The Australian and Chinese governments have concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement that will reduce tariff barriers on the majority of Australian exports to China The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed that the treaty will include an investor-state dispute ...

The recent settlement of the Great Southern class action raises a number of interesting and important issues not only because the court took the unusual step of publishing its reasons for judgment after the settlement had been announced ...

In two decisions arising from the Octaviar liquidation the High Court has given guidance on liquidators ability to seek extensions of time for bringing voidable transaction claims The decisions also highlight the risks of such applications Partner Christopher Prestwich and Lawyer Julia Baine report ...

A new Law on Enterprises aimed at making it easier to do business in Vietnam implements key changes to the regulation of all companies operating in Vietnam and will allow companies greater freedom in the activities they may conduct Partners Linh Bui and Robert Fish Senior Associate Chi Ha and ...

Vietnams new Law on Bankruptcy will take effect from 1 January 2015 bringing in a number of changes including a new definition of bankruptcy Partner Robert Fish and Junior Associates Giang Quang Nguyen and Linh Nguyen look at the most significant features of the new law and note what will differ ...

In this issue we look at recent important decisions concerning calculating payment of accrued leave on termination redundancy of senior executives the redundancy risk posed by attempts to forcibly relocate employees disaggregating lawful and unlawful reasons in adverse action termination claims and ...

Hands up if you tuned in to the Financial System Inquirys discussion of bank capital - but felt you didnt really understand the basics well enough to follow it closely To paraphrase one of our numerous recent prime ministers this article is here to help ...

This week ASIC flagged a change in its approach to the exercise of its power to make orders to recover expenses and costs associated with investigations Information Sheet 204 indicates that ASIC will be making greater use of this power to seek recovery of its costs from individuals and companies ...

In 2014 the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC was chastened by the Senate Economics References Committee which wants ASIC to be more effective but encouraged by the Financial System Inquiry which wants ASIC to take on greater powers Meanwhile the Federal Government has reduced ...

Those involved in property development arrangements or business acquisitions should be aware of the tax implications of the recent High Court decision in Lend Lease Development that has broadened the scope of what forms the consideration for the transfer of dutiable property The High Court found ...