject to the motor vehicle provisions

We increasingly come across individuals or businesses that are self-filing trade marks and managing their own portfolios. Their reasoning – why pay a lawyer to do it, when I can do it cheaper? Well, here are a few reasons that might make you reconsider self-filing a trade mark.  

The Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) today appointed Mr Andrew Barnes, Financial Controller for the Lantern Legal Group, as its President, following the departure of Mr Anthony Bleasdale who has accepted a new role as Director of BigHand in Asia Pacific

Have you ever copied a photograph from the internet without seeking permission from the owner? An American photographer has recently pursued a travel agent operating in Melbourne for the unauthorised use of a picture of Hawaii. 

To register a security interest on the Personal Property Securities Register (Register), there is no requirement to file the underlying agreement that creates the security interest.  Accordingly, the Personal Property Securities Registrar cannot determine whether or not a registration is justified simply on the face of the details inputted into the Register. This therefore opens the Register up to abuse by the lodgement of sham registrations.