Who should read this All principals, head contractors and subcontractors performing building and construction work in Queensland. The things you need to know In February 2020, the Queensland Government introduced the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2020 (Qld) (BIF Amendment Bill), which included replacing the existing project bank accounts …
Continue reading “The new project trust regime to commence in Queensland on 1 March 2021”
Parrwood Pty Ltd v Trinity Constructions (Aust) Pty Ltd [2020] NSWCA 172 The New South Wales Court of Appeal recently handed down its decision in Parrwood Pty Ltd v Trinity Constructions (Aust) Pty Ltd.[1] The Court of Appeal upheld a finding at first instance that, where a reference date had arisen under the Building and …
Continue reading “Take-out won’t take away a right to payment”
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””] The McCullough Robertson team is proud to have contributed to the Australia chapter in the 10th edition of the 2020 Projects and Construction Review, published by Law Business Research. In this edition, we highlight some of the significant projects across Australia and consider the complex framework for the development and implementation of major …
Continue reading “The 2020 Projects and Construction Review”
Proposed reforms to increase FIRB’s enforcement powers and penalties Over the last six weeks, we have been discussing the proposed reforms to the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) and regulations (collectively, the FATA). During this series we have examined the proposed increase in the Foreign Investment Review Board’s (FIRB) oversight of areas such …
Continue reading “FIRB Reforms Article Series – Part 6: Penalties and Enforcement”
Earlier this year on 26 February 2020, legislative amendments were passed to begin phasing out the innovation patent in Australia. The process will be slow, as innovation patents can continue to be filed until 25 August 2021, and it will be 26 August 2029 before all expire. While the system’s abolishment has been in the …
Continue reading “Innovation Patent Perishes as Phase-Out Process Pushes Ahead”
On 20 August 2020, the Environmental Protection and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (Qld) (EPOLA 2020) received assent and commenced as law. The two key aspects of EPOLA 2020 are: (a) providing for the appointment of a Rehabilitation Commissioner with specific functions in relation to mine rehabilitation; and (b) expanding the residual risk framework applicable …
Continue reading “New kid on the block – EPOLA introduces key changes to the resources sector”
McCullough Robertson has successfully led the sale of Seer Security’s Melbourne and Canberra based businesses to Tesserent Limited (ASX: TNT). With Seer Security’s cybersecurity capabilities focused on Government-certified delivery of Assurance and Governance, Risk and Compliance and software development, this deal significantly strengthens Tesserent’s cybersecurity services and delivery to Australian Federal Government departments and agencies. …
Continue reading “Seer Security Pty Ltd sale to Tesserent Limited”
Federal Courts High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the highest Court in the Australian Court hierarchy. It is the final Court of Appeal in Australia. It hears matters involving disputes about the interpretation of the Australian Constitution as well as final appeals of criminal and civil matters from all Courts in …
Business dealings in Australia are controlled by a large number of regulators. These regulatory bodies have jurisdiction at both the Federal and State level. Australia’s regulators have a broad remit to oversee the conduct of businesses in a wide range of sectors, from financial services to energy infrastructure. Australia’s corporate regulators are creatures of statute. …
Continue reading “Overview of Australia’s regulatory framework”
A creditor that has the benefit of a debt of at least A$2,000 may serve a statutory demand on the debtor company. A statutory demand is a formal demand for payment under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). The demand must be for over A$2,000. Once a statutory demand has been validly served on a company, …
Continue reading “Recovering a debt owed by an Australian company”
Australia is a party to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters 1965 (Hague Service Convention). Where a foreign country is also a party to the Hague Service Convention, service of a foreign originating process in Australia can be undertaken in accordance with the Convention. …
Civil proceedings are commenced in Australian Courts by way of the filing and service of an originating process, typically being either a Statement of Claim or Summons. Once served with a Statement of Claim or Summons, a defendant’s solicitor will usually file an Appearance. An Appearance should be filed within 28 days of the Statement …
Continue reading “Challenging the jurisdiction of Australian Courts”
How is evidence from a cooperating witness obtained in Australia? Evidence should be taken in a manner that is consistent with the procedural and evidentiary rules of both the local jurisdiction and the Australian jurisdiction for which the evidence is required. Can evidence be given by video or audio link? Evidence can be taken by …
Continue reading “Obtaining evidence for use in foreign proceedings”
The circumstances in which an Australian judgment will be enforceable in an overseas jurisdiction will vary depending on the laws of the local country. Where Australia has a reciprocal arrangement with the local country, then enforcement of the Australian judgment will be more straightforward. Generally, for an Australian judgment to be enforced overseas it must: …
Continue reading “Enforcement of Australian judgments overseas”
