Gadens Connect | 2020 Edition Two
Welcome to the second edition of Gadens Connect, and our first quarter update of 2020. This year has seen many challenges for lenders, from bushfires to the more recent COVID-19 pandemic. We know you have been working hard to support thousands of affected customers and we are here to work with you, and support your […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | Victorian regulations provide much needed guidance on rent relief obligations for Victorian landlords and tenants during the COVID-19 pandemic
The long awaited COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) (Commercial Leases and Licences) Regulations 2020 (Regulations) have now been released, giving effect to the National Cabinet Mandatory Code of Conduct and some much needed guidance for Victorian landlords and tenants. The Regulations apply to “eligible leases” for the “relevant period”, from 29 March 2020 until 29 September […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | COVIDSafe – An update: what do the experts think?
As expected, the COVIDSafe app has spurred debate, and has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of “data privacy experts” (including politicians) who are willing to publicly express their views! Since our earlier article, there have been a number of developments, including those discussed below. While there are those who have enthusiastically installed the […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | Banking & Finance Update – Part 1
In these unprecedented times of COVID-19 the financial services industry is undergoing a number of legal changes. These changes aim to provide greater protection for consumers and implement new processes and procedures in light of the social distancing rules. Part 1 of this legal update looks at the introduction of electronic signatures on affidavits and […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | Residential Tenants affected by COVID-19 and Impact on Sale Contracts (QLD)
Controversial new laws giving temporary relief to Queensland residential tenants affected by the COVID-19 emergency came into effect on 24 April 2020[1]. The new laws override a number of provisions in the residential tenancies legislation[2] until 31 December 2020. The new laws attempt to strike a fair balance between: the public health need of avoiding […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | Webinar | JobKeeper | One month on
It’s one month since the JobKeeper payment was announced, and our panel of experts discussed what we are seeing in the market at the moment. Gadens Partners Siobhan Mulcahy (Employment Advisory), Peter Poulos (Corporate Advisory & Tax) and Andrew Kennedy (Property & Construction) covered the ‘in-the-field’ challenges, practicalities and strategies in implementing JobKeeper, and how […]
ReadmoreThe Impending General Prohibition of Hawking Financial Products and what this will mean for Financial Service Providers
The Federal Government is preparing to introduce the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response—Protecting Consumers (2020 Measures)) Bill 2020: Hawking of financial products (the Bill) in response to the recommendations of the Hayne Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry that all hawking of insurance and superannuation products should […]
ReadmoreFederal Court seeks to limit High Court’s ban on Common Fund Orders
Tensions have intensified as the Federal Court experiments with alternative funding arrangements to revive common fund orders that were rejected by the High Court in certain circumstances. On 13 March 2020, the Federal Court in McKay Super Solutions Pty Ltd (Trustee) v Bellamy’s Australia Ltd (No 3) [2020] FCA 461 (Justice J Beach) (Bellamy’s No […]
ReadmoreA warning to Liquidators: comply with your disclosure obligations or face dismissal of your unfair preference proceedings
In Clifton (Liquidator) v Kerry J Investment Pty Ltd trading as Clenergy [2020] FCAFC 5, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia found that: where the Liquidators failed to comply with their discovery obligations and the Court could not be satisfied regarding the existence of documents which might be deployed by innocent parties to meet […]
ReadmoreWhy courts from different jurisdictions are sitting together: Australia’s experimentation with joint hearings
Australian courts regularly cooperate with courts of different jurisdictions, both domestically and internationally. We see this, for example, when courts transfer proceedings to different jurisdictions, or stay proceedings to allow the continuation of proceedings in different jurisdictions. In recent times we have also seen the rise of a more direct form of judicial cooperation: joint […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | Contact tracing? There’s an app for that!
Effective and widespread contact tracing is considered to be a critical step in managing and containing the spread of COVID-19. The Commonwealth has released COVIDSafe, a mobile app to assist in determining who may have been exposed to the virus. Additionally, a contact tracing protocol is being developed by Apple and Google which will be […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | Update: NSW Government introduces new regulations for retail and commercial leasing
Following the Mandatory Code of Conduct released by the National Cabinet on 7 April 2020 (Code), the New South Wales Government has introduced the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2020 (Regulations). The Regulations introduce temporary measures to provide urgent relief for retail and commercial tenants as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The […]
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