We are excited to announce that the efforts and achievements of our Employment, Industrial Relations and Safety Partner Murray Procter have been recognised in the 2019 Doyle’s Guide to Australia’s best legal firms and lawyers, in the following categories: Recommended...
The Implications of Airbnb on Subletting and Community Title by-laws
In recent years the residential property market has witnessed a ‘boom’ in short-term leasing arrangements thanks to online platforms like Airbnb. However, the growing popularity of these platforms has raised some confusion surrounding the rights and obligations...
Is Your Restraint Clause Valid? CK Win Highlights Issues
By Chris Kintis and Anastasia Stomo Restraint of trade clauses are often found in employment contracts and Australian businesses are increasingly choosing to use restraint clauses in contracts between commercial entities. When used in this form, however, they serve to...
Lessons for employers in “low risk” industries from $1 million safety step fall
By Murray Procter and Ben Keenan Are you an employer in an office-based, “low risk” industry? Does your first aid kit consist of a few bandaids and paracetamol for the occasional paper cut or headache? Is work health and safety near the bottom of a long list of...
The future of BOOT and Loaded Rates in Enterprise Agreements
By Murray Procter and Ashlee Miller Around one-third of all employees in the Australian labour market are covered by enterprise agreements.1 Enterprise bargaining is a central feature of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act), and is regulated by Part 2-4. The objects...
Amendments to Act to make enterprise bargaining less technical?
The enterprise agreement making process requires adherence to strict legislative steps before employees are allowed to vote on an agreement. Some may recall the difficult lesson learned by Peabody Energy in 2014, when its hard fought enterprise agreement was scuttled...
Findings & Forecasts: Major Developments in Industrial Relations in the Building and Construction Industry in 2018 & 2019
By Murray Procter and Ben Keenan Following the upheaval experienced by employers in the construction industry in 2017 as a result of the commencement of the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Act 2016 (BCIIP Act) and the Code for the Tendering...
Managers on notice about the potential personal costs of unlawful disciplinary decisions
By Murray Procter and Ben Keenan The ongoing high profile legal dispute between the former Managing Director of the ABC, Michelle Guthrie, and the national broadcaster is merely the latest example of the reputational and financial cost to employers that can arise...
The Evolving Climate of Labour Hire in Australia
By Murray Procter and Ashlee Miller In 2002, the Australian Government Productivity Commission estimated there were approximately 270,000 people employed through labour hire, which was the equivalent to about 2.9 per cent of all employed persons.1 Today, labour hire...
What can employers expect in the workplace relations space from a Labor government in 2019?
By Murray Procter and Ben KeenanAustralia is due for a federal election in the first half of 2019. Industrial relations remains one of the few policy areas in which key differences remain between the major political parties. We look at Labor’s agenda and how it may...
CK Advises power generation enterprise Taiwan Power Company on Bengalla Joint Venture interest
In a deal that was completed on 3 December 2018, ClarkeKann's Chairman, John Toigo, represented Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) in the acquisition of part of Wesfarmers’ interest in the Bengalla Coal Joint Venture. Taipower is an integrated electrical power utility...
CK Alert Update: Serving Notices under s 408 of the Environmental Protection Act (Qld)
In late September, the Queensland Court of Appeal handed down its judgement in Albion Mill FCP Pty Ltd v FKP Commercial Developments Pty Ltd [2018] QCA 229. This came in response to an appeal by Albion Mill FCP Pty Ltd (“FCP”) against the Supreme Court’s findings in...








