The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal  (VCAT) has last week considered the operation of Clause 61.01 which makes the Minister for Planning the responsible authority for certain planning applications within the City of Melbourne. 

Dustday Investments v Minister for Planning & Melbourne City Council [Dustday] represents the first judicial consideration of the current section 12(2) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

In the recent decision of Calderara v Banyule (Calderara) the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) considered whether section 149(1)(b) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 conferred it jurisdiction to review a Council’s decision not to ‘agree’ to an action restricted under a section 173 agreement.

In Victoria the law prevents a person who has unlawfully killed another person from benefiting under the deceased person’s will.  This is called the Forfeiture Rule.  An exception applies where the killer is found not guilty by reason of mental impairment.

A truck delivery driver whose employment was terminated after he worked for his employer’s customer during his annual leave has been awarded $12,864 compensation after the Fair Work Commission (Commission) found his dismissal was harsh, unjust and unreasonable

The Federal Court has heralded a green light for competition in the discount pharmacy market in handing down its decision in a misleading and deceptive conduct case between the owners of Chemist Warehouse (Applicants) against Direct Chemist Outlet (Respondents). In this case, Harwood Andrews successfully defended the Respondents and also made out the Respondents counterclaim, invalidating the Applicants trademark “Who is? Australia’s Cheapest Chemist”. 

Section 588FF(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) allows liquidators to apply to a court for orders in relation to voidable transactions.  Liquidators commonly seek to use this provision to “claw back” unfair preferences to particular creditors, but it also covers claims in respect of uncommercial transactions, unfair loans and unreasonable director-related transactions.

Donating to charity is set to become even easier with telcos seeking 15 charities to participate in a 12 month pilot of a program enabling mobile users to make donations via SMS. Set to commence in July this year, the program is being coordinated by the Telco Together Foundation, an organisation which includes representatives from Telstra, Optus and Vodafone

If you are a director of a company and you lose capacity, the management and control of the family business may be significantly affected. Simply having an Enduring Financial Power of Attorney (POA) is not a fix all solution that replaces proper succession planning.

On Thursday 19 March the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released their program blueprint “Reinventing the ATO”. The ATO stated that the blueprint describes the kind of experience that Australians expect to have when they deal with the ATO and that it will guide everything that the ATO does in the coming years.

On 17 March 2015, Justice Middleton of the Federal Court handed down his decision in Verrocchi and Gance –v- Direct Chemist Outlet Pty Ltd  (ACN 123 831 210) and Ian Tauman.

Sham charities established to take advantage of generous donors seeking to help victims of Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu have come to the attention of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC)

Jacquier v Maroondah CC [2015] VCAT 217 (‘Jacquier’) is the latest in a series of Tribunal decisions to consider whether a permit application has lost the benefit of the Transitional Provisions in the recently introduced Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ).

Throughout the 2014 calendar year, the ACCC’s consumer law activities involved:

• Instigating Federal Court proceedings in relation to 20 consumer protection matters and 8 competition matters;
• Accepting 14 consumer protection undertakings from businesses; and
• Issuing 15 infringement notices.

Victoria now has legislation which adopts the provisions of the UNIDROIT Convention Providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will.

The Federal Government has announced that it is committed to transforming the Australian Small Business Commissioner into the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (the Ombudsman).

Melbourne businesswoman Belle Gibson, developer of the popular iPhone/iPad app ‘The Whole Pantry’, is facing investigation by Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) following allegations that her company has been undertaking illegal fundraising activities.

In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeal (Warren CJ, Santamaria JA and Garde AJA) upheld the decision of VCAT to grant a planning permit for the demolition and redevelopment of ‘Arden’, a significant heritage place under the Boroondara Planning Scheme (Boroondara City Council v 1045 Burke Road Pty Ltd [2015] VSCA 27). 

Social media has changed the way that businesses interact with their customers.  Whether the business is small or large, starting up or well established, social media provides a powerful tool to engage with customers.  With advances in technology comes risk, and some businesses are understandably concerned about the way that social media could impact upon their business.

The ATO have announced the caps on the amount you can contribute to your superannuation for the 2015/16 financial year.