10 April, 2024
Proposed New Tax Breaks for BTR Investment and Development
The Federal Government has this week released draft legislation aimed at stimulating investment and development within the build-to-rent sector, aligning with its ambitious objective to construct 1.2 million new residences by 2029. This legislation, proposed to amend the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, 1997 and 1953, seeks to introduce tax incentives…
9 April, 2024
Duties of a liquidator when selling company property
Section 420A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) obliges a receiver exercising a power of sale to take all reasonable care to sell the property for market value or the best price reasonably obtainable. This is typically a heavy duty. Liquidators are not subject to section 420A of the…
Congratulations! You have just obtained an adjudication certificate. What comes next if the respondent refuses to pay the adjudicated amount? Knowing how to enforce SOPA debts is essential for construction industry participants who want to exercise their right to receive progress payment. Two potentially powerful options available to claimants are…
4 April, 2024
La Niña And Its Effect On Contractors
The last La Niña (wet period) lasted for more than 1 year and ended in March 2023. After a few months of a neutral period, El Niño (dry period) started in September 2023. El Niño was expected to persist until at least the second quarter of this year. However, based…
28 March, 2024
Enforceability Of HBA Contracts
Dyjecinska v Step-Up Renovations (NSW) Pty Ltd NSWSC 159 (Dyjecinska case) The Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) (HBA) provides that a residential building contract (contract) must meet certain requirements, such as the contract must be signed, made in writing and contain sufficient description of the works. If the contract does…
28 March, 2024
The Question: Will The Court Order A Separate Question?
Typically, the standard approach in litigation is to resolve all issues together in a single hearing. However, there are exceptions acknowledged by the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) (UCPR) where a specific issue may be decided as a separate question before addressing the remaining disputes in the legal proceedings.…
The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Fees Imposition Amendment Bill 2024 (Fees Imposition Bill) and Treasury Laws Amendment (Foreign Investment) Bill 2024 (Foreign Investment Bill) have recently been introduced by the Federal Government to again change the foreign investment legislation. These Bills will have a substantial impact on foreign buyers acquiring Australian…
21 March, 2024
Has the right of carriageway been abandoned?
Castle v Achdjian NSWSC 1340 In the case of Castle v Achdjian NSWSC 1340, the Supreme Court of NSW had to decide whether a right of carriageway was abandoned and could be obstructed by the owners of the burdened land. This case demonstrates the continuing complexities and evidentiary requirements that…
15 March, 2024
Taking Security from Related Entities of a Borrower – Unreasonable Director-Related Transactions
Case note - Cooper as Liquidator of Runtong Investment and Development Pty Ltd (In Liq) v CEG Direct Securities Pty Ltd FCA 6 The recent case of Cooper as Liquidator of Runtong Investment and Development Pty Ltd (In Liq) v CEG Direct Securities Pty Ltd FCA 6 (Cooper), shed light…