By Stephanie Koumbarakos (Trainee Lawyer) and Venn King (Special Counsel) Complaints – nobody needs them, but everyone has them! Which is why there have to date been a variety of external dispute resolution (“EDR”) systems approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”) in the financial services arena. But who needs multiple dispute resolutions … Read more
By Stephanie Koumbarakos (Trainee Lawyer) and Jack Stuk (Principal Solicitor) Mixologists of bespoke cocktail or craft beer are taking their talents from the bar and delivering it to consumers to enjoy at home with handcrafted and locally produced alcoholic drinks being bottled for retail sale. This shift to production for retail sale may not be … Read more
By Michael Cochrane (Senior Associate), Josephine Mammone (Trainee Lawyer) and Stephanie Koumbarakos (Trainee Lawyer) There has been much discussion about the macroeconomic picture of our workplace relations system in recent times with the gig economy, “wage theft”, the ACTU’s “change the rules” campaign, enterprise bargaining trends – and of course that leadership circus in Canberra … Read more
… or why corporate advisers really need an Australian Financial Services Licence By Venn King (Special Counsel) and Darrell Choong (Trainee Lawyer) There has been a great disturbance in the Force … or the financial services world at least! A recent case, Validus Advisory Group v Consolidated Tin Mines Ltd [2018] NSWSC 417 (“Validus”) has shone … Read more
By Adrian Faelli (Trainee Lawyer) and Kristina Antoniades (Special Counsel) From 15 November 2018, all Australians will automatically receive an online My Health Record unless they choose to opt out before this date. Privacy concerns A variety of privacy concerns surrounding sensitive personal and medical information contained within My Health Records have been raised since … Read more
By Stephanie Koumbarakos (Trainee Lawyer) and Koula Politis (Senior Associate) Australia’s largest honey company, Capilano, is one of the retail brands stung for producing adulterated honey products sold in Australian retail outlets. The complaints arose after 28 samples of various brands tested by a leading international laboratory were found to contain ingredients other than honey. … Read more
By Chloe McGuinness (Senior Associate) and Monica Blizzard (Director) This is part one in a three-part series about changes to child support in 2018. This article deals with amended tax assessments and how they may affect your child support obligations or entitlements. How the Child Support Agency assesses Income In order to calculate the child … Read more
By Darrell Choong (Trainee Lawyer) and Paul Welling (Principal Solicitor) The gates of Troy have been breached! At least, they might be soon. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the ACCC is considering a class exemption for collective bargaining by eligible businesses, agribusinesses and franchisees. Currently, collective bargaining is only allowed if a business … Read more
Unfortunately, the hype you will have seen since the handing down of the recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court in WorkPac Pty Ltd v Skene [2018] FCAFC 131 on Thursday is not misplaced. It is a decision that affects all employers who employ casuals, not just those in the labour-hire space. SUMMARY: key … Read more