Judgment criteria The registration regime for the enforcement of New Zealand judgments in Australia is contained in Part 7 of the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010 (Cth). The types of New Zealand judgments that can be enforced in Australia are broad and include the following: (a) money judgments;(b) non-money judgments;(c) judgments in criminal proceedings that involve …
Continue reading “Enforcing New Zealand judgments in Australia”
There are two ways of enforcing foreign judgments in Australia: under a statutory scheme and under common law principles. The statutory regime is more straight-forward and cost effective. Countries to which the statutory scheme applies The Foreign Judgments Act 1991 (Cth) provides a statutory scheme for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Australia. …
In this edition of our FIRB Reforms Article Series we consider how the Commonwealth Government’s proposed changes to the foreign investment rules, as set out in the discussion paper released on 5 June 2020 (Discussion Paper) and the draft legislative amendments released on 31 July 2020 impacts Australia’s foreign investment framework in respect of the …
Continue reading “FIRB Reforms Article Series – Part 5: Mining and resources”
WHO SHOULD READ THIS All engineers and engineering firms, and the owners, principals and contractors who engage engineers for their projects in the building and construction industry in New South Wales. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW From 1 July 2021, only registered professional engineers (or those under the direct supervision of a registered professional engineer) …
In a significant decision, the High Court of Australia has clarified the method of calculating an employee’s entitlement to paid personal/ carer’s leave under the Fair Work legislation. On 13 August 2020 the High Court of Australia handed down its decision in Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd v AMWU & Ors [2020] HCA 29. Importantly, the …
The devil’s in the data: How FIRB’s proposed national security test may impact on businesses dealing with ‘sensitive data’ In this next edition of our FIRB Reforms Article Series, we drill down deeper on the Commonwealth Government’s proposal to include sensitive data as a key consideration in their expanded focus on sensitive national security businesses. …
Continue reading “FIRB Reforms Article Series – Part 4: Data”
It is now 5 years since the Federal Government released it’s Re:think paper on tax reform, aimed at ‘beginning a dialogue on how [to] create a tax system that supports higher economic growth and living standards, improves international competitiveness and adjusts to a changing economy’[1]. Although the release of the paper stated that the current …
Continue reading “Rethinking tax reform – it’s now or never”
The Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2020 (Qld) (Bill) came into force on 15 July 2020. The Bill introduces major reforms to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (Qld) (QBCC Act) and Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) (BIF Act), including the removal of the …
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] We are pleased to bring you the July 2020 edition of Emerging Issues for the Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) sector. In this Emerging Issue, we take an in-depth look at: the implications of the recent Data Protection Commission v Facebook Ireland Limited (C-311/18) decision and what it means for Australian businesses sharing data …
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Google for misleading Australian consumers about its privacy collection practices. The ACCC alleges Google misled consumers when it failed to properly inform consumers, and failed to gain explicit informed consent, about its decision to combine personal information in consumers’ …
Continue reading “ACCC commences proceedings against Google – consent in the spotlight”
Most people will have heard of a ‘bull market’ or a ‘bear market’, but United States (US) business news provider CNBC added a new animal to the financial zoo earlier this year by describing the current US stock market as a ‘kangaroo market’ (due, presumably, to its bouncing up and down without any specific trend). …
On 15 July, Twitter announced that it had suffered a data security breach, which allowed the accounts of various world leaders and prominent individuals to be compromised. As part of its response to the breach, it shut down all ‘blue tick’ verified accounts for about an hour, which naturally triggered worldwide attention to the issue. …
The era of the digital clinical trial may already be upon us thanks to the impacts of COVID-19. While conceptualisations of the ‘digital patient’ and technology-integrated clinical trials were somewhat futuristic even in 2019, with COVID-19 grinding clinical trials to a halt in 2020, the life sciences industry may be forced to pivot into this …
Continue reading “COVID-19 and the new digital clinical trial era”
Australia’s defamation law space is one to watch In the latter half of 2020: Despite this traction, Australia is still only on the precipice of a defamation law ‘digital makeover’. Until seminal cases have exhausted their appeals, and reforms are introduced and tested, uncertainty lingers about who is liable for what kind of defamatory statements …
With many of us working from home, we are increasingly relying on technology, including social media, to keep us connected. It is easy to forget that the increased use of social media (and the publication it relies on) exposes us to a greater risk of defamation claims (and potentially increases the damages flowing from those …
Continue reading “Defamation: The Social Media, Social-distancing Edition”
