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Labor to abolish non-compete clauses from 2027
On 25 March 2025, the Albanese Labor government announced in its 2025-26 Budget (Budget), that it intended to abolish non-compete clauses in employment contracts for approximately three (3) million workers from 2027.
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Damages for misleading conduct by competitors under ACL
Section 236 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) entitles any person, including corporations – to claim compensation for loss or damage suffered from misleading or deceptive conduct. The High Court has developed numerous general principles for assessing loss or damage which we will discuss in this article.
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Federal parliament enacts cyber security legislation
On 25 November 2024, the Australian Parliament passed a suite of legislation, collectively referred to by the Australian Government as the Cyber Security Legislative Package 2024. The purported impetus for this legislation was a series of high-profile data breaches in 2022 and 2023.
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Updates to the Franchising Code of Conduct
The current Franchising Code of Conduct (Old Code) is scheduled to “sunset” (meaning it will automatically expire unless extended or replaced) on 1 April 2025, with the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes–Franchising) Regulations 2024 (Cth) (New Regulations) coming into effect on the same date.
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New Anti-Money Laundering Bill introduced
On 11 September 2024 the (Bill) was introduced to the House of Representatives.[1] The Bill will amend the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act) to include provisions regarding deterrence, detection and disruption of money laundering and terrorism financing.[2] Most changes will take effect from 31 March 2026.
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How to read a commercial contract
A commercial contract (Commercial Contract) is a legally binding agreement between two (2) or more parties that contains the terms and conditions for a mutual exchange of value, such as goods or services for financial compensation. This article aims to assist the reader on how to understand the contents of such a document.
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Are contract recitals legally binding?
Recitals, also known as the “preamble” or “details” clauses (Recitals) are introductory statements at the start of a contract that provide context, background or reasons for the terms and conditions that follow. They have been historically used by the Courts to aid in the interpretation of ambiguous terms and are capable of including essential provisions…
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The “right to disconnect” from modern workplaces
The right to disconnect, as contained in Part 8 of the Fair Work Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Bill (Bill), gives employees the right to refuse contact from their employers (or related parties) outside of their working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable. The changes in Part 8 amend various sections of the Fair Work…
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The illegal phoenixing regime
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating Illegal Phoenixing) Act 2020 (Cth) (Amending Act) came into force on 18 February 2020 and was designed to prevent illegal phoenixing activity. The Amending Act introduced reforms such as creditor-defeating disposition provisions to combat phoenixing activity. Additional provisions amending the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) were aimed to encourage accountability by…
Commercial law
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