This article was amended on 24 May 2018. On 26 October 2017 the Queensland Parliament passed the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld) (“BIFA”). It will commence on a date set by proclamation (which has not yet occurred). In addition to...
A recent Court of Appeal decision has highlighted the need for careful drafting of agreements to anticipate changes to legislative requirements and industry standard contracts (JLF Corporation Pty Ltd v Matos [2016] QCA 355). This decision also confirmed that option...
Property developers and body corporate managers need to be aware of the recent High Court decision concerning the test of “reasonableness” in relation to body corporate decisions. INTRODUCTION The recent High Court decision in Ainsworth & Ors v Albrecht & Anor...
Introducing CK Strata, our complete strata legal service offering an end to end approach for all strata matters. We have decades of experience in all strata matters, from the initial development and title of strata title properties, through to proper corporate...
James has a wealth of experience in building and construction, property, commercial litigation, debt recovery and insolvency matters, and specialises in body corporate and community management disputes and levy collections. James approaches dispute resolution...
New rules will apply to vendors disposing of certain taxable Australian property under contracts entered into from 1 July 2016. A 10% withholding tax will be incurred on these transactions at settlement. Australian resident vendors selling real property will need to...
As published in CK Momentum Issue 10 (Click here to download) Discontent with a company’s performance can lead to the shareholders taking action to change or influence the direction of the company. Examples of shareholder activism in Australia are limited due to it...
As published in CK Momentum Issue 10 (Click here to download) While there are no specific laws mandating corporate social responsibility reporting in Australia, there are nevertheless good risk mitigation reasons for businesses to adopt it. GROWING TREND In 2014,...
Much has been written recently in relation to the potential changes to Australian insolvency laws, among other things, as part of an overall initiative to incentivise innovation. One of the issues commonly discussed is the competing interests of driving innovation and...
WHAT IS D&O INSURANCE? Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance (“D&O insurance”) provides cover for company directors and officers from claims that might arise from decisions taken when performing their role. WHAT TYPES OF CLAIMS WILL D&O INSURANCE...
The Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management has handed down a decision distinguishing between the use of proxies and powers of attorney, which will have considerable impact on how votes are able to be cast at a general meeting. The...
WHO IS A DIRECTOR? Section 9 of the Corporations Act 2001 provides that the definition of a director also includes a person who is not validly elected as a director if: They act in the position of a director (often referred to as a de facto director). A de facto...