To what extent do directors of a corporate trustee owe duties to a corporate trustee, its shareholders and/or the beneficiaries of the trust?

This article examines a Federal Court case in which a director of a private company, acting as trustee of a private trust, was found to have breached his fiduciary duties to the company by entering into a series of transactions to effect superannuation contributions.

The Options Paper, Australia’s Charities and Not-for-profits has been released to seek feedback on proposed arrangements for charities in Australia following the Government’s planned repeal of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). The Government’s proposed arrangements attempt to balance reducing the administrative burden of reporting obligations with the need for public accountability.

There is no requirement to file the underlying agreement that gives rise to a security interest on the Personal Property Securities Register (Register).  This has the potential to give rise to fake or sham registrations because the Register cannot determine if a registration is in fact a genuine security interest. This creates a situation where the Register can be compromised by the lodgement of sham registrations.

Effective from 1 July 2014, the definition of “motor vehicle” under the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (PPSA) has been amended to include a motor vehicle that:

- is capable of travelling at more than 10km/hr; and
- has a total motor power greater than 200W.

The Australasian Legal Practice Management Association (ALPMA) today appointed Mr Andrew Barnes, Financial Controller for the Lantern Legal Group, as its President, following the departure of Mr Anthony Bleasdale who has accepted a new role as Director of BigHand in Asia Pacific.

As previously reported, the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme (EIP) was announced by the Federal Government, with funding of $484.2 million over 5 years. The EIP has an objective to improve the business capabilities of Australian small to medium enterprises, to make them more competitive on the global stage.

It’s happening.  The internet is changing, growing, expanding.  The .com domain will soon be competing with specific business-owned domains for greater visibility and control on the internet.  What does this all mean?

It means there will be many more domain names available for registration.  Business will have the ability to carve their own personal internet space by obtaining their own top level domain.  And us internet users will see, over time, many more top level domains emerging so web addresses will change too.

The Victorian State Revenue Office has recently released General Information Bulletin GEN 2/14 in relation to recent duty and land tax changes that received Royal Assent on 17 June 2014. Of particular note is the change to the area defined as “Greater Melbourne” for the purposes of the Primary Land Tax Exemption.

With 30 June fast approaching, it is time to review and plan the 2014 financial year trust distributions.

To help you prepare for June 30, here’s a summary of our recommendations as to the action you should take.

The Australian Government has released a consultation paper which seeks to protect small businesses from the burden of unfair contract terms in standard form contracts. 

Unfair contract terms go beyond what is necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the party seeking to include the terms in the contract (for example a large corporate business). These terms create a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations of the parties to the contract. Similar provisions currently exist to protect consumers in dealing with businesses.

The consultation period with interested stakeholders in relation to Employee Shares Schemes (ESS) after the issue of the Employee Share Schemes and Start-up Companies: Administration and Taxation Arrangement discussion paper reported on in August last year has now ended.  

Sladen Legal can now assist GST groups with Indirect Tax Sharing and Funding Agreements.

There are multiple complex taxation laws governing GST Groups. Therefore, it is crucial to have the appropriate documentation in place to clearly define (and be able to determine) each member’s rights and obligations, and thereby avoid any adverse tax consequences.

As one of Victoria’s leading law firms, with a long standing record of providing specialised legal services to family business groups, we have identified the need for a dedicated tax consolidation practice to enable us to guide our clients and their advisors through every stage of the tax consolidation process. 

The Government has released a media release confirming that super funds (including SMSFs) and employers now have up to 1 July 2015 (rather than 1 July 2014) to comply with the new SuperStream obligations. 

There is no doubt about it, kids are addicted to mobile phones.  To add to their fascination, games are becoming more and more addictive by requiring in-app purchases to maximise the experience of the game.  Even though an app or game might be free to download, the app may offer the purchase of extra content such as additional lives, virtual supplies like diamonds, food, ammunition, clothing or virtual currency to buy more virtual supplies.  And this can be addictive.  For $2 I can buy 500 diamonds which will let me buy lots of things from the virtual corner store or for $2 I can buy an extra life and continue to play the game.

The Victorian Government has recently passed legislation that will affect a vendor’s disclosure obligations when selling property in Victoria. The changes relate to the information to be contained in the statement provided to purchasers under section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962 before they sign a contract of sale (commonly called a Section 32 Statement, or Vendor’s Statement).

The parties to a recent Federal Court case could have avoided a lot of time and expense if they had simply put their intellectual property ownership arrangements in writing.

Max Scott came up with a new and less costly way of making “clean wine spirits” for Bacchus Distillery. Bacchus applied for a patent in its own name, and also named one of its employees as co-inventor. Scott believed Bacchus needed to be the sole named owner so it could receive government grants, but the arrangement was never put in writing.

There has been a lot published in the traditional media about the 2014-15 Federal Budget’s taxation and expenditure measures including the new temporary deficit levy, the increase to the FBT rate, the company tax rate reduction, the paid parental leave levy, indexation of fuel excise, the choice to withdraw excess contributions to superannuation, increases to the superannuation guarantee charge and the medicare co-payments.

Many people in the super industry approach each budget with some trepidation given the number of changes to the superannuation system over the years. This year, however, the industry received a pleasant surprise with only two changes, one being the ability to withdraw excess non-concessional contributions and the second being changes to the increases to the super guarantee rate.

“There’s no need for a distribution agreement – with payment up front, what could go wrong?”

“Distribution agreements are straight forward. Cover off on transfer of title and the ordering process and you’re set – right?”

If you’ve ever thought this, think again. As IP lawyers operating in the business world, we see many things go missing from these type of agreements. It can be costly.