vLex Australia

Australia is considered a creditor friendly jurisdiction, and has developed an effective legal framework for lenders to recover debts owed to them by distressed borrowers. There are a wide range of out-of-court and ‘self-help’ options available to lenders, especially so for secured lenders. The purpose of this note is to provide a high-level overview of these enforcement options together with some practical takeaways. Please see full Publication below for more information. (See Article)

A resource has been added University of Western Australia Law Review (from the number 39-1, June 2015)

One of the great resources provided by IP Australia is its AusPat online patent data service.  AusPat enables users to search for Australian patents and applications using a range of options and search fields, view numerous data items for each application, and access most incoming and outgoing correspondence via eDossier.  In my view, it is... (See Article)

The Situation: The Australian government has introduced significant changes to its foreign investment review framework. The centrepiece of the changes is an enhanced review of acquisitions of property or businesses which are sensitive to Australia's national security. (See Article)

IN BRIEF - The Productivity Commission (Commission) recently released its final report on resources sector regulation. The report examines the regulation of minerals and petroleum in Australia, and identifies issues and leading practices approaches to addressing these issues. (See Article)

Diseases including foodborne infections declined after public health measures were introduced because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a preliminary analysis in Australia. Researchers have analyzed Nationally Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) data to determine the effect of COVID-19 measures on some nationally notifiable diseases in Australia. Implementation of health actions related to the virus... (See Article)

The Australia-based legal technology company InfoTrack, which also operates in the United States, has acquired Lawgical, the parent company of several legal industry brands, including the Legal Talk Network, which produces some 30 law-related podcasts, ServeNow, which says it is the nation’s largest independent network of process service professionals, and ServeManager, a technology platform for process servers... (See Article)

On 14 December 2020, Pizzeys Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys – a firm in the stable owned by listed company IPH Limited (ASX:IPH) – filed suit in the Federal Court of Australia against former Pizzeys principals William Bennett and Martin Richardson, along with the new firm they have established, RnB IP (collectively ‘RnB’).  The lawsuit... (See Article)

The Situation: The Federal Government has published its highly anticipated reform package to Australia's industrial relations ("IR") framework. While less ambitious than some had expected, the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 (Cth) ("Bill") is still the most significant IR reform proposal since the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ("FW Act") was enacted over a decade ago. (See Article)

We asked our member firms around the globe to provide some insight on employer and employee rights when it comes to requiring the COVID-19 vaccine to return to work. Gordon Williams, David Paterson, Sam Quinn & Olivia Borgese of MinterEllison share their views from Australia. (See Article)

The majority of land in Australia consists of freehold title. Registration of ownership of freehold title is recorded using the Torrens system. The Torrens system is a system of title by registration. This means that an interest will only be a legal interest if it is registered on title. Once the interest is registered, that interest is indefeasible and takes priority over all other interests. Both the vendor selling the land and the purchaser purchasing the land execute a legal document transferring ownership. Once settlement of the property has occurred, the transfer document is registered. Each State and Territory in Australia has its own register. The purchaser becomes the registered prop (See Article)

For many, 2020 has been the year to forget. The Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has halted global economies and initiated recessions across continents and countries, including Australia. In an attempt to alleviate the financial impact of COVID-19, the Australian Government has implemented various reforms (both temporary and permanent) designed to provide relief to financially distressed businesses. One sector hardest hit is that of small businesses and the Australian Government has now finalised a new restructuring process for small businesses, commencing on 1 January 2021.  (See Article)

Power projects usually contain a period of time, prior to completion and taking over, where power is being generated and can be sold into the grid or to an offtaker. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Victoria ordered an EPC Contractor not to prevent power generation for an onshore wind farm project during such a period. (See Article)

The Australian government has introduced the most significant reforms to Australia’s foreign investment laws (the FIRB regime) in nearly 50 years. This client alert provides a high level summary of the key changes to the FIRB regime from 1 January 2021. (See Article)

Australia has implemented “Phase 1.5” in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism reforms. However, Australia’s long-awaited and much-debated “second tranche” of reforms remains out of grasp. Please see full Publication below for more information. (See Article)

Back in September I reported that an application naming an ‘artificial intelligence’ going by the name DABUS (‘Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience’) as inventor had been filed in Australia.  The application – no. 2019363177 – was derived from an international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and names Dr Stephen... (See Article)

