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...
ANNOUNCEMENT: ClarkeKann’s Tim Ferrier & Agribusiness Practice Named in the 2018 Doyle’s Guide
We are delighted to announce that our CK Agribusiness team, and in particular our Consultant and Head of the CK Agribusiness team, Tim Ferrier, has been recognised in the 2018 Doyle’s Guide to Australia’s best legal firms and lawyers in the following categories:...
7 steps to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations
By Ruby Mackenzie-Harris and Brad Vinning Did you know that if your business uses or collects the data of customers, clients or users who reside in the European Union, you will have to comply with the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulations (“GDPR”) as of 25 May...
The restriction on the exercise of ‘Ipso Facto’ rights – What does it mean for the construction industry?
EDIT 31 MAY 2018: The Minister for Revenue and Financial Services has now issued an explanatory statement as well as a draft declaration and draft regulations which outline various rights and agreements which are proposed to be exempted from the ‘ipso facto’...
ANNOUNCEMENT: ClarkeKann’s Judd Last named in 2018 Doyle’s Guide
We are excited to announce that the efforts and achievements of our Retirement Living, Aged Care & Manufactured Home Estates Partner Judd Last have been recognised in the 2018 Doyle’s Guide to Australia’s best legal firms and lawyers, in the following categories:...
Beyond the glamour: Amazon Brand Registry and brand protection online
By Peter Karcher and Elle Zhang You are a successful beauty product expert, blogger, entrepreneur, Instagram sensation and most importantly, a hard working business owner. You sell your popular products (these life-changing little bottles of face oil) through online...
Hey, that’s not fair! Contract renewed automatically – when did that happen?
By Peter Karcher and Elle Zhang If you are a supplier (of services or products) or just a hard working business owner, chances are, you have tried to sneak in an automatic renewal clause in your standard terms and conditions (or have, in fact, successfully...
Check your timesheets – in excess of $120,000 in penalties for Employer who failed to keep time and wages records
By Murray Procter and Blair McAuliffe The case of Fair Work Ombudsman v Pulis Plumbing Pty Ltd & Anor serves as a warning to employers that a failure to comply with employee records obligations not only leads to significant penalties, but highlights that employers...
When a picture really is worth 1000 words – The "comic contract" movement
By Murray Procter and Ben Keenan In an age when the most popular form of communication is limited to 280 characters, it is unsurprising that the public’s tolerance for dense, overly complex legal contracts is in decline. It now appears that the process of...
GST withholding laws passed for property transactions
In November 2017 we released an update about draft Federal legislation proposing to shift the responsibility for paying GST on new residential premises from Developers to Purchasers (“GST Withholding law”). These amendments have now passed through parliament. The...
How to make an employee redundant and avoid legal risk
Redundancy is a legitimate reason for terminating employment. However, managers need to ensure proper process is followed to avoid unfair dismissal and adverse action claims under the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). What is a redundancy? Positions are made redundant, not...
Data Breach: Where and how are data breaches really occurring?
By Peter Karcher, Partner and Jake Reid, Lawyer Six weeks after the commencement of the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) published its first quarterly report on mandatory data breach...