Business Law and Corporate Law

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

A new proposed minimum tax on discretionary trusts aims to prevent income-splitting but could inadvertently capture commercial trust structures used by property and infrastructure groups. The definitional challenge centers on what constitutes a 'discretionary trust' and whether the existing fixed trust rules are appropriate for determining scope. Without proper limitations, many multi-layered structures with no income-splitting function may face unintended tax consequences and compliance burdens.

On Tuesday, 12 May 2026, the Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers, handed down the 2026–27 Federal Budget. The Federal Budget introduces the most significant tax reforms aimed at reshaping how income and wealth are taxed in Australia. The Government is seeking to rebalance the system by reducing tax on income from work and increasing tax on income from assets, and then using that difference to fund personal tax relief and influence housing behaviour.

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.

The 2026–27 Budget's capital gains tax (CGT) reforms are the most significant recalibration of the investor tax base in 25 years. For gains accruing from 1 July 2027, the 50 per cent CGT discount available...

Employee share schemes can become complicated assets in property settlements, especially when equity vests after separation. Australian family courts treat unvested options, performance rights and bonuses differently depending on timing and conditions, with case law pulling in conflicting directions on whether they constitute divisible property or merely financial resources.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors measure how responsibly a company operates across its environmental impact, treatment of people, and standards of governance. As investors, customers, and employees demand greater accountability, ESG oversight has become a core board responsibility, not an optional add-on.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case. However, with the introduction of Payday Super on 1 July 2026, understanding ongoing director liability has become even more important.

As economic conditions tighten across Australia, insolvency practitioners, creditors, and regulators are increasingly focused on phoenix activity. While business restructures are legitimate...

As artificial intelligence becomes deeply embedded in organisational operations and decision-making, boards face a critical governance challenge: could they explain and defend their AI use if called before a regulator or Royal Commission tomorrow? This article examines why AI governance has become a board-level issue and what evidence organisations would need to produce under regulatory scrutiny.