September 2006
| Inhouse Home Page | Inhouse Library | Inhouse Archives | Search This Site |
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 Generally, it is too onerous a task for us to check and update these and so if a hyperlink is no longer valid, please accept our apologies.
There have been major changes to Aboriginal land rights legislation in the Northern Territory. For a copy of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment Act 2006 (Cth) and its Explanatory Memorandum, go to:
ACCC has been busy upholding advertising standards. The proprietor of resumé preparation franchises has been stopped from claiming in its promotional material that buyers could earn a specified amount per day when there were no reasonable grounds to support those claims. BP has agreed to alter signage at its petrol stations offering "5% Off Everything", with the usual 'Conditions Apply' disclaimer in the footer - one of the undisclosed conditions being that the customer obtain a BP credit card before being entitled to the discount. And Uncle Tobys has given undertakings to stop representing that Roll Ups are "made with 65% real fruit" and with minimal processing, when that is not the case. See Media Releases 210/06, 211/06 and 212/06:
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/762343/fromItemId/2332
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/762375/fromItemId/2332
http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/762460/fromItemId/2332
APRA has updated its capital requirements for general insurers to align them with International Financial Reporting Standards. The revised standards will apply from 1 January 2007. Copies can be obtained from the APRA website at:
http://www.apra.gov.au/General/General-Insurance-Prudential-Standards-and-Guidance-Notes.cfm
ASIC has announced plans to develop a policy which will allow buy-backs of interests in listed registered schemes in certain circumstances. See Information Release IR 06-30:
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/ASIC_PUB.NSF/byid/656CC43E24BCF01ECA2571E000189DAD?opendocument
ASIC has issued a revised Policy Statement 51 Applications for Relief, outlining how it uses its powers to reduce the burden on business. It has also released a report outlining its recent decisions on applications for relief from the corporate finance, financial services and managed investment provisions of the Corporations Act between 1 April and 30 June 2006. For a copy of the revised statement and report, go to:
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/pdflib.nsf/LookupByFileName/ps51.pdf/$file/ps51.pdf
ASX has published an updated version (edition 11) of the explanatory booklet Warrants - Understanding Trading and Investment Warrants. The updated booklet must be given to persons who become new warrants clients on or after 4 September 2006. A copy of the updated booklet can be downloaded at:
http://www.asx.com.au/markets/pdf/Warrants.pdf
ASX has updated Futures Notice 040/2003 outlining the relief granted by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission in relation to ASX market participants trading futures contracts on behalf of US clients. See ASX Circular 474/06 and attachment:
AUSTRAC has updated Circular 44 Reserve Bank of Australia Sanctions Against International Financial Transactions to reflect the RBA's inclusion of certain entities associated with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the list of persons subject to financial sanctions under the Banking (Foreign Exchange) Regulations 1959 (Cth). For further details, go to the RBA's website at:
http://www.rba.gov.au/MarketOperations/International/FinancialSanctionsCashReporting/
For a general discussion of recent developments in employee relations law, see Allens Arthur Robinson, Focus: Workplace Relations - September 2006:
http://www.aar.com.au/pubs/pdf/wr/fowrssep06.pdf
The Federal Government has extended the deadline for the introduction of the WorkChoices record keeping requirements by 6 months. See Mallesons, More “Fine Tuning” to WorkChoices - 29 September 2006:
http://www.mallesons.com/publications/2006/Sep/8625528W.htm
For an interesting article about the likely impact on company directors and officers of the increasing use of class actions and the recent High Court decisions relaxing the common law rules prohibiting champerty and maintenance to allow greater scope for litigation funding, see Freehills, Class Actions and Fostif Create a New Risk Environment for Directors and Officers - 1 September 2006:
http://www.freehills.com.au/publications/publications_6114.asp
According to Phillips Fox, Commercial Dispute Resolution Update - September 2006, the introduction of the Crimes (Document Destruction) Act 2006 (Vic) will impact everyone that does business in Victoria. The new legislation follows the widely publicised McCabe and British American Tobacco litigation and makes it a criminal offence to destroy documents or other things of any kind that are reasonably likely to be used as evidence in legal proceedings that have commenced or may be commenced in the future. This includes emails, sound recordings, DVDs and other data recordings. See:
http://www.phillipsfox.com/vbscript/displaydoc.asp?ndocid=115608435
For a summary of the controversial decision by Wilcox J upholding native title claims in the Perth metropolitan area, see Freehills, Native Title Update: Single Noongar Judgment - A Landmark Decision? - 27 September 2006:
http://www.freehills.com.au/publications/publications_6166.asp
For a summary of the key provisions of the Trade Practices Amendment (National Access Regime) Act 2006 (Cth) and the impact these amendments will have on access-seekers, access-providers and investors, see Allens Arthur Robinson, Focus: Infrastructure Access - September 2006:
http://www.aar.com.au/pubs/pdf/comp/focompsep06.pdf
In a significant decision for standard consumer contracts, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal has found many terms in standard AAPT contracts for prepaid and mobile phone services to be unfair and void. See Freehills, ‘Unfair Terms’ and Victorian Consumer Contracts - Director of Consumer Affairs v AAPT - 11 September 2006:
http://www.freehills.com.au/publications/publications_6135.asp
The decision in ASIC v Money for Living (Aust) Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) (No 2) [2006] FCA 1285 has some potentially scary implications for the property and finance markets. In that case, the defendants promoted a scheme enticing home-owners, typically retirees or pensioners, to sell their homes and then lease them back for a nominal rent so as to free up and live off the equity in their homes. The marketing offered participants a “guaranteed” income and a “guaranteed” right to live in their former home for life. Unfortunately, the scheme collapsed and the companies that purchased the homes went into administration. The court held that the sale and lease back transactions fell within the definition of "making a financial investment" in the Corporations Act and therefore involved the marketing of a financial product, enlivening the court's jurisdiction to make orders in relation to misleading conduct involving financial products. A case of bad facts making bad law! See:
http://cclsr.law.unimelb.edu.au/judgments/states/federal/2006/september/2006fca1285.htm
For those interested in the decision in AWB Limited v Cole (No. 5) [2006] FCA 1234, denying the AWB's claim of legal professional privilege over legal advice concerning the 'facilitation payments' made to the former Iraqi regime, it can be viewed at:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/federal_ct/2006/1234.html
And for those interested in Wilcox J's decision upholding a native title claim over those parts of the Perth metropolitan area where prior acts of the Commonwealth and WA government had not extinguished such title, the judgment in Bennell v State of Western Australia [2006] FCA 1243 can be viewed at:
Copyright © 2006 Inhouse Legal Solutions Pty Limited ("ILS") ABN 16 003 663 456.
This newsletter is a summary only of the subject matter covered and is not intended to be, nor should it be relied upon as, a substitute for legal or other professional advice. It is made available without the assumption of a duty of care by ILS, or the officers, employees or agents of ILS who were involved in its preparation and without any representation or warranty as to accuracy or completeness. ILS is not responsible for, and gives no representations or warranties regarding, the source, quality, accuracy or completeness of the materials on any web site to which a hyperlink is provided above.