Supercharge your Death Benefits
When it comes to estate planning, most clients know how important it is to have an up to date will. What a lot of clients don’t know is that their biggest asset may not be covered by the will. It used to be said that the family home was the biggest investment most people ever […]
What a Waste: Small Business Unfair Contracts
ACCC v JJ Richards & Sons Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 1224 In early 2016 we reported on the planned start of the new small business unfair contracts regime under the Australian Consumer Law click here. The unfair business contracts regime started in November 2016. It has taken less than 12 months for a court to […]
A Thorne in two Binding Financial Agreements?
The unanimous High Court ruling in Thorne v Kennedy [2017] HCA 49 highlights the broadened circumstances in which financial agreements can be set aside in Australia, casting considerable doubt on agreements that are heavily weighted in favour of one party. The court set aside two financial agreements that were made pursuant to Part VIIIA of […]
If It Quacks Like a Duck, It’s Probably Ms Duck
Sham Contracting Update – Class Actions A new class of class actions is hitting the Australian courts and creating headaches for putative employers. The Federal Court has four class actions now where employee entitlements are being claimed for contracted workers using the sham contracting and general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act. It was […]
Beware the Ides of Short Term Rentals – Short Term Lettings and Property Investors
Short Term Lettings and Property Investors Short term lettings have been for some investors and absolute bonanza, returning well above average returns. However, short term rentals have been in a legal limbo since a NSW court decided that short term lettings were not lawful under local planning laws. Do you remember the story (only four […]
A Cladding Tinderbox: Will your High Rise Insulate or Immolate?
A Cladding Tinderbox: Will your High Rise Insulate or Immolate? No-one wants to get caught in a high rise fire. A spate of external cladding fires around the world has prompted new precautions. Anyone that owns or lives in a residential high rise should read on. Inflammable aluminium composite panels were banned in NSW from […]
Binding Death Benefits and Loss of Capacity and Powers of Attorney
Peter McNamara has previously warned that you get your superannuation death benefits sorted: http://www.cml.com.au/wills-smsfs-and-binding-death-benefit-nominations-get-yours-in-line Now a recent case shows that you should get your powers of attorney sorted as well. What happens to your superannuation if you lose capacity? Your superannuation death benefits will be dealt with as set out in the superannuation trust deed. Most […]
Employees Steal the Business – But Employers get it back
Poaching staff from competitors is not uncommon, but can be risky. Employers must be sure that new employees are not acting in breach of obligations to their former employers. In a recent High Court case, the new employer was ordered to disgorge the whole of its business, taken from the old employer, and to pay […]
Casual gets Annual Leave
Casuals can get permanent entitlements. In a recent case an employer was ordered to pay annual leave for a casual employee. If the worker looks permanent, the worker probably is. If you have casual employees, you may be at risk – read on: The Federal Court has ordered that a casual employee be paid annual […]
New Obligations: Mandatory Data Breach Notification Laws
Just when you thought discovering a data breach within your organisation was already a headache – such as a lost company computer or an employee disclosing unauthorised information – from 22 February 2018 this could become a migraine as you are now obliged to notify the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and any […]