Regard­less of the eco­nom­ic land­scape, there will always be chal­lenges and oppor­tu­ni­ties for busi­ness­es. Our aim is to help iden­ti­fy the legal, com­mer­cial issues and solu­tions to help you stay ahead of the market.

Our team pos­sess­es the indus­try exper­tise, resources and strong com­mer­cial acu­men to pro­vide you with prac­ti­cal val­ue for mon­ey legal solutions 

We under­stand the industry’s dri­vers and oper­a­tions and rep­re­sent a vari­ety of enti­ties in the bank­ing and finan­cial ser­vices sec­tor, includ­ing finan­cial insti­tu­tions, alter­na­tive financiers, fund trustees, whole­sale and retail invest­ment trusts, trustees & cus­to­di­ans, pri­vate lenders, and finan­cial plan­ning groups. 

Our team serves major domes­tic and inter­na­tion­al clients and offers com­pli­ance, trans­ac­tion­al, struc­tur­al, and enforce­ment advice for lenders and investors.

We spe­cialise in pro­vid­ing com­pre­hen­sive legal guid­ance to help with the com­plex­i­ties of busi­ness financ­ing, par­tic­u­lar­ly in the areas of asset-based lend­ing and cash flow financ­ing. Both cash flow and asset-based lend­ing have their advan­tages and are suit­able for dif­fer­ent types of busi­ness­es. Under­stand­ing the nuances of each can help you make an informed deci­sion about which type of financ­ing is best for your business.

Use­ful links:

In addi­tion to leg­is­la­tion, both ASIC and APRA issue reg­u­la­to­ry and pol­i­cy state­ments, as well as infor­ma­tion sheets that pro­vide guid­ance to reg­u­lat­ed enti­ties on how leg­is­la­tion applies and should be inter­pret­ed. In par­tic­u­lar, ASIC focus­es on the Cor­po­ra­tions Act and gives fre­quent updates to pro­vide prac­ti­cal guid­ance on its expec­ta­tions and pol­i­cy objec­tives with respect to com­pli­ance with the law.

No mat­ter how rou­tine or com­plex the busi­ness issues you face, Mer­i­tas’ net­work of law firms is with you every step of the way. Mar­ket-lead­ing firms offer a full range of legal ser­vices, which enable you to do busi­ness any­where. Wise coun­sel and prac­ti­cal solu­tions are just a phone call or e‑mail away. Dis­cov­er the breadth and depth of the prac­tice and indus­try sec­tor capa­bil­i­ties avail­able to you through Meritas.

Publications

Fail­ing to Reg­is­ter a PPSR Secu­ri­ty Inter­est on Time – Legal Risks and Options

Intro­duc­tionTime­ly reg­is­tra­tion of secu­ri­ty inter­ests under the Per­son­al Prop­er­ty Secu­ri­ties Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) is essen­tial for secured cred­i­tors to…

Fed­er­al Bud­get 2025: Lim­i­ta­tion on Non-Com­pete Clauses

As part of the 2025 Fed­er­al Bud­get, the gov­ern­ment has announced a pro­hi­bi­tion on non-com­pete claus­es for employ­ees earn­ing less than…

FWC Sets Bar High for Pol­i­cy Changes

In the recent unfair dis­missal deci­sion of Craig Han­cock v Syd­ney Inter­na­tion­al Con­tain­er Ter­mi­nals Pty Lim­it­ed [2025] FWC 516, Deputy Pres­i­dent Wright…

In the News

Michael Byrnes appeared on Break­fast with Ron Wil­son on 2SM on 2 April 2025 to dis­cuss the pro­posed lim­i­ta­tion on non-com­pete clauses

Michael Byrnes appeared on Break­fast with Ron Wil­son on 2SM on 2 April 2025 to dis­cuss the pro­posed lim­i­ta­tion on non-com­pete clausesTo…

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, Employ­ers, unions clash over non-com­pete clause ban”, pub­lished in The Aus­tralian on 26 March 2025

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“Employ­ers, unions clash over non-com­pete clause ban”, pub­lished in The Aus­tralian on 2…

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, Employ­ers’ game of bluff’ with non-com­pete claus­es is over”, pub­lished in HR Leader on 27 March 2025

Michael Byrnes is quot­ed in the arti­cle, ​“Employ­ers’ ​‘game of bluff’ with non-com­pete claus­es is over”, pub­lished in HR Leader…