By Murray Procter and Ashlee Miller Employers around Australia are grappling with the effect of a recent decision of the Full Federal Court1, which found that employers must pay annual leave to wider categories of employees than previously thought. This wider...
There is a requirement in the Planning Act 2016 (Qld) (Planning Act) for developers to obtain land owner’s consent prior to making development applications for a material change of use or reconfiguring a lot. There is a separate requirement in section 65 of the...
By Paul O'Dea and Nerida Whelan Earlier this year the Queensland parliament passed the Building and other Legislation (Cladding) Amendment Regulation 2018 (Qld), amending the Building Regulation 2006 (Qld) ("Regulation"), which will come into force on 1 October 2018....
By Peter Karcher and Elle Zhang Winter in Australia is fun. You pack up your snow gear and off you go to the winter wonderland. You are having the time of your life; sashaying down the slope with your new gear has made you temporarily forget about your problems and...
By Brad Vinning and Ruby Mackenzie-Harris Business is booming, however... Have you heard about Prospa? This startup shot to Australian Financial Review fame in early June this year. It is an online lender which offers unsecured business loans to small businesses which...
You lose a lucrative contract as a result of your supplier’s failure to meet its contractual obligations to you. You terminate your contract with the supplier and look to recover the profit you would have earned under the lost contract from the supplier but, oh no,...
By Peter Karcher and Jake Reid What is it? In December 2017 the Federal Government directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to conduct an inquiry to examine the impact of digital search engines, social media applications and online digital...
From time to time in business it may become necessary to enforce your legal rights by way of Court action. You may, for example, need to enforce the terms of a contract, seek redress for negligence or enforce your statutory rights. If you do find yourself in that...
Developers and foreign investors should be aware that in response to the recent Queensland State Budget there will be an increased stamp duty surcharge on foreign buyers for the acquisition of residential property, under the Duties Act 2001, from 1 July 2018. The...
The recent case of FKP Commercial Developments Pty Ltd (“FKP”) v Albion Mill FCP Pty Ltd (“Albion Mill”) has highlighted that when disposing of “contaminated land” in Queensland that vendors should be clear and unequivocal when constructing and serving the relevant...
By Ruby Mackenzie-Harris and Brad Vinning Have you thought about whether you need to register your business’ domain name as a trade mark? Depending on your circumstances, this may or may not be a necessary step to protect your intellectual property (“IP”). Getting...
Do think you’ve successfully made an enterprise agreement because the agreement was approved by a ballot of employees and by the Fair Work Commission? Think again. This year, the Full Federal Court overturned an enterprise agreement two and half years after it was...