Business Law and Corporate Law

Organisations operating in Australia should ensure adequate resources to meet their compliance obligations.

Late yesterday, the ATO has finalised a Practical Compliance Guideline (PCG) outlining its approach to the application of the franking credit integrity rule for equity funded dividends.

ASIC expects all Licensees to comply with the conditions of their AFS or credit licence as well as the obligations which arise from the relevant financial services or credit laws.

In November 2009, the Federal Court of Australia (in Hine v New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation [2009] FCA 1242) considered whether or not a legal remedy was available for perceived injustices arising from a direction given by the Department of Housing (DOH) to its contractors, in circumstances where losses claimed were pure economic losses arising from dealings in a wholly commercial context.

On 21 April 2010 the High Court handed down its unanimous decision that damages are not available for the ‘loss of chance’ of a better medical outcome where the defendant’s negligence was merely a possible but less than a probable cause of the plaintiff’s damage.

In this case, the NSW Court of Appeal confirmed that the prima facie measure of damages where there are defects caused by a breach of a contractual obligation is the cost of rectification, provided the works to be carried out are both necessary under the contract and reasonable, affirming the principle espoused in Bellgrove v Eldridge.

An outdated discretionary trust can undermine asset protection & succession goals.

What is a FD trust? What does bringing kids into conrol look like? So should I?

Family discretionary trusts are a common way to preserve wealth, protect assets and ensure they are passed down to lineal descendants.

The ASX's current listing rules and waivers fail Australian shareholders. This has made it necessary for shareholders to take matters into their own hands and to constitutionally enshrine protections...

The new regime is a seismic shift from the current voluntary and informal process to a mandatory and suspensory process.

Impact of Australia's new mandatory merger control regime, dealmakers must navigate an evolving landscape.