December 2005
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In this edition:
Note: All hyperlinks below were correct at the time of publication. Generally, it is too onerous a task for us to check and update these and so if a hyperlink is no longer valid, please accept our apologies.
The Government's new workplace laws have passed through Parliament. For a copy of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 and Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work and Other Measures) Act 2005, go to:
The Government has finally released an exposure draft of its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing reforms for public comment. The package can be viewed on Austrac's website at:
http://www.austrac.gov.au/aml/AML_CTF_system.html
The Government has enacted the second stanza of its new anti-terrorism laws. For a copy of the Anti-Terrorism Act (No. 2) 2005 and its explanatory memorandum, go to:
The long awaited enabling legislation for the splitting of superannuation contributions between spouses has finally been enacted. For a copy of the Tax Laws Amendment (Superannuation Contributions Splitting) Act 2005 and its explanatory memorandum, go to:
The Government's new loss recoupment rules for companies have also been enacted. For a copy of the Tax Laws Amendment (Loss Recoupment Rules and Other Measures) Act 2005 and its explanatory memorandum, go to:
The Government has introduced a Bill to amend the Bankruptcy Act 1966 to introduce a range of anti-avoidance measures. A copy of the Bankruptcy Legislation Amendment (Anti-avoidance) Bill 2005 and its explanatory memorandum can be downloaded at:
ACCC has released a guide to corporate trade practices compliance programs for medium to large companies. For a copy of the guide, go to:
ACCC has issued a draft Merger Review Process Guideline for consultation. It expands upon the Guideline for Informal Merger Review issued in October 2004. For a copy, go to:
APRA has amended the regulatory reporting requirements for life companies to reflect the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards in Australia. A copy of the prudential rules can be found on APRAs web site at:
http://www.apra.gov.au/Life/Prudential-Rules.cfm
APRA has announced the release by the Joint Forum of a consultative paper aimed at improving the resilience of financial systems to major operational disruptions, entitled High-level principles for business continuity. A copy of the consultative paper is available at:
http://www.bis.org/publ/joint14.pdf
ASIC has released its policy on the regulation of generic financial calculators and issued a new Class Order CO 05/1122 Relief for providers of generic calculators to give effect to the policy. See Information Release IR 05-64:
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/ASIC_PUB.NSF/byid/035EF1D2402F11E5CA2570DD001CC8D1?opendocument
ASIC has issued a new Class Order CO 05/1236 which varies Class Order CO 05/26 Constitutional provisions about the consideration to acquire interests to permit the exercise of discretion by responsible entities of registered managed investment schemes when making pricing decisions. See Information Release IR 05-66:
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/ASIC_PUB.NSF/byid/9EB5057A423D3048CA2570DF000446AF?opendocument
ASIC has provided guidance to corporate superannuation advisers to assist them in complying with their obligations as Australian financial services licensees when providing advice to employers. See Information Release IR 05-67:
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/ASIC_PUB.NSF/byid/128389AD00DC76C2CA2570DF00137989?opendocument
ASX has amended Market Rule 13.4 and republished Guidance Note 1 Prevention Of Manipulative Trading Transactions Involving No Change in Beneficial Ownership to reflect the amendments to that rule. See ASX Circular 711/05 and attachments:
Austrac has launched a dedicated anti-money laundering reform website with information on proposed reforms to Australia's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing system. The address is:
http://www.austrac.gov.au/aml/index.html
For an outline of the exposure draft Bill on anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing released this month, see Allens Arthur Robinson, Focus: Anti-money Laundering December 2005:
http://www.aar.com.au/pubs/fmres/foaml22dec05.htm
And for a discussion of the measures in the Anti-Terrorism Act (No 2) 2005 (Cth) and their impact on the financial sector, see Allens Arthur Robinson, Focus: Anti-money Laundering Reforms December 2005:
http://www.aar.com.au/pubs/pdf/fmres/foamldec05.pdf
An explanatory package outlining proposals to streamline the disclosure of essential financial information to accompany credit contracts has been released for public consultation. See Freehills, Proposed Disclosure Changes for Credit Contracts Released - 30 December 2005:
http://www.freehills.com.au/publications/publications_5571.asp
For a general discussion of recent developments in employee relations law, see Allens Arthur Robinson, Focus: Workplace Relations - December 2005 and Blake Dawson Waldron, IR Bulletin - December 2005:
http://www.aar.com.au/pubs/pdf/wr/fowrdec05.pdf
http://www.bdw.com/publications/ir/ir122005.pdf
For a helpful summary of the new national workplace relations system and what it means for employers, see Mallesons, WorkChoices - the Dawn of a New Era - 7 December 2005:
http://www.mallesons.com/publications/2005/Dec/8218291W.htm
For a discussion of the appeal decision in Vance v McCabe, holding that it is not necessary for communications of inhouse counsel to enjoy legal professional privilege for counsel to have a practising certificate or a statutory right to practice, see Minter Ellison, Practising Certificates for In-house Lawyers Clarified - 13 December 2005:
Native title has been recognised for the first time in Victoria, with a consent determination over parts of western Victoria by the Federal Court. See Allens Arthur Robinson, Focus: Native Title December 2005:
http://www.aar.com.au/pubs/nat/fonat21dec05.htm
For a summary of the new tax laws placing a ceiling on the same business test and their consequences for project financings, see Allens Arthur Robinson, Focus: Tax December 2005:
http://www.aar.com.au/pubs/tax/fotax6dec05.htm
For a general discussion of recent tax developments relevant to the taxation of financing transactions, see Allens Arthur Robinson, Focus: Tax Focus on Finance December 2005:
http://www.aar.com.au/pubs/tax/fotfindec05.htm
In ASIC v Vines [2005] NSWSC 1349, the NSW Supreme Court refused to grant relief under section 1317JA or 1318 of the Corporations Act to former executives of GIO found liable for breaching their statutory duty of care and diligence. The decision can be downloaded at:
http://cclsr.law.unimelb.edu.au/judgments/states/nsw/2005/december/2005nswsc1349.htm
In St George Soccer Football Association Inc v Soccer NSW Ltd [2005] NSWSC 1288, the NSW Supreme Court refused to imply a term into a company's constitution requiring good faith performance and fair dealing where directors perform functions under the constitution. While finding that as a statutory contract, a company constitution could be amenable to the implication of terms, in this case the suggested term did not pass the usual contract law tests to be implied into the contract. The decision can be downloaded at:
http://cclsr.law.unimelb.edu.au/judgments/states/nsw/2005/december/2005nswsc1288.html
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