Personal Property Securities Act – register or regret
State and local governments have large asset portfolios and enter hundreds – if not thousands – of property dealings every year. The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 Cth (the Act) has critical implications for common property transactions. Government property owners: need to be alert to the real risk of losing title to goods if appropriate […]
ReadmoreChanges in the pipeline for data protection in Queensland
2018 has been a big year in data. Spurred on by recent well publicised global data breaches such as the Cambridge Analytica‘s data harvesting of Facebook in the lead up to the 2016 US presidential elections), this year has seen the introduction of ground-breaking new data laws both in Australia and internationally. This article explores […]
ReadmoreIpso Facto Reforms
On 1 July 2018, the Australian Government’s ipso facto reforms (the Reforms) came into effect.[1] Rather than prohibiting the inclusion of ipso facto clauses, the Reforms impose statutory limitations on the enforcement of certain rights found in contracts, agreements or arrangements. It is crucial that government and government agencies understand these Reforms and take them […]
ReadmoreEthics of Public Sector Decision Making
Governments keep getting bigger. The exercise of their powers is more far-reaching than ever before. As powerful as government may be, there is no such thing in Australia as unlimited official power. Governments can only exercise the powers vested in them. Governments exist only to serve the public interest and the courts will hold them […]
ReadmoreFarm Debt Mediation Act 2018 (SA)
3 September 2018 marked the commencement of the Farm Debt Mediation Act 2018 (SA) (Act), to be administered by the South Australian Small Business Commissioner (Commissioner). The Act enshrines in law mandatory farm debt mediation, bringing South Australia into line with its eastern state counterparts – New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. The object of […]
ReadmoreProfiles in Privacy | Fiona Anderson, Treasury Wine Estates
In our Profiles in Privacy series, we profile prominent players in privacy and data protection in Australia. Fiona Anderson, Senior Legal Counsel at Treasury Wine Estates, has nearly 18 years experience as a commercial lawyer. She has been in the legal team at Treasury Wine Estates for over 7 years and takes the lead within […]
ReadmoreElectricity regulatory framework under further review – changes ahead for both embedded networks and stand-alone power systems
The Australian Energy Markets Commission has recently announced two separate reviews – one into the regulation of embedded networks and the other into stand-alone power systems. With the national electricity framework having been founded on a centralised electricity supply model, the explosive growth of both embedded networks and large-scale localised generation options has presented challenges […]
ReadmoreRefusing Consent to Assign a Retail Premises Lease
The recent VCAT decision of AVC Operations Pty Ltd v Teley Pty Ltd [2018] VCAT 931 (AVC Operations) serves to remind us of the limited power of landlords to refuse consent to a request to assign a retail premises lease. When can a landlord refuse consent? Section 60 of the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) […]
ReadmoreTrade Incentives
Trade Incentive Promotions run business to business, or business to employee, rather than business to consumer. Here is an overview of those things to consider, when running trade incentive promotions. Click here to view full size image. Authored by: David Smith, Partner Jess Bell, Paralegal Allison Rickard, Paralegal
ReadmoreThe sun sets on developers using Sunset Clauses
Developers are in the firing line again as the Victorian Government seeks to restrict the ability of developers to terminate an “off the plan” contract of sale. The Sale of Land Amendment Bill 2018 (Vic) (Bill) was introduced to the Parliament by the Minister for Consumer Affairs on 21 August 2018. The Bill seeks to […]
ReadmoreRights of a mortgagee dispossessed of land
If you are a mortgagee, or acting for one, you may encounter a situation where you have obtained judgment against a mortgagor for possession of land and, after executing a warrant of possession to gain vacant possession, the mortgagor and/or their associates have unlawfully re-entered the property. In a recent Supreme Court of Victoria case[1] […]
ReadmoreAmerind – insolvent corporate trustees and the Corporations Act 2001 priority regime – still a grey area
The Victorian Court of Appeal in Amerind[1] considered whether the right of indemnity from trust assets held by an insolvent trustee company is ‘property of the company’. If so, the Court considered whether the statutory scheme of priority contained in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) applies to the distribution of the relevant property. […]
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