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Latest documents

• Victoria Legislates Workplace Manslaughter

  WHAT IS HAPPENING? The State of Victoria has become the latest Australian jurisdiction to make 'Workplace Manslaughter' a criminal offence, with significant penalties and potential imprisonment for individuals guilty of the offence.

• Establishing A Business Entity In Australia (Updated)

  1. Types of business entities -
 
 1.1 Types of entities available through which to conduct business -
 
 The following entities are recognized as business structures to conduct business under Australian law:
 
 Sole trader -
 
 A sole trader is the simplest form available as a business structure where an individual trades under their own name or under a registered business name. It is easy to set up as there are few legal and tax formalities required. The business name is easily registered for a minimal fee. A sole trader does not need a separate Tax File Number (TFN) or business bank account, unlike a public or private company....
 
 Please see full Chapter below for more information.

• Doing Business in Australia

  Our comprehensive Guide to Doing Business in Australia, developed from the experience of our lawyers across our four key markets in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, explores the many legal and regulatory factors to consider when entering or working in the market Down Under. Please see full publication below for more information.

• Protecting Your Corporate Keys

  In an era of online banks and ASIC Corporate Keys, the management of access to your company's digital platforms, which are often critical to your operations, is an essential element of good governance practices.

• What Is a Director to Do About "Culture"?

  The Situation: Directors and executives are largely responsible for the culture of companies, and regulators are seeking to hold them accountable for misconduct that can be traced to poor culture.
 
 The Key Message: Culture can and should be assessed on a regular basis. In meeting their duties, directors should consider whether they need to have in place tools and systems that enable them to assess and monitor culture. This is not just a compliance step required in order to meet legal obligations; a strong culture is an opportunity to create sustainable high performance and returns.

• Australian Taxation Office Increases Scrutiny of Australian Inbound Investments

  The Situation: The Australian Taxation Office ("ATO") has broadened its role in the process for reviewing foreign investment proposals, through closer engagement with foreign investors pursuing acquisitions, mergers and restructures in Australia.
 
 The Result: The ATO's new approach—which is in place now—aims to centralise monitoring of tax compliance issues for implemented transactions. Even though a foreign investment may have been approved by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board ("FIRB") and therefore been through an initial screening by the ATO, inbound investors should now expect that the ATO will conduct a post-implementation review of the tax issues associated with the investment. The main benefit of this is to allow any tax issues to be identified and dealt with by the ATO and taxpayers as soon as possible after a transaction has been implemented.

• Ready or not – changes to the ASX Listing Rules come into effect on 1 December 2019

  There are 171 pages of ASX Listing Rules changes, five amended Appendix Forms, six new Guidance Notes and 12 updated Guidance Notes which largely come into effect on 1 December 2019. Please refer to our earlier articles Proposed changes to the ASX Listing Rules, and Amendments to ASX Listing Rules to take effect 1 December 2019 for more background information on the amendments to the ASX Listing Rules.

• Changes Ahead for Australia’s Corporate Criminal Liability Regime

  The Situation: At the direction of the Attorney General of Australia, the Australian Law Reform Commission ("ALRC") is undertaking a comprehensive review of Australia's Commonwealth corporate criminal liability regime. The ALRC is due to release a discussion paper on proposed reforms shortly.
 
 The Result: The terms of reference indicate the ALRC is considering a broad range of issues including avenues to strengthen and simplify the existing statutory mechanisms for attributing criminal liability to companies found in Part 2.5 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The ALRC has also been asked to consider incorporating provisions of general application into Part 2.5 to facilitate senior corporate officers being held criminally liable for corporate misconduct and to consider the appropriateness of existing criminal procedure laws as they apply to corporations.

• ASIC Whistleblower Policy Requirements More Onerous but 1 January Deadline Remains

  WHAT HAS HAPPENED?
 
 ASIC has released Regulatory Guide 270 for Whistleblower Policies. Despite concerns raised that the Guide's requirements are onerous and will require companies to once again amend their policy to ensure compliance, ASIC has not extended the 1 January 2020 deadline.

• Open Super in Australia: The Consumer Data Right Could Be Extended to the Superannuation Industry

  On 23 October 2019, the Senate Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology (Committee) published an issues paper regarding its comprehensive inquiry into fintechs and regtechs in Australia.

Featured documents

• Divide by three - APRA turns twelve prudential standards into four

  Following its December 2010 consultation package, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released four prudential standards, intended to consolidate 12 existing standards across the authorised deposit-taking, general insurance and life insurance industries.

 

 Th...

• Tax credits for fuel and transport emissions: The sting in the carbon price tail

  The ‘500 polluters’ tagline has proved popular amongst the commentariat for explaining the reduced coverage of the Gillard Government’s carbon price mechanism, however, this is only part of the story.

 

 An ‘equivalent carbon price’ will also be placed on many transport fuels via...

• Complex Financial Products – International Support for yet More Investor Protection

  The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has recently released its final report on "Suitability Requirements with respect to the Distribution of Complex Financial Products" (Report), which outlines the key principles in respect of the distribution of such products...

• News from Abroad: Lilly Successfully Defends Zyprexa Compound Patent In Australia

  Originally published in Wrays on March 27, 2013.
 
 
 
 On 15 March 2013, the Australian Federal Court upheld Eli Lilly's patent for the active compound in their highly successful product ZYPREXA®. Lilly successfully defended the validity of the patent against a wide-ranging attack ...

• NSW State Government Introduces New Legislation for Public Sector Employment

  Australia's largest employer is the State Government of New South Wales and its agencies. It represents AUD60 billion of the economy in New South Wales. Any reform in the public sector is, therefore, important to us all.
 
 On 23 May 2013, the NSW State Premier Barry O'Farrell introduced...

• ASIC Enforces its Newly Implemented Guidance on Rights Offerings

  Following the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) recent overhaul of its regulatory guidance on takeovers, ASIC has demonstrated its commitment to enforcing its takeovers policy and maintaining market integrity by intervening in two separate corporate transactions involving...

• Proposed Amendments to the Corporate Governance Principles

  In August last year, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) Corporate Governance Council (Council) undertook a review of the Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations (Recommendations) in response to the corporate governance failures that emerged in the aftermath of the Global Financial ...

• End of Year Checklist

  As 2013 comes to an end, it's time for Australian employers start actioning their end of year employment checklist.
 
 
 
 1. Annual Shutdowns -
 
 
 
 Many Modern Awards require employers to provide a minimum of four weeks' notice of an annual shutdown. Notice must...

• Australian New Energy White Paper Process Commences

  The Australian Federal Government (Government) has taken its first step towards creating a new national energy policy by releasing an Energy Policy Issues Paper (Issues Paper) seeking stakeholder input on a range of priority areas.
 
 
 
 As signalled by the Coalition in its...

• Bank Late Payment Fees Held to be Penalties – Class Action Risk for Other Industries

  Paciocco v ANZ [2014] FCA 35 -
 
 
 
 The Federal Court of Australia (Federal Court) has held that late payment fees charged by a bank to its credit card customers were unlawful penalties. 
 
 
 
 Paciocco v ANZ [2014] FCA 35 is the first case to be decided following ...