New Regulations have been released in respect of the implementation of the National Cabinet Mandatory Code of Conduct – SME Commercial Leasing Principles During COVID-19 (Code of Conduct) in New South Wales. The Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation (No.2) 2020 (New Regulation) replaces the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2020 (Previous Regulation) on and from 24 October 2020. (See Article)

Clive Cachia and Betsy-Ann Howe discuss with host David Wochner government incentives programs for and tax considerations impacting foreign investment in the hydrogen industry Down Under. (See Article)

There are showers, there are squalls, and there are storms. The growth in cybersecurity attacks in Australia, as in much of the world, is a storm and Australian companies need to batten down the hatches. In the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 alone, the Australian Cyber Security Centre ("ACSC") responded to 2,266 cybersecurity incidents at a rate of almost six per day and the ACSC expects the true volume of malicious activity to be much higher. When you consider the continued increase in cybersecurity attacks in Australia, it is unsurprising that cybersecurity has become a key policy issue for the Australian Government and is considered critical to Australia’s national security, i (See Article)

This article is the first of a two-part series on patenting software-based inventions in Australia. In the first part of this series, we begin by analysing the key patent judgements in Australia, including a discussion on the origins of uncertainty, whilst also exploring the current approach followed by IP Australia in relation to the patentability of claims targeting software. Please see full article below for more information. (See Article)

This article is the second of a two-part series on patenting software-based inventions in Australia. In the first article, we explored some of the key software-related patent judgements in Australia. In this second part, we start to compare the software patentability approach of IP Australia with other major jurisdictions, including the United States and Europe. Please see full article below for more information. (See Article)

TYPES OF BUSINESS ENTITIES - There are a number of business structures to choose from when starting a new business venture in Australia. Investors need to determine which form of business organisation is the most appropriate for their requirements. The main types of business structures used by investors in Australia are: - companies, including branch offices of foreign companies; - partnerships - joint ventures; and - trusts. Please see full Chapter below for more information. (See Article)

The Morrison Government's first major workplace reform Bill was introduced into Federal Parliament on 9 December 2020. The Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 (the Omnibus Bill) does not represent an overhaul of workplace laws, but applies touch paint to key aspects of the former Labor Government's Fair Work system that have created controversy, uncertainty and calls for change. It also aligns with the Government's focus on productivity, job creation and wage growth. (See Article)

As the historic year of 2020 draws to a close, the COVID-19 crisis has seen the global economy plunge into a deep recession, with only a glimpse of hope that the worst is now over. While COVID-19 continues to infect millions across the globe, we wanted to understand how the virus has impacted the lifeblood of every company – the working capital. How have companies reacted to rapid shifts or elimination of consumer demand? What did companies do to avoid bleeding out cash? FTI Consulting has analysed the annual reports of the 316 largest ASX listed companies that have reported their FY20 results. Please see full Publication below for more information. (See Article)

On December 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce published a notice initiating new administrative reviews for antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders with October anniversary dates. Listed below are the countries and products named in the notice: Australia I. Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products (A-602-809) Brazil I. Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products (A-351-845/C-351-846) India... (See Article)

Today the Government of Australia extended the ban against cruise travel a minimum of three months: Extending the human biosecurity emergency period by three months @GregHuntMP #auspol pic.twitter.com/K8KujktTE7 — Political Alert (@political_alert) December 8, 2020 Newspapers across Australia report that Australians are restricted from overseas travel or cruise ship holidays for at least three more months... (See Article)

Quick Summary. Located “down under” in the Southern Hemisphere and covering the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Australia consists of a mainland continent, the island of Tasmania, and several smaller islands. Australia comprises six states and 10 territories, with its capital at Canberra. Australia boasts the world’s 14th-largest economy and one of the highest per-capita incomes in the world. (See Article)

Foreign investment in Australia is regulated by the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) (FATA), its related regulations, and Australia’s Foreign Investment Policy (FIRB Policy). The Australian Federal Treasurer administers FATA and FIRB Policy, assisted by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). (See Article)

The New South Wales ("NSW") government recently released its Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap setting out a 20-year plan focused on delivering growth through investment in storage and renewables. The NSW government's Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap is a plan to deliver the major infrastructure needed to create a modern electricity system to NSW consisting of cheap, clean, reliable, affordable, and low carbon electricity that provides benefits for regional communities and reduces the cost of electricity... (See Article)

The 2019-2020 annual report marks 10 years of the national registration scheme. There are now 801,659 registered health practitioners in Australia (16 professions) of whom about 15% are medical practitioners. Key areas are summarised online. (See Article)