Business Law and Corporate Law

Senior leaders from Australia's not-for-profit sector gathered to discuss the evolving challenges and opportunities facing their organisations in 2026. The boardroom lunch explored critical issues including governance frameworks, regulatory compliance, workforce sustainability, NDIS reform, and the strategic implications of artificial intelligence and data management for charitable organisations navigating an increasingly complex operating environment.

When setting up a charity, one of the most important early decisions is selecting the appropriate legal structure. This choice affects how the organisation is governed, its legal responsibilities, and its ability to grow and access funding. Two of the most common options are Incorporated Association (IA) and public Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG). However, each structure offers advantages and limitations depending on the charity’s size, scope, funding sources, and regulatory obligations.

A NSW case revolved around the question of whether or not a man had revoked a will, and whether his intentions were better reflected by a newer, unsigned will.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has proposed significant reforms to pre-lodgement advertising rules that would allow companies to communicate more freely with markets before filing disclosure documents. While offering greater flexibility for IPO offerors to gauge interest and address market commentary, the changes raise important questions about investor protection and the potential for premature investment decisions based on incomplete information.

Capital raising is often treated as a discrete event – a round closes, the money lands, and the business moves on. However, for some start-ups and scale-ups, raising capital is a long-term lifecycle decision: each raise shapes the next one, and early decisions around structure, disclosure settings and investor rights can compound over time.

Perfecting a security interest under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) is critical step for a secured party to ensure its security interest is not just enforceable against the grantor of the interest, but also against third parties. Perfection can occur by one of three ways: possession, control or registration on the PPS Register.

Obtaining certainty of being classified as a ‘fixed trust’ is now more important than ever for fund managers as the trustees of most non-fixed trusts are proposed to be subject to a 30% minimum tax from 1 July 2028.

The Australian Treasury has released exposure draft legislation detailing the implementation of a 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts, introducing a new election regime that allows trusts to nominate fixed distribution entitlements and avoid the minimum tax. While the draft addresses stakeholder feedback and provides rollover relief for restructuring, it presents complex compliance requirements, strict limitations on beneficiary variations, and potential resettlement issues that may create challenges

Australian taxpayers face a challenging paradox where courtroom victories against the Australian Taxation Office often prove pyrrhic, as favorable judicial decisions are routinely neutralized through swift legislative amendments and persistent administrative enforcement. Recent landmark cases involving trust distributions and capital gains definitions illustrate how the government systematically overrides judicial outcomes to protect revenue interests. Understanding this pattern of legislative intervention

The Australian Treasury has released exposure draft legislation detailing the implementation of a 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts, introducing a new election regime that allows trusts to nominate fixed distribution entitlements and avoid the minimum tax. While the draft addresses stakeholder feedback and provides rollover relief for restructuring, it presents complex compliance requirements, strict limitations on beneficiary variations, and potential resettlement issues that may create challenges

Last year, we wrote an article about how scheme booklets are becoming increasingly lengthy and potentially difficult for many shareholders to easily digest.

Joint venture exit risk is no longer determined primarily by formal exit rights, but by whether the underlying confidentiality, information access and governance frameworks can operate effectively in a live sale process. Where they cannot, transaction outcomes – including price, timing and even viability – become materially exposed.