Scope of the Coal Mining Board of Inquiry into methane incidents On 31 May 2021, the Queensland Coal Mining Board of Inquiry (Board of Inquiry) concluded its examination of the nature and cause of the 6 May 2020 serious accident at Grosvenor mine, near Moranbah, in which five coal mine workers sustained injuries. The Board …
Category Archives: Insight
Key lessons in Australian crowd-sourced funding.
From set up to shareholders- understand your legal obligations to ensure success. Part 2 of 5: managing the logistics of increased shareholders In this, the second of a series of five articles, McCullough Robertson’s start-up expert, Partner Ben Wood discusses some of the options available to a crowd-sourced funding (CSF) company to handle its members …
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Key lessons in Australian crowd-sourced funding.
From set up to shareholders- understand your legal obligations to ensure success. Part 5 of 5: getting the most out of your directors In this, fifth, and final, article of the series, McCullough Robertson’s start-up expert, Partner Ben Wood shares his insights into building a board of directors and facilitating director and shareholder meetings. Director …
Continue reading “Key lessons in Australian crowd-sourced funding.”
Key lessons in Australian crowd-sourced funding.
From set up to shareholders- understand your legal obligations to ensure success. Part 4 of 5: mechanisms to control how shareholders manage shares In this, the fourth of a series of five articles, McCullough Robertson’s start-up expert, Partner Ben Wood examines some of the mechanisms a crowd-sourced funding (CSF) company can include in its constitution …
Continue reading “Key lessons in Australian crowd-sourced funding.”
Key lessons in Australian crowd-sourced funding.
From set up to shareholders- understand your legal obligations to ensure success. Part 3 of 5: defining the rights and obligations of shareholders in a CSF company One of the complexities that we have dealt with in working with equity crowd-sourced funding (CSF) companies is reconciling the interests of existing shareholders with those of the …
Continue reading “Key lessons in Australian crowd-sourced funding.”
Key lessons in Australian crowd-sourced funding.
From set up to shareholders- understand your legal obligations to ensure success. Part 1 of 5: an overview of crowd-sourced funding Since October 2018, the Corporations Amendment (Crowd-Sourced Funding For Proprietary Companies) Act 2017 (Cth) has allowed proprietary companies to raise capital through crowd-sourced funding (CSF) in return for equity in the company. Prior to …
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Retaining the best employees: 4 key employment considerations for your RegTech business so key innovators don’t leave with your ideas
The regulatory technology (RegTech) sector has gained rapid traction in recent years. Young RegTech companies seeking to differentiate themselves in a booming industry will only be as innovative as their employees. In Australia, these businesses are hiring in a highly competitive market and should be considering the steps they can take to retain the best …
Post-IPO lock-up: Protecting Australian investors at the risk of global competitiveness
The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) has made welcome changes to its rules around post-IPO lock-ups. But do they go far enough? While a strong regime benefits new investors and market integrity, is the position globally competitive? Do we risk losing IPOs to other jurisdictions? If Australia’s regime is not globally competitive, we risk losing Australian …
Federal Budget 2021-22
Reforms arising from Marie Boland’s review of WHS laws
Yesterday, the NSW Government introduced the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Industrial Manslaughter) Bill 2021 (Bill), which proposes to create two new offences relating to industrial manslaughter under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW). A conviction may result in a maximum $10.1 million penalty for a body corporate and 25 years’ imprisonment for …
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FIRB maintains strong focus on critical minerals
Recent FIRB reforms have confirmed what the market already knew – that the Australian government considers secure access to critical minerals an issue of national interest and national security concern. Over the last few years, media reports and government announcements have consistently referred to the importance of critical minerals and their role in the technological …
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Mandatory vaccinations – A ‘Goodstart’ for employer guidance
Who should read this All employers, human resource managers and in-house lawyers who manage employees. Summary Two recent decisions of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) have held that: an employer was justified in dismissing an employee working in the childcare industry after she refused a “lawful and reasonable direction” to receive a flu vaccination; …
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Mine site adoption of renewable initiatives
The global focus on renewable energy projects has continued to gain momentum over the last 12 months and so, too, has the uptake of renewable energy initiatives by the mining sector. The investment landscape is changing The case for mining companies to invest in renewable energy remains compelling. Governments around the world are enacting legislation …
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RegTech cloud services agreements – assessing the real risks
Part 1 – Setting the scene, service levels and data The conversation usually goes a little like this when you ask most cloud services providers to amend their terms… “We’re a one to many provider, our pricing is based on having a single offering with a consistent approach to risk” “We don’t control your data, …
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A guide to common capital raising structures in Australia
The Commissioner’s Emporium: business registration breaking new ground
On 13 April 2021, the Commonwealth Government announced the next phase of the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) program which will establish a new whole-of-government registry platform to be administered by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). We set out the proposed changes in more detail below. Consolidation of business registers The MBR will establish the ‘Australian …
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The critical importance of critical minerals
