News

On 29 November 2012, Federal Parliament passed the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012...Read More

On 29 November 2012, Federal Parliament passed the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, which will introduce significant reforms to privacy laws in Australia effective from March 2014.

Download File ...Read Less

A recent decision of the High Court of Australia has shed further light on the operation of claims made under the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009....Read More

A recent decision of the High Court of Australia has shed further light on the operation of claims made under the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009.Under the Act, an employer must not take adverse action against an employee or contractor because they have or propose to exercise a workplace right, or to prevent the exercise of such a right, or because the person is a member of a union or is engaged in industrial activity. Employers and staff involved in a contravention may be subject to compensation orders and/or penalty orders

Download File ...Read Less

The importance to employers of well-drafted employment contracts, particularly for high income employees and employees with important customer connections or who are in possession of commercially-sensitive confidential information, has been highlighted in some recent cases....Read More

The importance to employers of well-drafted employment contracts, particularly for high income employees and employees with important customer connections or who are in possession of commercially-sensitive confidential information, has been highlighted in some recent cases.

Download File ...Read Less

On 1 July 2012 the high income threshold increased to $123,300 and the compensation cap for unfair dismissal cases increased to $61,650....Read More

On 1 July 2012 the high income threshold increased to $123,300 and the compensation cap for unfair dismissal cases increased to $61,650. The high income threshold is relevant to whether an employee can bring an unfair dismissal claim, and to whether a guarantee of annual earnings can be entered into with a high income employee (which will oust any modern award conditions which would otherwise apply).

Download File ...Read Less

Employers must give new employees a Fair Work Information Statement...Read More

Employers must give new employees a Fair Work Information Statement which contains information about employee's rights and other employment matters. Failure to do so may have adverse consequences for the employer.

Download File ...Read Less

A national reform of laws relating to security interests in personal property has seen the introduction of a new Personal Properties Securities Register which commenced on 30 January 2012....Read More

A national reform of laws relating to security interests in personal property has seen the introduction of a new Personal Properties Securities Register which commenced on 30 January 2012. Transactions that may be affected include finance leases, fixed and floating charges and supply agreements with retention of title clauses.

 

Under the new system, registration of an interest in personal property may be required in order for it to take priority. The new register will replace the current register of charges under the Corporations Act and the different state and territory based registers of encumbrances over motor vehicles including REVS.

 

For more information on these new laws, please contact Chad Pedersen.

...Read Less

Horton Rhodes acted for Portland Group Pty Limited in its recent sale to Infosys BPO Limited....Read More

Horton Rhodes acted for Portland Group Pty Limited in its recent sale to Infosys BPO Limited.

 

For more information regarding the transaction, please click here:

 

http://www.financial-news-reports.com/news/79934-infosys-bpo-signs-definitive-agreement-to.html

 

For any further information, please contact Neil Archer or Nicholas Heinecke.

...Read Less

Safe Work Australia has developed model work, health and safety laws as part of an initiative of the Council of Australian Governments to...Read More

Safe Work Australia has developed model work, health and safety laws as part of an initiative of the Council of Australian Governments to harmonise the work, health and safety laws of the Commonwealth and each state and territory.

 

The new uniform health and safety laws will commence on 1 January 2012 and bring about significant changes to this area of the law including:

 

•             a wider scope of a business’s duty of care;

•             the imposition of a positive duty of due diligence on officers of the business; and

•             significantly increased penalties

 

For more information on these new laws, please see the attached article or contact Chad Pedersen.

 

Download File ...Read Less

The Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) has been amended to include section 111A which provides that a mortgagee or chargee exercising their power of sale must take “reasonable care”...Read More

The Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) has been amended to include section 111A which provides that a mortgagee or chargee exercising their power of sale must take “reasonable care” to ensure the mortgaged or charged land is sold for:
 
a)      where the land has an ascertainable market value, not less than its market value; or
b)      in any other case, the best price that may reasonably be obtained in the circumstances.
 
This new section also relevantly provides:
 
1.       The duty also applies to an agent appointed by a mortgagee or chargee to sell the land.
2.       Where this duty is breached, the person who suffers loss has a remedy in damages against the mortgagee or
          charge who sold the land, however, it does not provide grounds to challenge the title of the purchaser who
          bought the land.
3.       The duty cannot be contracted out of by agreement.
4.       The duty applies to all mortgages and charges, where the sale arises as a consequence of a default taking place after 1 November 2011.
 
This new duty can been seen as extending the standard imposed under s 420A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), involving the sale of company property, to the sale of property owned by natural persons in New South Wales. While the conduct required to discharge the duty may vary from case to case, steps such as obtaining independent advice about the proposed sale, obtaining a property valuation, properly advertising the property and selling the property by way of auction will no doubt be relevant factors in determining whether reasonable care has been taken.
 
For more information please contact Stephen Watt.
 
 Disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on for that purpose. Horton Rhodes Lawyers excludes all liability for any loss or damage arising from or in connection with use of this article.

 

...Read Less