It is important for people of all ages to plan for potential future incapacity. Incapacity can arise from illness or injury and can be temporary or permanent. If you lose capacity, your family will not have the ability to make financial, medical and lifestyle decisions on your behalf

The Federal Government has released a consultation paper seeking feedback from small business owners on proposed protections from unfair contract terms.

The subclass 457 visa regime allows employers to access the skills of overseas workers where a genuine skills shortage exists in Australia or where a suitably qualified Australian worker is not available. This regime addresses employer demand for skilled workers in a way which ensures job opportunities for Australians are not undermined. 

As you would appreciate from our previous alerts regarding the reform of the Privacy Act (Cth) 1988, the two major aspects of the reform involved:

1. the introduction of the Australian Privacy Principals; and
2. the reworking of the Australian credit reporting system.

When obtaining finance, directors of family businesses will often be required to provide guarantees.  

Importantly, and as the discussion below indicates, directors may become unwittingly bound by guarantees they did not know they had provided.

Therefore it is important that prospective guarantors fully understand when a guarantee will be taken to have been provided, as well as understanding that executing a contract in their directorial capacity may, if the agreement so provides, expose them to personal liability under a guarantee.    

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has long adopted the position that the ten year period for which an action can brought against a builder as stated in Section 134 (S134) of the Building Act 1993 (the Act), is intended to replace the period of six years provided by the Limitations of Actions Act 1958. This position has not been without its critics.

The recent County Court decision of Brirek Industries –v- McKenzie Group Consulting, adopts the alternative position. That is, any cause of action will be statute barred upon the expiration of the six year period under the Limitations of Actions Act 1958.

Landowners, whose land is affected by leases to failed timber companies Great Southern and Gunns Plantations Ltd (GPL), should be careful before entering into any agreement with the liquidators of GPL, according to a warning by Richard Anderson, a director of law firm Harwood Andrews.

Some landowners who have been caught up in the collapse of Great Southern and GPL may recently have received a letter from the liquidators of GPL offering various options concerning dealing with trees still growing on their land, even though landowners have not received rental payments for some time.

If you are involved in the supply of materials, whether plant, equipment or other building materials, whether by way of sale or hire, in the building and construction industry you should be aware of the operation and effect of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA), which can help protect your interests in the event of the insolvency of the party to whom you supply materials.

Suppliers now have registerable security interests in the personal property that they supply to customers on a retention of title basis. Supply of materials on a ‘retention of title’ basis means that the seller retains legal ownership in the goods (even after delivery to the purchaser) until payment in full is received.

The concept of “Australian Permanent Residence” can be misleading.

Upon the grant of a Permanent Residence Visa, many people assume that their new status is, as the title suggests, permanent, that is, forever. It follows that permanent residents often assume that they are able to travel to and from Australia without restriction indefinitely. However, this is an incorrect assumption to make that can have a devastating impact on a person’s ability to return to Australia.

Redeveloping your home by subdividing off a building block or demolishing and rebuilding two or more dwellings is a growing trend. Some recent matters we have been involved in show that the potential tax consequences are often overlooked.

When you sell land that you became the owner of on or after 20 September 1985, you must include any capital gain made on the sale as part of your income.

The Government introduced a bill into parliament in March to proposing the following amendments to the Personal Properties Security Act 2009 (PPS Act):

1. Remove the provision deeming that leases of serialised goods for more than 90 days are a ‘PPS lease’; and2.            
2. Amend the definition of ‘motor vehicle’.

In tough economic times, maintaining cash flow to your business can become more difficult. In this article, we explore ways in which cash flow can be maintained, with a particular focus on the building industry.

Be it a start-up fashion label, professional services provider or eatery, the biggest priority for people behind a new business is often choosing a clever name for their business and getting their product onto the marketplace.

Few people take the time to ensure they have trademarks registered and appropriate legal structures in place to ensure they are in the best possible position when the business grows or, in the regrettable event, fails.

Binding Financial Agreements (or BFA’s) are intended to provide married and de facto couples with the power to avoid Court and divide their assets as they deem fit.

A BFA is a written document, prepared by lawyers, which regulates the financial matters between married or de facto couples. If both parties agree to the terms of the BFA, and it is drafted and signed off properly, it has the power to override the jurisdiction of the Family Court.

on 12 March 2014, significant changes to the Privacy Act 1988 took effect. The changes included:

1. the introduction of a more comprehensive credit reporting system; and2.            
2. the introduction of a set of Australian Privacy Principles, which set out the standards, rights and obligations in relation to the collecting, handling, holding, access and correction of personal information.

If you are a regular user of Twitter, you may randomly discover one day that your Twitter account has been hacked. This involves unusual and often short tweets being sent directly to your followers, using their @ Twitter handle and including a question designed to drive followers to the accompanying link. Fear not -such spam is usually harmless and the issue is easily rectifiable.

‘Entrepreneur’ is no longer a dirty word. Once considered a term self-claimed by unemployed middle aged men, [1] entrepreneurism has hit the limelight. With increased accessibility to cost effective business models, passionate individuals are now pursuing their start-up ventures at a rate not seen before.

But one thing hasn’t (and won’t) change. Start-ups are cash-strapped and often look to cut corners. Some legal corners, however, can be costly or devastating to the development of a start-up. Here are our top 5 lessons you don’t want to learn the hard way.