If you have been following the Financial System Inquiry you will not have missed the idea of giving the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC additional product intervention powers These powers exist in the UK What do they look like This question is more relevant than ever right now ...

There is a contest underway between two heavyweights In one corner of the ring we have Big Data In the other corner we have the definition of personal advice in section 766B3 of the Corporations Act ...

In Lend Lease Development Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue, the Victorian Court of Appeal decided that certain 'development contributions' made by a purchaser to a vendor did not form part of the consideration that 'moved' the transfer of land to the purchaser. ...

Since a landmark decision has narrowed available claims against defendants under the Alien Tort Claims Act for alleged violations of customary international law US courts have sought to clarify exactly what geographical connection is required to justify a claim against corporate defendants Partner ...

The difficulty of registering a colour mark or word mark denoting a colour that include issues of market place recognition was highlighted by a recent set of appeals revolving around the use of the word Yellow in a tussle between various business directory goods and service providers Partner Sarah ...

In a recent decision the Victorian Court of Appeal has held that parties to an arbitration agreement cannot avoid arbitration by seeking to bring the claim in a statutory tribunal Partner Nick Rudge and Lawyer James Waters report on a case that reinforces the trend of Australian courts to give ...

A recent Federal Court decision highlights the importance of managing the provision of information and documentation to third parties with caution in order to preserve legal professional privilege Partner Richard Harris and Senior Associate Elnaz Nikibin report on the case ...

After two years three rounds of public consultation and one aborted attempt Federal Parliament looks likely to pass legislation amending the rules governing when the Australian Taxation Office is required to refund excess GST to a taxpayer ...

ASIC has outlined its expectations for financial advice where the client is advised to set up a self-managed superannuation fund ASIC has done so in two publications released yesterday - one deals with the risks associated with SMSFs information sheet 205 and the other with the costs information ...

As an institution APRA can be partial to bureaucratese As keen readers of APRAs writings we sometimes find ourselves asking ndash what is APRA really saying here And that is a question worth asking when reading APRAs recent letter to life companies setting out its concerns with group insurance ...