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. 

The Federal Government announced the establishment of the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme (EIP), with funding of $484.2 million over 5 years. The objective of the EIP is to improve the business capabilities of Australian small to medium enterprises to make them more competitive on the world stage. 

Changes to the regulations under the Retirement Villages Act 1986 will come into operation on 1 July 2014 relating to contracts and disclosure requirements for Retirement Villages in Victoria. 

The anti-bulling jurisdiction of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has now been in place for over 4 months, and the first decision ruling on the merits of an application has been handed down.

 The hearing of the application was conducted in private, and the names of the parties and individuals involved were kept anonymous in the published decision.  In that decision, the FWC rejected a manager’s claim for anti-bullying orders, finding that there was insufficient evidence there had been repeated unreasonable behaviour towards the applicant, or that any unreasonable behaviour had created a risk to health and safety.

When recommending a structure to conduct a business or hold an investment, advisors should consider a number of issues, primarily the income taxation consequences of the structure, the ability to access applicable capital gains tax reliefs upon a sale of a capital appreciating asset, the asset protection benefits of the recommended structure and how the structure works to ensure that control of the asset passes to the next generation upon death in a succession plan.  Legal and accounting advisors routinely recommend a discretionary trust structure for these purposes. However, it is important to highlight the difficulties that a discretionary trust structure poses in planning for succession and how those difficulties are best addressed.

In light of the review of the PPS Act that is currently underway, we seek your input on how the PPS regime has impacted on your business so that we can better represent the interests of SMEs in the review process.

The second round of changes set out in the federal government’s Living Longer Living Better aged care reform package will commence on 1 July 2014.

The reforms aim to provide more choice, easier access and better care. However, there are concerns that many retirees will end up paying more for their admission to and ongoing care in aged care facilities, due to the changes in the way daily care fees will be means tested.  

Arguably not since the introduction of GST has there been a more urgent need for businesses to review and revise their business practices, procedures and documentation than now.  With the recent commencement of the Personal Property Securities Register under the Personal Property Securities Act (PPS Act), businesses need to take proactive steps to protect their businesses.

On 27 June 2013, the first major decision in Australia in regard to the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) was handed down in the New South Wales Supreme Court.  The decision in the case of Maiden Civil v QES [2013] NSWSC 852 is a powerful illustration that possession can trump ownership if you do not register your interest in goods on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPS Register). 

It could be argued that not since the introduction of the GST has there been a more urgent need for businesses to review and revise their business practices, procedures and documentation. In January 2012 the Personal Property Securities Act introduced a new Personal Property Securities Regime which, in effect, compels business owners to take proactive steps to formally register their interests in certain assets if they wish to ensure their business and their assets are properly protected.