Fraudsters are targeting small business owners when it is time to renew their trademark by sending false invoices. IP Australia has confirmed that there is an increasing number of reports of this unofficial invoicing. Several of our clients have received these fake invoices. We remind cl..
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If you are borrowing funds from overseas lenders to purchase property, and they are not in the business of lending money, you will most likely need to seek approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). FIRB is an Australian government advisory board that reviews the purchase ..
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When starting a new company, take the time to consider and prepare a detailed Shareholders Agreement as it can help to avoid costly problems in the future. Usually directors and shareholders of a company begin with a shared vision of their new business, however views often change over time.
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We have provided numerous articles on the Personal Property Securities Act (“PPSA”) and its importance in protecting your assets and taking and perfecting security over other assets. The Register came online on the 30th January, 2012. This means there may be some PPS registrations which will expire on the 30th January, 2019.
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Setting up a new company is on a superficial level, quick and easy. However, there are intricacies to the incorporation process of which to be aware. When setting up a company many people simply tick the yes box when asked “do you need a Constitution”. However after the company is incorporated, ..
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There is a common, and potentially very costly, misconception that changing a copyright protected work by 10% (or any other percentage for that matter) or only reproducing a smaller proportion of a protected work will mean that one can avoid liability for copyright infringement. This
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The recent action taken by Australia’s consumer watchdog, the ACCC, against Europcar is a reminder for all business owners to ensure they are not charging “unreasonable” credit card surcharges. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has started proceedings in the Federal..
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The Court decided that a worker who was supplied through a labour hire company as a casual truck driver to a mine in Queensland was not in fact a casual employee under the Fair Work Act. As a result, the employee was held to be a permanent full-time employee entitled to annual leave and a payment in lieu of notice when his employment ended.
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Owners of private and local government buildings in the Mackay region must meet new state-wide obligations to undertake a mandatory three stage process to identify if a building has ‘combustible cladding’.
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A common misconception is that a trade mark is the same thing as a business name, company name or domain name. It’s not. Business, company and domain names, and trademarks are four distinct identifiers that serve different purposes in the marketplace and registration of them accords mar..
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Increasingly, we are having to fix problems with trust deeds that come across our desk, due to a range of issues. Whilst these problems may not immediately jump out at you, they rear their heads when changes are made, and especially if the Deed needs to be registered with the Titles Office. ..
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Do you have a well drafted Force Majeure clause in your contracts? If not, then you are taking a massive risk… ‘Force Majeure’ is French, meaning “superior force”. In a Contract, such a clause allows a party to suspend or terminate performance of their obligations when certain ci..
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A New South Wales security of payment case could be an indicator of how Queensland security of payments legislation may be interpreted by the Queensland courts. For a payment claim to be valid there must be a reference date… The High Court, in its first decision dealing with..
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Legislation relating to unfair contract terms for small businesses has, to date, generally been untested. However, a recent case against waste management solutions company, JJ Richards and Sons, shows these laws have real ‘teeth’, with eight terms of a contract being deemed unfair and unenforcea..
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Local companies have literally lost millions of dollars of equipment overnight in the collapse of Caledon’s Cook Colliery mine. This is a scary reminder of the importance of correctly registering on the Personal Property Securities Register. It is a cut throat system and ownership means no..
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The region’s METS sector is known for its great innovation to improve productivity and sustainability. In fact, many local businesses have registered patents to protect their ideas. The Australian Patent Office is currently receiving 30,000 standard patent applications each year. There h..
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Over the years, many clients have admitted that they have never read their terms and conditions (often buried somewhere on their website) or have “borrowed” them from a website or from a competing business. This is disastrous, especially when it comes time to rely upon those terms to recov..
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Four men. One vision. To be the leading diversified mining service provider and viewed as the employer of choice in the sector. PIMS Group is a proud, locally owned Mackay company taking on the big names in the highly competitive mining services space. Manager Director of PIMS Gr..
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Over the years, many clients have admitted that they have never read their terms and conditions (often buried somewhere on their website) or have “borrowed” them from a website or from a competing business. This is disastrous, especially when it comes time to rely upon those terms to recov..
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Did you know that what you see through searching on Google or Yahoo is only about 4% of the content on the world wide web? The other 96% exists in the ‘invisible web’ or the ‘deep web’. The deep web are parts of the world wide web where the content is not indexed, so not picked up by standa..
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Registering a business name or company name WILL NOT give you exclusive use to the name and DOES NOT stop your competitors from using the same or a similar name in their business. It also does NOT protect you from claims by others that you are infringing their rights to the use of the name.
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As you may be aware, a recent court decision in Victoria towards the end of last year has caused concern in the legal world over distributions from discretionary trusts.
Usually we are instructed to set up discretionary trusts for the benefit of a particular client, with the client as trustee and the client and his/her broader family and related entities as beneficiaries.
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Employers will now have a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination in their workplaces.
In 2020, the Respect@Work Report was released by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), making 55 recommendations for legislative change to address and prevent sexual harassment.
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Deciding whether or not you should apply for bankruptcy can often be a confusing and daunting task, and there is much to consider. It is integral that you understand what implications you may face and make an informed decision.
This article will explain what bankruptcy is and some of the common advantages and disadvantages of declaring bankruptcy.
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In the last article we discussed what rights and obligations you had as a landowner to deal with residential tenants’ property after they moved out. Now we will explore what landowners’ rights (and obligations) are when a commercial tenant for farmland leaves property behind on your land and what you can (or can’t) do with it.
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Today, we will explore what landowners’ rights are when a tenant leaves personal property behind on your land and what you can (or can’t) do with it.
War Story: John has an investment property that he rents to a young couple
In late December, the young couple’s tenancy agreement came to an end, and they subsequently vacated the property…
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In order to prevent the use of false or fraudulent director identifies, from November 2021, directors will need to verify their identity as part of a new director ID requirement.
A director ID is a unique identifier that a director will apply for once and keep forever, even if they change companies, stop being a director, change their name or move interstate or overseas.
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Retail and commercial leases form part of many business transactions and commercial property is a popular investment choice. Whether you are a Lessor or Lessee, there is much to consider when entering into a retail or commercial lease.
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It’s time again to unwind and thank employees at the long-awaited Christmas Party! But at risk of being the Grinch, a Christmas party is still a work function. Employers still owe a duty of care to their employees and employees can still be expected to behave appropriately to each other. ..
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The Queensland Parliament has finally passed the new Regulations impacting on retail and business leases across Queensland during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Retail Shop Leases and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19 Emergency Response) Regulation 2020 (Qld) (the regulation) was passed on 28 May 20..
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