Your Breach or Mine? – A Cautionary Tale for Parties to Building Contracts

These are precarious times for the building and construction industry. This uncertainty is often heightened by standard form building contracts containing little in the way of guidance when it comes to a party being ‘otherwise in substantial breach’ of their obligations. Terms such as ‘substantial breach’ are seldom defined in these building contracts, and it continue reading

Expanding in a Volatile Market – Private Mergers & Acquisitions in Australia

Despite volatile global market conditions, growing inflation concerns, ongoing labour shortages and supply chain disruptions, Australia’s economy has remained resilient. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian economy grew 0.8% during the March quarter of 2022 and 3.3% over the past year. The Reserve Bank of Australia forecasted, in its Statement on Monetary continue reading

Incorporated Associations and Their Evolving Legal Landscape

June 2022 updates for incorporated association governance The legal landscape that the Incorporated Associations (IAs) operates within, has recently undergone a major overhaul, resulting in the assent of the Associations Incorporation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 in June 2022. As a result, a staggered rollout of amendments to IA’s governing legislation is now underway. continue reading

When We All Understand the Assignment: Assigning a Retail Shop Lease as Part of a Commercial Business Sale

An easily overlooked element of a commercial business sale is that of assigning the existing lease, which is key in enabling the buyer to continue operating the business in the same premises where the seller currently resides. While the steps involved, in assigning the existing lease, may be relatively straightforward the time and effort in continue reading

COVID, Floods, War… Recent events that might leave you contractually liable if not for force majeure

COVID-19 demonstrated that unforeseen events can and will occur that significantly affect businesses across all industries. Such events not only have the capacity to impact business financial performance but may also have consequences on all parties’ contractual rights and obligations in business dealings. There may have never been a better example of extenuating circumstances making continue reading

Employee vs Independent Contractor: An Important Dichotomy

The distinction between an employee and an independent contractor has long been the subject of judicial consideration, and indeed legal commentary. Recently, the High Court delivered two judgements that marked a new approach to determining whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor. The High Court held that “where parties have comprehensively committed continue reading

Fancy Something on the Side?

It is becoming more prevalent, in connection with commercial/retail shop leases, for financiers of both Landlords and Tenants to seek the other party to enter into a direct “side deed”. For example, the Tenant’s financier will (in addition to taking a mortgage over the Lease), seek direct contractual relations with the Landlord in order to continue reading

Company Directors, Please Take a Number

If you are a director of a company, you need to obtain your unique Director Identification Number by 30 November 2022. New laws came into effect on 1 November 2021, through reforms to Part 9.1A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Act), which make it mandatory for company directors to apply for individual identification continue reading

When Casual Becomes Committed

On 26 March 2021, the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) was amended to make significant changes to casual employment. These changes affected every national system employer in Australia that employs casual employees. One of the key amendments required employers (with 15 or more employees) to proactively offer casual who were eligible, the opportunity continue reading

But I Didn’t Sign Anything?

Writing Requirements for Contracts for the Sale of Land and the Electronic Transactions Act Section 59 of the Property Law Act 1974 (Qld) (“Property Law Act”) stipulates that a contract for the sale or other disposition of an interest in land must be in writing and signed to be enforceable. Other Australian jurisdictions have similar continue reading

Show Me the Documents!

A Director’s Access to Company Books During Personal Litigation Being appointed as a director of a company is not something you choose to do lightly. Accepting a role as a director brings with it many statutory and fiduciary obligations which, if not complied with, can see the director personally liable for their actions and potentially continue reading

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