Banning non-competes: the proposed reforms go much further than employers may expect
Australia’s current restraint laws are portrayed by the Government as anti-competitive and in need of reform but do the new proposals go too far? The Federal Government’s proposed ban on non-compete clauses was promoted principally as a measure to prevent low and middle income workers being unnecessarily prevented from changing jobs. The exposure draft legislation […]
What employers need to know about the ‘right to disconnect’
On 26 August 2024, changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) took effect, granting employees the right to ‘refuse contact or attempted contact from their employer outside the employee’s working hours’. This change was part of a global shift in workplace relations, spurred largely by an increase in flexible working arrangements which blur the line between ‘work’ and ‘home’. As an […]
Ownership vs control: why wearing two hats can get you into trouble
In many Australian businesses (especially family businesses) the same people are both shareholders and directors. This can result in the erroneous assumption that if you own the business, surely you should be the one making the decisions. However, the law draws a clear distinction between ownership and control and when that distinction is blurred, the […]
Australia’s new AML/CTF rules: what changes from 1 July 2026
If you have engaged a lawyer, accountant, conveyancer or real estate agent recently, you may already have been asked for more identification than usual. From 1 July 2026, those asks become standard practice across the profession. Your advisers will need to verify who you are. They will also ask about the source of funds in […]
License your software to your customers
License your software to your customers Your software reaches people you will never meet, on terms you write once. Every customer who uses your software is using it on terms somebody wrote. If that is a template you found, or an order form with nothing behind it, the terms are working against you in the […]
Take action against someone misusing your IP
Take action against someone misusing your IP Someone is using your work, and what you do next decides whether that stops. You have seen it: your design, your name, your material, being used by someone who never asked. The first question isn’t whether it is unfair, it is what right you actually hold and how […]
Issuing a convertible note to raise capital
Issuing a convertible note to raise capital Raise capital now without setting a price on your business yet. An investor is ready and you are not ready to name a price. A convertible note is the instrument that resolves that: money in now, equity later, at a valuation set by a round you have not […]
License your intellectual property to someone else
License your intellectual property to someone else Let someone else use what you made, on terms you set. Someone wants to use something you created, and they are willing to pay for it. A licence is how you say yes without giving it away: what they may do with it, where, for how long, and […]
Register a trade mark to protect your brand
Register a trade mark to protect your brand Registering your business name isn’t the same as owning it. Registering a business name gives you the right to trade under it. It does not stop anyone else using it, and neither does owning the domain. A registered trade mark is the only one of the three […]
Keep commercial discussions confidential
Keep commercial discussions confidential You cannot unshare information, so the agreement has to come first. There is a conversation you need to have, and it involves telling someone outside your business something you would not want repeated. A confidentiality agreement is what makes that conversation safe to have: what is protected, what they may use […]