The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU) has failed to prove that an on-hire worker engaged by Personnel Contracting Services Pty Ltd (trading as Construct) was an employee and not an independent contractor. In a November 2019 decision, a...
The Federal Government has recently launched a review into Australia’s patents system in order to support innovation in small and medium-sized businesses/enterprises (SMEs). The review will delve into the accessibility for SMEs to ensure the intellectual property...
The arrival of COVID-19 has not assisted the major problem of employers not paying superannuation to their workers. According to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, around 650,000 Australians are affected each year by superannuation guarantee (SG)...
The full bench of the Federal Court recently delivered a judgement that two independent contractor truck drivers employed as such for 40 years were in fact employees. The decision, Jamsek v ZG Operations Australia Pty Ltd (2020) reinforced the view that a longstanding...
The Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 introduces a range of statutory obligations on workers in the building industry. Notable is the new statutory duty of care toward property owners imposed upon anyone performing construction work. While property owners...
How can business owners and their advisors see the key warning signs of a business in financial or operational trouble? In this article, we will identify the key warning signs that a business could be in distress, including cash flow blockages, stressed relationships...
In a recent court case Federal Court of Australia Workpac Pty Ltd v Rossato, an employee that had previously been considered by their employer to be a casual employee was found not to be a ‘genuine casual employee’ and was therefore entitled to annual leave, personal...
The global nature of the business world in modern times has resulted in more and more people travelling overseas for work. The first and foremost tax consideration for those earning assessable income while they are overseas is whether they should still be classified...
As a core concept, trust distributions received by minors (persons under 18 years) are generally taxed at the top marginal tax rate. This is to negate any tax benefits that may be obtained by income splitting arrangements whereby adults divert their income to minors....
At the Quinn Group, we deal with a lot of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With approximately 2.3 million SMEs in Australia, this is a large demographic of businesses. Most SMEs alarmingly, do not have any protection from a business structure and so it is...
