Latest publications
Redundancy
Introduction Many employers struggle with issues around redundancy. For example, when and if they can make a person redundant and if so, how much is it going to cost them? A context in which the issue of redundancy frequently crops up is, when a business is sold and a new owner offers jobs to the…
Open for Registration of Interest… PPSA — The Ups and Downs of Transition
Pre- and post-PPSA interests. Out with the old? Not quite. It’s now just over four months since the commencement of the Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA) and we are starting to see some interesting outcomes that highlight the importance of considering whether you should be registering certain security interests, and the…
Enforcing Trade Restraints — Two year restraint can be reasonable
Introduction Employers commonly include restraint of trade clauses in contracts of employment to seek to protect themselves from their employees poaching their clients or staff, or for working for a competitor. At common law, restraints are contrary to public policy and are therefore prima facie void, unless they can be shown…
New National Business Names Register — Do I need to do anything?
A New System A new national business names registration service commenced on 28 May 2012. The new service replaces the previous State and Territory systems and is administered and managed by the Australian Securities Investments Commission. The national system is designed to reduce red tape, save time and cut costs for Australian…
Some caveats may compromise a mortgagee power of sale
In Brief Some caveats registered on the title to real property can create obstacles to the conveyancing process in a mortgagee power of sale, even if the caveat is registered subsequent to the mortgage under which the mortgagee is exercising its power of sale. Generally, a caveat freezes the Register, preserving the status quo. …
Changes to insolvency notices publication requirements
In Brief The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced that changes to the way most corporate insolvency notices need to be published, will come into effect on 1 July 2012. The changes will mean that under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) most insolvency notices will need to be published on…
First round of amendments to the Privacy Act introduced into Parliament
On 23 May 2012, the Commonwealth Government introduced its legislation to implement the first stage of its reforms to Australia’s privacy laws. The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill was introduced into Parliament after a lengthy consultation and review process, by the Australian Law Reform Commission, the government and a number of…
First steps to reform Australian privacy laws
Recently, on 24 June 2010, the Federal Cabinet Secretary, Senator the Honourable Joe Ludwig, released exposure draft legislation that Government proposes in order to implement its first stage response to reform privacy law in Australia. This is the first formal step by the Government to implement the recommendations of the…
Footy Wars Continue: Optus’ win reversed by Full Federal Court
Footy Wars Continue: Optus’ win reversed by Full Federal Court In our previous article, “Optus Wins Most Recent Footy Wars”, we looked at the Federal Court’s decision permitting Optus to offer its users “near-live” broadcasts of sporting events, without having to pay licence fees to the rights holders, under the “time-shifting”…
iiNet may have prevailed in copyright infringement case, but ISPs should beware
In Brief After much deliberation, the iiNet matter has been laid to rest with the High Court upholding the Full Federal Court decision that iiNet is not liable for the copyright infringing actions of its customers. Ultimately, the case turned on what it meant to “authorise” conduct in breach of section…