ARTICLES

The Annual Update on Australian Beef Sustainability has recently been published. The Annual Update informs the industry and wider community on how the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework is being implemented. The Framework was first developed to guide the beef...

In June the NSW Parliament passed the Work Health and Safety (Review) Bill 2020 (‘the Bill’). The Bill created several changes to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (‘the Act’), which are now in force. Despite a recommendation from Safe Work Australia’s...

On 19 June the Fair Work Commission (FWC) released their annual wage review decision. From 1 July 2020, the minimum wage in Australia will increase from $19.49 per hour to $19.84 per hour, equivalent to a $13 increase in a 38-hour work week (before tax). In the...

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) recently released the second report of the Register of Foreign Ownership of Water Entitlements as at 30 June 2019. The report showed that 10.5% of Australian water entitlements are owned by foreign persons and agriculture and mining are...

The Corporations (Coronavirus Economic Response) Determination (No 2) 2020 was enacted on the 26 May 2020 under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) to be in place for 6 months. The purpose of the determination is to lessen the threat to directors of class actions by...

Despite residential real estate facing an increasingly struggling market, agricultural land is experiencing a strong increase in demand. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have caused a surge in food and fibre production resulting in agricultural land prices being...

In the recent decision of Rossato v Workpac Pty Ltd (‘Rossato’) the Court ruled that a ‘casual’ employee had been misclassified and as a result was entitled to compensation for leave entitlements in accordance with National Employment Standards. The Court affirmed the...

To be eligible under the JobKeeper scheme, employees must be employed on either a full-time, part-time, fixed term or long term (i.e. over 12 months) casual basis. These criteria give rise to potential for disputes about the proper classification of employees. The...

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) have made amendments to majority of modern awards. A new Schedule X entitled ‘Additional measures during the COVID-19 pandemic’ is now included in 99 industry awards, listed here. The schedule...