The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has revealed the key findings of its recent compliance checks of a sample of franchisors in the food services sector. The ACCC investigated 12 separate food services industry franchisors. The report outlines the following issues. 8/12 of the franchisors made it difficult to contact former franchisees The Franchising … Read more
The humble egg is one of the more commonly recalled foods, with Australian egg producers affected by six separate food recalls to date in 2019 alone. A reasonably large recall was declared on 20 March 2019, as Bridgewater Poultry eggs were recalled across Australia after infecting five people with a rare strain of salmonella enteritidis. … Read more
If you’re a retailer in a shopping centre or a Home Co, or an owner/operator of premises in an industrial park, this recent case regarding traffic management may be of interest to you. A retailer has avoided prosecution for breaches of the work health safety legislation in the Northern Territory this month by entering into … Read more
The ATO has, following the passage of amending legislation (see below), recently extended its ability to hold a rogue director accountable for unpaid tax liabilities of their company (which would include a company acting as trustee of a trading trust). This has been achieved through the strengthening of the suite of recovery legislation at its … Read more
By Adrian Faelli (Lawyer) and Michael Cochrane (Special Counsel) The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has finalised* its examination of annualised wage arrangements as part of the 4 yearly Modern Awards review. From 1 March 2020, certain Modern Awards will contain 1 of 4 new ‘Model Clauses’ that expand an employer’s record-keeping, payment … Read more
By Cano Ergun (Trainee Lawyer) and Kristina Antoniades (Special Counsel) On 24 July 2019 the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria (MCV) and the Children’s Court of Victoria implemented two important changes in relation to family violence intervention orders. These are: Updated standard conditions for family violence intervention orders (FVIO); and Information sheets to be attached to … Read more
When the unfair contract terms provisions of the Australian Consumer Law were extended to apply to small business contracts in late 2016, some users of these contracts made no changes or took a fairly “light touch” approach to reviewing their template agreements. This is possibly because it was unlikely a dispute over whether a clause … Read more
Michael Cochrane (Special Counsel) and Adrian Faelli (Lawyer) share their insights on the latest trends in the gig economy. Last month, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) decided to discontinue its well-publicised Federal Court underpayments claim against Foodora Australia following the company’s administration and subsequent exit from the Australian market. While gig economy businesses (and businesses … Read more
By Adrian Faelli (Lawyer) and David Robbins (Principal Solicitor) The ACCC has confirmed it will not allow Meredith Dairy to stop retailers from discounting its goat cheese products. The ACCC’s decision shows it will not lightly depart from the position that consumers are best served when retailers are free to set their own prices, and … Read more
