Beam Me Up Scotty – Witnessing Documents Over the Net During the Pandemic

Contract Law / By Tamira Stevensen / 07/05/2020

Since 22 April 2020, legal documents can be witnessed and signed over the Internet in a legal milestone. On this date, the Electronic Transactions Amendment (COVID-19 Witnessing of Documents) Regulation 2020 (NSW) came into effect. The Regulation is designed to overcome the NSW Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on gatherings, including legally …

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Termination of a Contract or Agreement, including your COVID-19 pandemic options

Contract Law / By Tamira Stevensen / 07/05/2020

If you have a written contract, it will often contain a clause that allows either side to terminate the agreement if a specific condition is not met, usually the supply of goods and services or payment by some particular date. If the other party does not meet the requirement, you can choose to terminate the …

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COVID-19 and Debt Collection – Getting Paid In Difficult Times

Commercial Disputes & Litigation / By Tamira Stevensen / 05/04/2020

In business, cash is king, but with COVID-19, our worlds have been thrown upside down. With sensitivity in these difficult times, what can we do to recover money owed to a business? How do you recover debts owing to a business in these challenging times of COVID-19 and the coronavirus? 1. Re-negotiate your supply terms …

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Buying a Franchise – Finding a Goldmine and Avoiding a Sinkhole

Franchising / By Tamira Stevensen / 25/02/2020

If you take a casual look at some franchises, like Maccas or KFC, you might get the impression that they are a licence to print money. Everything decided for you, from product to training to publicity, a well-known brand and logo, access to prime retail addresses, and a Head Office full of lawyers and accountants …

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Franchise Disputes – Notice of Dispute and the Franchising Code of Conduct

Franchising / By Tamira Stevensen / 20/04/2019

You have bought into a franchise which you thought was a licence to print money, and suddenly you are in a dispute with the franchisor, the owner of the brand. What can you do? You should issue to the other party a Notice of Dispute under the Franchising Code of Conduct. When you think about …

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Contractor vs employee – Are your staff employees or contractors?

Employment Law / By Tamira Stevensen / 16/01/2019

In the age of ‘just in time’ and the ‘flexible labour force’ a lot of employers have been tempted to get rid of employee overheads altogether and supply the labour needed through ‘contracts for services’ or labour-hire arrangements. So, when is someone an employee and when are they a contractor? Labour-hire workers are often still …

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Unfair Contract Terms – Is your Franchise Agreement actionable under the Australian Consumer Law?

Franchising / By Tamira Stevensen / 17/10/2018

If you are a franchisee under a franchise agreement offered to you as a ‘take it or leave it’ standard form contract, Part 2-3 of the Australian Consumer Law1 may help you challenge the enforceability of any unfair franchise contract terms. As shown by the Husqvarna case, a franchisee’s rights under the Australian Consumer Law …

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Crowd-Sourced Funding – a New Type of Company to Attract Investors to Your Business

Business Structures / By Tamira Stevensen / 28/09/2018

The latest amendments to the Corporations Act extend Crowd-Sourced Funding Rights to private companies as well as unlisted public companies. The Amending Act removes the need for a proprietary company to convert to an unlisted private public company before seeking crowd-sourced funding. This means a private company which has more than one director can keep …

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Unfair Dismissal of An Employee: When is Fair Fair?

Employment Law / By Tamira Stevensen / 13/09/2018

Unfair dismissal is a legal action under the Fair Work Act 2009 available to employees who have had their employment terminated in a situation where their sacking is harsh, unjust, or unreasonable. Unfair dismissal is not the same as unlawful dismissal or wrongful dismissal. As ever, the devil is in the detail, so let’s take …

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What Are Company Directors Duties in Australia?

Corporations Law / By Tamira Stevensen / 12/11/2017

Corporate law for small businesses in Australia is now about company directors duties, and not just company directors duties owed to shareholders, but company duties owed to other stakeholders as well. What are the responsibilities of a director of a company? How have directors duties become stricter? There was a time when many company directors …

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