Potential reform of Australia’s federal discrimination laws
The Australian Human Rights Commission is currently reviewing Australia’s federal discrimination laws and considering what reforms should be made to those laws. To that end, the Commission recently released a discussion paper, “Free and Equal: An Australian Conversation on Human Rights“, setting out its preliminary views on the priorities for reform. The paper notes that […]
ReadmoreNew whistleblower laws: ASIC consults on whistleblower policy requirements
We recently published a comprehensive guide to the new obligations for employers and the expanded protections for whistleblowers, under Australia’s revised corporate whistleblowing regime. That regime commenced operation on 1 July 2019 and creates a significant compliance burden for all companies, including the requirement for some companies to have a whistleblower policy. Who must […]
ReadmoreProprietary company changes – are you still “large”?
From 1 July 2019, changes to the regime governing reporting obligations of Australian proprietary companies will come into effect with the thresholds that determine when a company is a “large” proprietary company to be doubled. For Australian proprietary companies, the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) generally imposes less onerous financial reporting obligations than those […]
ReadmoreLegal snapshot: Australian capital raising exemptions
Companies seeking to raise capital in Australia through an offer of securities should familiarise themselves with the prospectus requirements and exemptions to those requirements in Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Corporations Act) before undertaking any fundraising activities. Generally, an offer of “securities” in Australia will require the preparation of a disclosure […]
ReadmoreIs it all in the name? Fundraising with SAFE notes
A relatively recent development in the world of fundraising for start-ups has been the use of “SAFE” (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) instruments. Y-Combinator, a seed funding platform based in Silicon Valley, claims to have developed it as a (potentially) standardised instrument and as an alternative to convertible notes, which can save companies and investors […]
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