The Federal Government has announced that it will proceed with only one of the backlog of announced but unlegislated reforms to the taxation of charities and other not-for-profit entities proposed by previous governments Special Counsel Glenys Hodges and Lawyer Scott Lang report on the fate of the ...

A recent draft tax ruling may make it more difficult for employers to claim tax deductions for contributions made to employee remuneration trusts However the ruling is expected to have limited practical application to listed companies making non-refundable contributions to traditional employee share ...

As part of its ongoing initiative to reduce red tape and streamline application and approval processes for the resources industry, the Queensland Government has released two discussion papers simultaneously proposing amendments to the objection regime for mining leases and regulations ...

Queensland has a new planning approval process for resources activities and regulated activities in areas of regional interest following the passage of landmark legislation The new approvals regime may have implications for existing and future resource projects Partner Bill McCredie and Senior ...

Exposure draft life insurance regulations were released yesterday They are a marked departure from the existing conflicted remuneration provisions Now a benefit can only be conflicted remuneration if it could reasonably be expected to influence financial product advice These regulations will create ...

In a recent decision of the Victorian Supreme Court a Melbourne municipal council was held liable to compensate a landowner for the costs that were incurred by the landowner in the course of complying with a clean-up notice issued under the Environment Protection Act 1970 Vic despite the pollution ...

The Productivity Commission has released an issues paper inviting submissions on the criteria that should be used to assess the efficiency and competitiveness of Australias superannuation system This will be of interest not only to superannuation trustees but also to service providers including fund ...

In this issue we look at sham contracting arrangements gambling addiction as a possible protected attribute under anti-discrimination law who is liable for costs associated with bullying claims a failed general protections claim when a lawful direction will be deemed reasonable and employers ...

ASIC is consulting on a new regulatory guide for providers of digital financial product advice or robo-advice The regulatory guide is intended to help new entrants and existing Australian financial services licence holders For new entrants and licensees needing a reminder there is a nice summary of ...

Partners David Donnelly and Nicholas Ng examine public-private partnerships PPPs in Australia including the year in review the general framework bidding and award procedures recent decisions and the outlook for 2015 ...