JHK Legal Commerical Articles

On 10 May 2021, in a historical Australian decision, the Full Federal Court handed down a decision which abolished the peak indebtedness rule and found that a liquidator cannot apply the peak indebtedness rule in unfair preference claims involving running accounts. The Full Court held that if there is a continuing business relationship involving multiple…

The Supreme Court of New South Wales judgment of Re Western Port Holdings Pty Ltd (receivers and managers appointed)(in Liq) [2021] NSWSC 232 (“Western Port”) has provided liquidators with more comfort to pursue an unfair preference claims against recipients of third party payments and payments made during the course and operation of a Deed of…

If you are considering purchasing a property through your self-managed superannuation fund (‘SMSF’), it is essential that prior to entering into any contract of sale you determine whether you need to put in place a custodian arrangement. In this article we provide a brief overview of the Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangements for SMSFs contained in…

Consumer law is susceptible to constant change and business owners should continuously and actively keep up to date with these amendments to ensure the fulfilment of their obligations and mostly importantly, to avoid any punitive penalties. This article raises some awareness concerning new disclosure requirements indorsed within the Fair-Trading Act 1987 (NSW) as of 1…

Buying a property in a new country can always come with its challenges. The FIRB regime is a complex area that needs to be considered when foreign persons begin the property process. This article will provide an overview of FIRB and aspects to take note of. The Foreign Investment review board is a regulatory framework…

What is the presumption of advancement? In Australia, the general rule is that in circumstances where property is transferred between people who do not have any of these relationships, it gives rise to a presumption of a resulting trust in favour of the donor (the person who transferred the property). A resulting trust means that…

As the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic continue, many businesses have innovated and adjusted their business models to stay afloat. With the changes came temporary measures and stimulus packages to ease the pressure and burden businesses would face. Many of those measures have now come to an end. The outlook for 2021 has normality in…

2021 marks the 10-year anniversary of the commencement of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (“CCA”), which came into effect on 1 January 2011. With an increased focus on greater consumer and small business protection, the CCA has been heralded by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (“ACCC”) as a milestone achievement in Australian…

The Covid-19 pandemic caused an array of difficulty for Australian business both small and large. One of these difficulties in the current pandemic landscape is the loss of earnings to a business as a result of temporary closure to their business premises. Often these business closures were unavoidable and/or forced upon traders by the Government.…

For most, entering into a lease of any sort is an exercise in the basics of contract law.  There will be an invitation to treat from the Lessor consisting of the premises or land and subsequent rental amount.  This invitation will be met with an “offer” from the Lessee (often recorded in a “non-binding” Offer…