>The Offset Alpine affair has attracted much public attention and intrigue because of its mix of high-profile figures, large sums of money, and suspicions of criminality.

The Australian Commonwealth Government introduced a scheme on 12 October 2008 to guarantee certain deposits and wholesale funding of eligible authorised deposit taking institutions.

With the increasingly limited access to the unfair and unlawful termination provisions of the Federal industrial relations legislation, more frequently disputes are making their way to the courts by virtue of causes of action for breach of common law contract.

1 January 2011 was a significant date in the history of Australian competition and consumer protection legislation. On that day, the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (TPA), which had regulated the competitive and consumer conduct of businesses in Australia for over 36 years, was consigned to the annals of history, to be replaced by the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA).

There is an unfortunate stigma which attaches to companies under external administration - it is as if the words "administrator appointed" signify that a company is not only insolvent, but beyond all hope of rescue and surely on its way out.

Some recent Corporations Law changes allowing rights issues by listed entities without a prospectus as well as proposed ASX Listing Rule changes that reduce the shareholder spread requirement.

A discussion on the Centro decision and its implications for Directors' duties.

Have you thought about your business succession strategy? Simply put, what is going to happen if you 'die at your desk'?

The Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 ("Act") and Paid Parental Leave (Consequential) Amendment Act 2010, provide a government funded scheme for paid parental leave under which employees may be entitled to receive up to 18 weeks paid parental leave following the birth of their child or placement of an adopted child after 1 January 2011.

On 12 November 2008, Federal Parliament passed the Trade Practices Amendment (Clarity in Pricing) Bill 2008 which inserts an amended section 53C into the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and in doing so, introduces significant changes to the practice of component pricing.

On 1 August 2010, Australian Securities and Investments Commission ("ASIC:) will take over from the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX") the market supervision role. ASIC has released its Regulatory Guide 214: Guidance on ASIC Market Integrity Rules for ASX and ASX 24 Markets, and the new ASIC Market Integrity Rules ("MIRs").

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) received Royal Assent on 8 April 2009. The majority of the Act will come into operation on 1 July 2009 (including the unfair and unlawful termination provisions).

In recent years, a growing telecommunications market has been the provision of pre-paid calling cards (Calling Cards). Using a dedicated card number and a PIN, Calling Cards provide a method for accessing either locally or remotely stored credit for the purpose of making telephone calls (predominantly to international locations).

On 15 December 2008 the Government released the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (“the Scheme”) White Paper and with it, Australia’s carbon emissions targets post 2012.

A look at the discussion papers for the convergeance review regarding media content.

The ubiquitous availability of the internet and increasing acceptance of e-commerce has lowered the barriers to international trading. Even small to medium sized businesses can have global reach. If a business is considering selling goods and services globally it is important to consider strategies for protecting the brand overseas and to minimise the risk of exposure to claims for trade mark infringement

Both intellectual property and IP licences are specifically included in the PPSA regime as a type of personal property.

A look at new amendments being proposed to the Telecommunications Act to strengthen consumer safeguard provisions.

This paper provides a brief overview of the main forms of ADR processes and their respective benefits and limitations.

Cloud computing services have been on offer for many years – most noticeably with free consumer services ranging from the launch of Hotmail to Gmail and social media sites like Facebook. But the scale and use of cloud computing – in particular as an enterprise or business solution – is being heralded as the next big thing in the IT industry.