Category: Corporate & Commercial

2020 has been a challenging year for many Australians which has seen the Government forced to intervene to provide economic support and legislative provisions in an attempt to provide ongoing assistance to many Australians and businesses.

The Federal Budget 2020 saw a $795.5 million investment in the Government’s Digital Business Plan as part of the JobMaker Plan. It’s objective is to improve productivity, income growth and jobs by supporting the adoption of digital technologies by Australian businesses and to see Australia become a leading digital economy by 2030.

Following the announcement made by Treasurer Tim Pallas on 20 August 2020, the Commercial Landlord Hardship Fund (Fund) has been created in recognition of small, private landlords who may not have the capacity to provide rent reductions to their tenants under the requirements of the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme (CTRS).

Since 1 April 2020, in a significant extension to the director penalty regime, company directors are now personally liable for unpaid Goods and Services Tax (GST) (including luxury car tax and wine equalisation tax). The expansion of the regime was introduced as part of the Government’s broader reform of Australia’s corporate insolvency regime.

On 22 June 2020, the Australian Federal Government passed legislation setting out a legal framework for the introduction of a Director Identification Number (DIN) regime for directors.

The Government has announced proposed changes to the foreign investment review framework to take effect 1 January 2021 following the temporary measures imposed in March 2020.

Due to the widespread economic impact of COVID-19 which has caused financial uncertainty for many businesses, contracts for the acquisition of goods or services may be cancelled in order to mitigate against further losses.

The worldwide impact of COVID-19, which has resulted in countries around the world shutting down their borders and international travel being banned, requires companies to operate online whenever possible.

In further recognition of the difficulties faced by companies in meeting strict corporate compliance requirements in a COVID-19 environment, the Treasurer released yesterday a ministerial determination permitting company general meetings to be held virtually and modifying the way companies can execute documents.

• ASIC has recently announced a one month extension for the lodgement of corporate reports
• Extension is available to unlisted entities.

In response to the adverse impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on Australian companies’ ability to hold annual general meetings (AGMs), ASIC issued a guidance note – 20-068MR on 20 March 2020 (Guidance):

The COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on the economy. The effects of escalating government counter-measures will change the way we do business for the foreseeable future.

From 1 April 2020, in a significant extension to the director penalty regime, company directors will be personally liable for unpaid GST (including luxury car tax and wine equalisation tax).

There are new signs that the Australian property market is on the rebound. As the property market recovers, so does the credit market and companies will increasingly seek financing for their business. Financing may take many forms: revolving credit loans, loans to finance the acquisition of a target company, or construction loans, to name a few.

Chapter 11 of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services ‘Fairness in Franchising Report’ – published in March 2019 – covered the termination of franchise agreements.

Last month, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services published its ‘Fairness in Franchising report’ (Report). The terms of reference for the Report were released over 12 months ago and more than 400 submissions were received, mostly from franchisees.

Contracts to provide transport or logistics services are vital to business success, but if not well negotiated, can have serious or even fatal consequences for the transport or logistics provider.

Governments and, increasingly big companies, are using tender processes (including Request for Proposals and Request for Tenders) to award contracts to transport and logistics companies.

Since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009, more and more people have become aware of blockchain technology, and its potential to revolutionise payments systems. However, blockchain has many applications beyond cryptocurrency. ‘Smart contracts’ – computer code which execute the terms of an agreement have the potential to revolutionise commercial transactions.

There has been a significant amendment to the Trade Marks Act 1995 which further entrenches the legality of parallel imports in Australia.

Mandatory data breach reporting requirements commenced on 22 February 2018. Organisations that are bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) need to report certain data breaches to the affected individual(s) and the Australian Information Commissioner.

How to prepare to comply

From 1 July 2018 food businesses must comply with labelling requirements set out by the Australian Government which aim to provide consumers with greater transparency on the origin of their food.

In a recent case involving Telstra, the Full Federal Court has confirmed that personal information must be information about an individual before it will be protected and regulated by the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles.

Latest news from Rigby Cooke’s tax team. Making sense of the #austax system.

Unfair contract terms provisions to be extended to small businesses on 12 November 2016.

IP Australia fee changes looming – Renew your existing trade mark registration now to save.

IP Australia has announced a change to its fee structure. You can find out more here.

Many of our clients trade with customers on credit. When doing so, there is a risk that customers might be unable to pay.

Prudent business owners will go to great lengths to protect their intellectual property and confidential information from their employees and competitors.

One of the golden rules when entering into an agreement is to ensure that all the terms are recorded in writing and signed by the relevant parties. As the old saying goes, a verbal agreement is as good as the paper it is written on.

Ashley Madison breached a number of its obligations under Australian privacy law in the months leading up to a cyber-attack on its customer database in July 2015, a joint report by the Canadian and Australian privacy commissioners found recently.

We are pleased to have co-hosted our first Victorian Manufacturers breakfast with Klugo.

Many businesses are familiar with engaging a software developer to create a product or application, however the devil is in the detail when it comes to ownership of the end product.

If you are a health service provider, all personal information that you collect about an individual to provide, or in providing a health service to that individual is classified as health information for the purposes of the Privacy Act.

The effects of a privacy breach can extend beyond fines and apologies: the damage to a business’ reputation and goodwill can be costly and it may take years to rebuild.

Can Australian businesses send information overseas?

If your business discloses personal information to an overseas recipient, it may be accountable for any actions of the overseas recipient that would breach the APPs. This leaves your business with a significant exposure – your business could be found liable based solely on the actions of the overseas recipient.

Spanline Weatherstrong Building Systems Pty Ltd, a franchisor engaged in designing, manufacturing and selling home extensions (eg patios, roof awnings, covered verandas, and carports) gave permission to one of its franchisees (Marmax Investments Pty Ltd) to conduct business within the territory of another franchisee (RPR Maintenance Pty Ltd).

In structuring 30 June transactions it is often desirable to sign a contract before 30 June, but defer payment of capital gains tax (CGT) or the CGT event until a subsequent income year; particularly where settlement is deferred to a subsequent income year so there are no sale proceeds for the vendor to pay the tax or it is desired to set-off losses in the subsequent income year.

Key points

• Parties to a franchise agreement should always act honestly in exercising powers and performing obligations under the agreement and the Franchising Code of Conduct

On 3 February 2016 the Full Federal Court handed down its decision in Assarapin v. Australian Community Pharmacy Authority. ¹

• A recent court decision highlights the need for companies to review deeds of indemnity given to the company’s directors
• The decision illustrates the importance for officers and employees of having effective and extensive directors and officers insurance from the outset

The European Court of Justice has ruled that a 15-year-old agreement allowing companies to transfer personal information from servers within the European Union to servers in the United States is invalid.