Legal Insights
Good news for corporate volunteers
Volunteering Australia, the national peak body for volunteering, has released a new definition of volunteering after a 2 year review. The new definition is ‘time willingly given for the common good without financial gain’.
Common Owners Corporation rule declared invalid
A recent VCAT decision has clarified the powers of Owners Corporations to regulate short term leasing. It is common for Owners Corporation Rules to restrict certain activities that can be done in a multi-unit complex.
Reimbursement of fees provisions in VCAT have teeth!
The Tribunal has recently considered the new reimbursement of fees provisions inserted into the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (VCAT Act) in 2014.
When do casual employees have the right to vote?
The Federal Court has set aside a previous decision of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) which approved the Swinburne University of Technology's 2014 enterprise agreement, due to the inclusion of ineligible casual or sessional employees in the voting process for the agreement.
Small business update: Good news for small business
There have been a number of legal developments in the small business sector which should be welcomed as wins for small business operators. This alert provides a summary of three of those developments that are particularly relevant following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s release of its Small Business in Focus report for the six months to June 2015.
An employer’s failure to make reasonable adjustments results in big payout
In a recent case in the Federal Circuit Court an employer; Corrective Services New South Wales, was ordered to pay a former probation and parole officer employed by it the sum of $180,000 plus interest as a result of discriminatory treatment of her. The employee suffered from Crohn’s Disease and took sick leave on a number of occasions.
A new financial year means new employment pay rates and thresholds
The start of the 2015/16 financial year brings into effect new minimum pay rates and thresholds.
ACNC CHARITIES - LODGE YOUR AIS PRIOR TO 30 JUNE
The deadline for lodging your Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) registered charity’s Annual Information Statement (AIS) is 30 June, unless you have applied to the ACNC to have a different reporting period. If charities fail to submit their AIS for two consecutive years, they will have their charity status revoked.
Doing good is good business
Whilst not a conventional topic for a lawyer’s article, I thought I would use this article as an opportunity to share Harwood Andrews’ recent certification as a B Corp and hopefully encourage other businesses in the Geelong and the Surf Coast region to do the same.
1 July deadline for public ancillary funds to comply with guidelines draws near
The transitional period for trustees of public ancillary funds to amend their fund’s governing rules to comply with the public ancillary fund guidelines closes on 1 July 2015. Public ancillary funds and their trustees must comply with these guidelines if the funds are to remain endorsed as deductible gift recipients.
As well as the fund losing entitlement to DGR endorsement, failure to comply with the guidelines could lead to the trustee incurring administrative penalties.
Federal Budget 2015: Small Business and Startups
The Federal Government has announced as part of its 2015 Federal Budget, a $5.5 billion package for business which is aimed to encourage entrepreneurship, growth and the creation of jobs. Small Business, being entities that that have an annual turnover of less than $2 million, make up 90 percent of incorporated business and have been the winners in the 2015 Budget.
New tax measures for farmers available immediately
Farmers are relieved by the Federal Government’s decision to bring forward the start date for new farm tax breaks.
Family Court rules on 'special contributions to a relationship'
In a recent appeal to the Family Court, it was determined that there is no binding rule for determining “special contributions” to a relationship. The Court decided that a wealthy couple should share their assets equally, despite the husband claiming that his special skills meant that he should have 70% of the assets.
Supreme Court hand down game-changing decision regarding application of Domestic Building Contracts Act to residential developers
On 29 April 2015, the Victorian Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Burbank Australia Pty Ltd v Owners Corporation PS 447493 [2015] VSC 160, which concerned an appeal from a decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, in relation to allegations of defective building works in the common property of the ‘Waterford Towers’ apartment building built by Burbank in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong.
What are the legal requirements for schools and data privacy?
Schools collect and receive personal and sensitive information on a daily basis. What are the legal requirements for managing and using this data? Much of the personal and sensitive information collected by schools is, of course, essential to their day-to-day running.
Facebook Introduces 'Legacy Contacts'
Congratulations to Facebook for introducing a system to allow some management of a person’s Facebook account after the person’s death.
Proposed changes to Commonwealth parental leave pay – removing “double dipping” could result in a larger bill for employers.
In its latest policy change on paid parental leave, the Coalition Government has proposed to remove parents' ability to "double dip" paid parental leave entitlements from 1 July 2016 in a bid to save almost $1 billion dollars over four years.
IT HAS NOW BEEN CONFIRMED THAT COUNCILS ARE BOUND BY THE COMPETITION & CONSUMER ACT
Contrary to common belief, local councils and officers acting on their behalf are subject to the provisions of the Competition & Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), just like any other entity engaged in trade or commerce.
Funding to ACNC to continue until 2019
In budget papers released on 12 May the Federal Government has confirmed funding to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) will continue until 2019. However, the charity regulator will see a modest reduction in its funding from $14.8 million in the next financial year to $13.2 million in 2018-19.
Budget 2015 hands down increased fines for breaching workplace laws
According to the latest budget handed down on Tuesday night from Treasurer Joe Hockey, penalty units (ie. fines) for breaching federal laws are set to rise from $170.00 to $180.00 (per unit) from 31 July 2015.