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The law is complex and ever changing. Small amendments to legislation can have serious impact throughout the industry and broader economy. Seemingly minor details can make or break a business.

That’s why our team are constantly researching, writing and documenting the latest changes to the law. By placing focus on writing and commentary we ensure our team and our clients stay one step ahead of the competition.

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Our Writers Guild are some of the most prolific drafters in the industry. Our Senior Associates meet once a week to research, debate and write about the major issues facing our clients and the broader sector. We believe that by researching these matters it helps to inform our team and our clients, ensuring every move we make is deeply researched and considered. These deep insights form part of our winning formula at Vincent Young.

Contact us if you would like us to present to your organisation on any of the matters in our papers.

Latest articles

BuildingConstructionContractsProjects
3 January, 2023

New NSW Government Commercial Principles

  On 1 September 2022, the NSW Government published its “Commercial principles on escalation risk for infrastructure projects” (Commercial Principles) to guide contractors and government agencies through the current inflationary environment. The Commercial Principles recognise cost escalation as a foreseeable risk that can be managed. These are intended as a…
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BuildingConstructionLaw
26 December, 2022

Comparison of Home Warranty Insurance Schemes   

What is Homeowners’ Warranty Insurance? Homeowners warranty insurance (HWI) is a type of mandatory insurance designed to protect homeowners in the event that certain residential building works are defective or incomplete. HWI is known by many different names throughout Australia. National Approach Currently there is no uniform national approach to…
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CommercialInsolvencyLawTax
2 December, 2022

Director Penalty Regime

Any moratoria in place since COVID-19 is now at an end. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has reverted back to recovering outstanding tax liabilities. If you are a director of a company, it is important that you are aware that the ATO can, in particular circumstances, recover unpaid company tax…
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Property
24 November, 2022

Electronic affixing of seal of an owners corporation

It was always the case that the seal of an Owners Corporation needed to be affixed physically and in the presence of appropriate witnesses to comply with s273 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) (Act). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Government Public Health Orders, from 5…
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CommercialLaw
17 November, 2022

Penalties in Loan Contracts

Introduction In the current inflationary market, lenders are changing the terms on which they are willing to lend money to both individuals and businesses.  For most borrowers, the key variable is interest rates. Can an interest rate under a loan ever be so high that a court will refuse to…
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ContractsProjectsProperty
4 November, 2022

The doctrine of frustration in land contracts

The Doctrine of Frustration Frustration operates to bring a contract to an end in circumstances where an intervening, post-contract event has occurred through no fault of the parties, which makes a contractual obligation impossible to perform or transforms a contractual obligation into a fundamentally different obligation. Frustration in contract generally and…
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ConstructionContractsLaw
12 October, 2022

Arbitration is No Bar for Bank Guarantees

In Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd v INPEX Operations Australia Ltd  NSWSC 1125, Daewoo sought to prevent INPEX from calling on a bank guarantee. The Supreme Court ruled against Daewoo. Under a construction contract, the Principal may be entitled to call on a bank guarantee, even while the…
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Law
9 September, 2022

Requirements for inter-state service of proceedings – they matter!

Most lawyers know that there are special rules governing service of proceedings outside of Australia, but there are also statutory provisions governing inter-State service of proceedings. These rules stem from our constitution and federal system of government. It is important to follow the requirements of these statutory provisions closely to…
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ConstructionContractsLaw
23 August, 2022

Buildability Clauses and The End Of Construct-Only Contracts

A new trend has emerged in the drafting of construct-only construction contracts which places unexpected design risks on Contractors. Contractors should pay close attention to any clause containing the terms buildability or constructability, which may entail broad design obligations, even where the contract is otherwise a construct-only variety such as…
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EmploymentHRLaw
8 August, 2022

Key HR changes from 1 July 2022

The Vincent Young Employment + Workplace Relations team has updated its Employment + Workplace Relations Guide to reflect the changes for the 2022-2023 financial year. Download your copy today.   National Minimum Wage Each financial year, the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) Expert Panel for wage reviews undertakes its annual wage…
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ConstructionContractsLaw
25 July, 2022

Fitness for Purpose Warranties: Contractor Beware

Modern construction contracts increasingly blur the roles and responsibilities of the parties. Consistent with this pattern, ‘Fitness for Purpose’ (FFP) warranties may be used to place the design risk on the contractor (as opposed to the designer or professional engineer). Contractors should be aware of express and implied FFP warranties…
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Law
18 July, 2022

Defamation – what it takes

The elements required to prove defamation are difficult to satisfy before the Court. Each case should be assessed on its own merits, and the following key components must be proven on the balance of probabilities for a successful claim: Who can be defamed? A corporation has no cause of action…
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LawProperty
8 July, 2022

NSW duties and penalty changes now in force

Is duty payable on a call option in NSW?  It is now. Introduction The State Revenue and Fines Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2022 (NSW) (Bill) was introduced into NSW Parliament on 23 March 2022 and was assented to on 19 May 2022. The Bill is now referred to as State…
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