Each year the Annual Survey of Mining Companies (conducted by the Canadian based Fraser Institute) identifies the top ranked jurisdictions in the world for mining investment based on factors such as the relevant Government policies ability to provide a stable regulatory environment and geological attractiveness for minerals and metals. In the latest results from the …
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Native Title compensation – Lawson v Minister for Environment & Water (SA) (“Lake Victoria case”)
Things you need to know A decision by the New South Wales Court of Appeal has given rise to the potential for compensation to be owed for acts affecting native title rights and interests under legislation other than the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (Cth NTA) and outside the timeframes for which the Cth NTA …
Department releases new Planning Agreements Practice Note
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (Department) has released its new Practice Note relating to planning agreements in the state, implementing a recommendation of the Kaldas review of decision-making in the planning system (Kaldas review). Those recommendations – all 19 of which were accepted by the NSW Government – included strengthening the role …
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Council held liable for negligent misstatement in planning certificate
Burwood Council (Council) recently experienced a costly loss in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, after it provided a planning certificate containing negligent misstatements. By way of background, in 2011 Elisa Lorenzato signed a contract for a property at 13 Appian Way, Burwood (property), attached to which was Council’s planning certificate issued under the …
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Picking the right delivery model for your next infrastructure project
Local government is critical in delivering and maintaining public infrastructure. In aggregate terms, Councils are responsible for one third of all public infrastructure across Australia, maintaining an asset base valued in excess of $350 billion (with roads comprising more than $165 billion of this amount). This translates into local government spending billions each year maintaining …
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Vaccinations and the workplace
Things you need to know On 19 February 2021, Safe Work Australia and the Fair Work Ombudsman released updated guidance regarding the rights and obligations of employers to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The new guidance suggests that most employers will not have a right or obligation to require employees to be vaccinated, …
Business interruption insurance – covering the bottom line
Ensuring business continuity Business interruption cover can mean the difference between resuming operations following a major loss or suffering financial collapse. It covers the loss suffered by a business resulting from an interruption to the business as a consequence of material damage to the insured property that it owns or operates. Cover can be added …
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Business insurance pulse check – are you underinsured and don’t know it?
Why avoiding underinsurance is important Like personal insurance, reviewing your business insurance is essential. It’s generally effortless to do and provides peace of mind for you and your business. If access to advice is required, subject matter experts, such as McCullough Robertson are easy to connect with to confirm your position and where required, update, …
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Business Pack versus Industrial Special Risks (ISR) policy insurance
Making the right choice for your growing business Business insurance plays an important role in the modern-day risk matrix. Ensuring your business has the adequate level of insurance is critical for ongoing longevity, growth, and holistic protection. Depending on business size, the core policy options for a small to medium size business is a ‘Business …
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Clarity about casuals – at least for now…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] After significant public discussion and parliamentary debate, the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2021 (Bill) was passed by Parliament on 22 March 2021. When originally introduced to the House of Representatives in December 2020, the Bill promised sweeping reforms to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act) across a …
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Privacy by Design – protecting personal information from the wire-frame up
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] The dynamic and ever-growing nature of privacy regulations and attack vectors related to privacy emphasises the importance for organisations to do a better job protecting data through technology design. Also known as, ‘Privacy by Design’ and ‘Privacy by Default’, the terms refer to the system engineering approach of integrating data procedures in technology to …
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Is your business protected? Cyber security risks and the need for ongoing vigilance in 2021 and beyond
As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, organisations responded to the government-imposed restrictions in an accelerated timeframe which included migrating employees to hybrid working arrangements, primarily work-from-home (WFH). To facilitate this immediate transition, organisations of all sizes rapidly implemented digital revolutions that highlighted the increased risk of cyber security breaches and potential attacks, and heightened the requirements …
Lessons learned from Carter – planning for effective trust distributions and disclaimers
Carter v Commissioner of Taxation [2020] FCAFC 150 (Carter) involves a long running dispute with the Commissioner of Taxation. This particular iteration of the dispute deals with disclaimers of trusts interest by default beneficiaries. These default beneficiaries were assessed with additional income as a result of amended assessments increasing the taxable income of the trust. …
Superannuation death benefits – the continued need to plan (and review) death benefit nominations
Treatment of superannuation and in particular, superannuation death benefits, continue to be front of mind for advisors and practitioners alike. This stems from continuous updates to legislation and case law dealing with the risks of not getting a superannuation death benefit nomination right. We take you through a summary of considerations when advising clients in …