Sladen Snippet - Proposed changes to foreign investment regime
Minimum Pay Rates for Truck Drivers
The pitfalls of negotiation via email
In the case of Stellard Pty Ltd & Anor v North Queensland Fuel Pty Ltd [2015], the Queensland Supreme Court recently held that negotiations via a chain of emails resulted in a binding contract, despite the email communication stating that the terms of agreement were subject to a signed contract. The judgment serves as a warning to those involved in the negotiation of a contract via email correspondence.
“Treasurer for Sale” case provides example of the operation of Australia’s defamation laws
The recent case of Hockey v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd provides an interesting example of the application of Australia’s defamation laws to social media publications and matters of public interest.
Treasurer, Joe Hockey brought a defamation claim against three newspaper publishers in regards to articles published on 5 May 2014 in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times and online platforms controlled by those newspapers. The articles detailed the operations of a club, the North Sydney Forum and its connection to the Liberal Party. The articles said that through the North Sydney Forum, Mr Hockey was providing "privileged access" to a select group in return for donations to the Liberal Party without full disclosure to the election funding authorities. The words "Treasurer for Sale" or "Treasurer Hockey for Sale" were prominent in the articles. Although critical of the fundraising activities, the articles included some balancing comments and stated that the fundraising activities were legal.
Do trustees no longer have unlimited assessment periods?
In June 2015, an article written by Sladen Legal's Sam Campbell titled "Do trustees no longer have unlimited assessment periods?" was published in the Tax Institute’s Journal, Taxation in Australia.
This article discusses whether a new law administration practice statement will give trustees comfort that the Australian Taxation Office will not issue an assessment outside of the normal 2/4 year periods.
Sladen Snippet - ‘Repair - not replace’ – Productivity Commission releases its hotly anticipated draft inquiry report
For some time now, the Productivity Commission (Commission) has been undertaking a public inquiry to examine the performance of the workplace relations framework in Australia and to identify improvements to it.
Today, the Commission released its hotly anticipated draft inquiry report. The report outlines the key issues identified so far during the inquiry, discusses some of the draft recommendations and findings, and outlines how stakeholders will be able to provide feedback.