Expertise Archives:
Jessica Bland
Overhaul of WA’s security of payment regime
Who should read this All construction industry participants in Western Australia (WA). What you need to know The Building and Construction Industry (Security of Payment) Bill 2021 (Bill) was passed by the WA Parliament on 22 June 2021, bringing significant reforms to the current security of payment laws in WA. The reforms will align the …
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Changes to the Franchising Code – What you need to know ahead of 1 July
The Australian Government recently released amendments to the Franchising Code of Conduct (Franchising Code). These changes have arisen as a result of the Parliamentary Inquiry into the franchising sector, the subsequent Parliamentary Joint Committee’s Fairness in Franchising Report, and consultation on the resulting exposure draft legislation. The aim of the amendments is to promote competition …
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Roll out the Regulations: Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021 (NSW)
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] On 11 June 2020, the first phase of the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) (DBP Act) commenced, implementing a new statutory duty of care regime requiring any person who carries out construction work to exercise reasonable care to avoid pure economic loss caused by defects. The DBP Act is part of significant …
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Government decision-making – climate change and Australian children
Federal Court finds Australian children are owed a duty of care in relation to climate change In the recent decision of Sharma v Minister for the Environment [2021] FCA 560, the Federal Court held that Minister Ley, the Federal Minister for the Environment, owes Australian children a duty of care when considering whether to approve …
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Protection under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) extends beyond Mount Panorama – What you need to know
In May 2021, the Commonwealth Minister for Environment (Minister) declared the Wahlua-Mount Panorama Site in Bathurst to be a significant Aboriginal area under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) (Act). This declaration prohibited Bathurst Regional Council’s proposed development of a go-kart track just days before construction works were set to …
Conflict of interest: fail to declare and manage at your peril!
In this update, we analyse two New South Wales decisions about the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) (LG Act) and compliance with obligations to declare and manage personal interests. While these decisions concern NSW Local Councillors and a former General Manager, there are lessons for all individuals dealing with the LG Act. Eldridge v Wagga …
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Production over safety? Queensland Coal Mining Board of Inquiry publishes report on unacceptable risk faced by Grosvenor miners
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 …
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 …
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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 …
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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 …
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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 …
SurePact Holdings Pty Ltd
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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Ann-Janette Reinhardt
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 …
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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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, …