Executive officer and company fined for breaches of the EP Act

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (EP Act), it is an offence to breach a condition of an environmental authority (EA). Where an offence is committed by a corporation, executive officers of the corporation also commit an offence of failing to ensure the corporation complies with the EP Act. As is demonstrated by the following, […]

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The Fair Work Commission Tackles “Flexism”

In recent years, there has been a push to ensure employees are not subject to sexism, ageism and racism in the workforce. The new term ‘flexism’[1], has now taken the spotlight. The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has recently handed down a decision considering ‘family friendly work arrangements’ as a part of […]

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Gadens: PEXA leader among Australian law firms

The Gadens Brisbane Banking and Finance Group is a well-established team with significant experience in PEXA and the electronic conveyancing network. Gadens, with its already proven banking track record, has added a further string to their bow by becoming one of the leading transacting law practices on PEXA in Queensland with over 18,630 completed PEXA transactions, including over […]

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New National Gift Card Law

Following New South Wales and South Australia introducing a minimum 3 year expiry date on gift cards / vouchers sold in 2018, the Federal Government passed a similar law on 18 October 2018 which applies to all States and Territories. Click here to view full size pdf, with details. 

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Sponsored posts on social media: what do I need to know?

Advertisers and social media users (importantly, social media influencers) must ensure that posts or comments made on social media platforms are compliant with the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Code of Ethics (the Code). What is the Code? The Code is the overarching document that sets out the applicable standards across any medium for […]

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Ipso facto reforms: can I enforce my contractual rights?

Ipso facto clauses are contractual provisions that allow a party to terminate or modify the operation of a contract on the occurrence of a specified event. The Federal Government has introduced reforms which limit the rights of a party to enforce ipso facto clauses in certain insolvency scenarios. The reforms came into effect on 1 […]

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Employment Lifecycle Series | On-boarding and induction essentials

Now that you have bedded down your recruitment processes (with the tips from the first article in our Employment Lifecycle Series – Getting Your Recruitment Processes Right), it might be time to review and consider how best to design and tailor your induction and on-boarding to suit your business’ needs. This article sets out our […]

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Victorian Government reinforces commitment to Solar Energy with new Guidelines

The Victorian Government recently released draft Solar Energy Facilities – Design and Development Guidelines (Guidelines) to assist the development of large-scale solar energy facilities. It is intended that following consultation with the community and industry, the final version of the Guidelines will become a source of advice on the development of best practice facilities in […]

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Employment Lifecycle Series | Getting your recruitment processes right

Gadens’ Employment Advisory Team is pleased to introduce its new series of alerts covering the employment life cycle: From the Cradle to the Grave… From Recruitment to Termination. In this series we will bring you regular updates with useful tips on issues that our clients have encountered at all stages of the employment lifecycle, including […]

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Introducing the Australian Financial Complaints Authority: A Comparison Guide

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority commences on 1 November 2018. We have prepared this guide which sets out some of the key differences between FOS and AFCA and their jurisdiction to consider complaints. Click here to view.  Authored by:  Annette Gaber, Partner Clementine Woodhouse, Associate

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Taxpayers sacrificed at the accountant’s altar

The Government has released its new framework for taxing private company loans which will create significant cash flow and tax costs for private business in a once in ten year bonanza for accountants. The new rules deal with “Division 7A”, which currently deems private company loans to individuals and trusts to be unfranked dividends unless […]

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Update on unfair preferences and statutory set-off

One of a liquidator’s most powerful tools is the ability to seek to recover unfair preferences from creditors for the purposes of increasing the pool of assets available to creditors generally. Proceedings to recover unfair preferences can be costly and it is imperative that a liquidator assess not only the evidence available to prove the […]

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