How certain are the terms of your employment contracts?

In the recent case of McAlister v Yara Australia Pty Ltd [2021] FCCA 1409, an employer was ordered by the Federal Circuit Court to pay damages of approximately $143,000 plus statutory entitlements (less any amounts already paid) for wrongful termination representing 9-months pay in lieu of notice to an employee. This may have been avoided …
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Government announces plan to extend temporary relief in response to COVID-19

We previously published an article about the Federal Government’s legislative response to the economic impact of COVID-19 and the introduction of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 which came into force on 25 March 2020. You can view this article here. The purpose of the legislative changes was to ease the financial impact …
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Director Identification Numbers Bill has passed

All company directors will soon be required to apply to ASIC to obtain their own unique Director Identification Number (DIN). The Treasury Laws Amendment (Registries Modernisation and Other Measures) Bill (the Amendment), part of the Government’s legislative package to introduce the Commonwealth Registers Act, has now passed both houses of parliament. Pending royal assent, it …
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12 Months of Enforcement – The Trials and Tribulations of the GDPR

The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018. We have now seen 12 months since the commencement of the GDRP. Though a revolutionary regional instrument, it imposes obligations on businesses across the globe. In its one year of application, the GDPR has drastically changed the data protection and privacy …
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1 July 2019 – What’s new in the law?

There are many changes to the laws and regulations commencing over the next 6 months. Here we summarise some of those key changes: PROPERTY Some lucky buyers will no longer have to pay stamp duty on properties purchased in the ACT. Stamp duty has been abolished on properties sold in the ACT from 1 July …
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Culture and Corporate Governance

It would be remiss of us to not mention the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, which has consumed much of media and news reports recently. Culture was the predominant theme of the Commission, and indeed its finding. Corporate culture, however, is probably the theme of the decade. An …
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Secure Local Jobs Code – Code Certificates

The Secure Local Jobs Code commenced on 15 January 2019. The Code applies to those in construction, cleaning, security and traffic management services undertaking or seeking to undertake territory-funded work. Any ACT Government contractor must hold a valid Secure Local Jobs Code Certificate: at the time they submit a response to an RFQ, RFP, work …
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