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 […]
Plan for a business partner’s exit
Plan for a business partner’s exit We agree the exit terms now, while nobody has a reason to argue about them. Every business with more than one owner eventually faces one leaving. Death, illness, divorce, a falling out, or just a change of mind. Agreed in advance it is a process. Agreed at the time […]
Set up a board and a governance framework
Set up a board and a governance framework We put in the board, the roles and the documents that let the business run without you deciding everything. Most businesses run on the founder’s judgement for as long as that works. Then it stops working. Roles blur, decisions get disputed, and nobody is sure who was […]
Protect your contractor licence from disqualification
Protect your contractor licence from disqualification We answer the Regulator’s notice properly, while the deadline is still open. A notice from NSW Fair Trading proposing to suspend, cancel or vary your contractors licence puts your right to trade in question. The deadline is short and the response you send is the case. Get the answer […]
Get your contractor licence back after disqualification
Get your contractor licence back after disqualification We prepare the reapplication as a case for why you are fit to hold the licence again. The disqualification has run and you want to work again. A reapplication after disqualification is not the standard form process. NSW Fair Trading starts from your history and asks whether you […]
Structure your medical practice and its service agreement
Structure your medical practice and its service agreement We document the arrangement between your practice and its doctors so their liability does not become yours. A practice that provides rooms, staff and systems to independent doctors is in a commercial relationship that needs writing down. Get it wrong and you can find yourself answering for […]
Document the services traded between your entities
Document the services traded between your entities We document what your entities actually provide each other, so the deductions survive a question. Groups share staff, premises and services between entities every day, and the paperwork rarely keeps up. Agreements expire. The amounts charged change and the document does not. If the ATO asks why an […]
Put your trading terms in writing
Put your trading terms in writing We write the terms you trade on, so every sale runs on your document rather than the law’s default. Every sale your business makes is a contract. If you have not written the terms, the law supplies them, and they are not written with you in mind. Trading terms […]
Get commercial legal advice as questions come up
Get commercial legal advice as questions come up We answer the commercial questions that come up, without turning each one into a project. Most legal questions in a business are small, urgent, and do not belong to any one category. Can we do this. Do we have to. What happens if they do not pay. […]