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.”
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 …
Continue reading “Key lessons in Australian crowd-sourced funding.”
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 …
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 Australiaâs regime is not globally competitive, we risk losing Australian …
Recent FIRB reforms have confirmed what the market already knew â 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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 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 âlawful and reasonable directionâ to receive a flu vaccination; …
Continue reading “Mandatory vaccinations â A ‘Goodstart’ for employer guidance”
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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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⌠âWeâre a one to many provider, our pricing is based on having a single offering with a consistent approach to riskâ âWe donât control your data, …
Continue reading “RegTech cloud services agreements â assessing the real risks”
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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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 …
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 â all 19 of which were accepted by the NSW Government â included strengthening the role …
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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 Councilâs planning certificate issued under the …
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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, …
[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, âPrivacy by Designâ and âPrivacy by Defaultâ, the terms refer to the system engineering approach of integrating data procedures in technology to …
Continue reading “Privacy by Design â protecting personal information from the wire-frame up”
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 …
Who should read this All principals, head contractors and subcontractors performing building and construction work in Queensland, in particular those involved in State Government projects. Things you need to know Last year, we flagged the introduction of the new project trust regime under the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) (BIF Act) …
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Australian broadcasters and free-to-air television networks may be able to make a âone-time transitionâ to a new broadcasterâs licence with reduced tax and content quotas on multichannels. In exchange, those who take up the ânew licenceâ must agree to transmit content on reduced radiofrequency spectrum, with surplus spectrum to be auctioned off to the telecommunications …
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Verification of Identity (VOI) is an important safeguard in property transactions, providing certainty about the identity of parties and aiming to prevent fraudulent dealings. Traditionally, this process has taken place via face-to-face meetings; however, given technological advancements and requirements resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, verifying a partyâs identity virtually is becoming more common. With the …
Continue reading “Verification of identity â does it always need to be in person?”
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented technological challenges, particularly our engagement with others through technology. Platforms such as, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, Google Hangouts Meet, Skype and BlueJeans have become increasingly popular worldwide among businesses and individuals. The global pandemic has changed the vast majority of the populationâs behaviour patterns, particularly the manner in …
Background In April 2020, the Commonwealth Government directed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to create a mandatory news media bargaining code, designed to establish a mandatory framework for negotiating and agreeing payments to news content creators by the digital platforms (specifically Facebook and Google) that display and link to that news content (Code). …
Continue reading “Mandatory news media bargaining code â is the model right?”
Itâs been over six months since COVID-19 disrupted the day-to-day operations of businesses in Australia. As we near the end of 2020, many businesses have now fast-tracked digitalisation across their business models and activities, pivoted to new goods and service offerings, moved business operations and interactions online, distributed their workforce, and implemented COVID-tracing capabilities. While …
Continue reading “Privacy âmust havesâ in a digitalised and data-heavy post-COVID economy”
WHO SHOULD READ THIS Business Owners, CEOâs, CFOâs, CIOâs, CISOâs, Executive Managers, Insurance and Risk Managers. THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW Cybersecurity must be addressed in the same way as any other business risk to protect critical processes and functions and to ensure business continuity. A robust cybersecurity framework should be supported by a carefully …
Continue reading “Cybersecurity in the post Covid workplace – stress testing your defences”
On 25 November 2020, the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Bill 2020 (NSW) (Renewables Bill) passed the NSW Parliament Upper House following over 30 hours of ongoing debate that challenged 249 proposed amendments. With the Renewables Bill expected to be assented to before the end of 2020, it is guaranteed to shake up the NSW energy market …
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and overseas has had a hugely damaging economic effect on the business community. Many of these businesses hold Business Interruption (BI) insurance and may have either had claims declined or not pursued them on advice that the policy did not respond. Alternatively, they may not have considered …
