Insights Categories: Corporate & Commercial

The Federal Court in ACCC v JJ Richards & Sons has provided guidance on what may constitute an unfair contract term in a small business contract. As of 12 November 2016, statutory protections in the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) against unfair contract terms in standard form consumer contracts was expanded to include small business contracts […]

Premises are one of the most expensive outlays of any business, however do you understand your lease? As the tenant, dealing with any landlord is often a David vs Goliath affair, especially in a major business transaction such as selling your business and assigning your lease.  A very costly but common scenario is one where […]

Important changes to funding and disclosure laws which apply to charities are on the horizon under proposed changes to Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 (‘Electoral Act’). Non-party Political Actors Under the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Funding and Disclosure Reform) Bill 2017 (‘the Bill’) which was introduced into Commonwealth Parliament late last year, a new regulatory regime […]

From 22 February 2018, mandatory data breach notification will apply to any individual or organisation regulated by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). This will affect any businesses with an Australian link and a continued presence in Australia. Under the new law, if a business is the subject of an ‘eligible data breach’ then if a […]

Meridian Lawyers acts for pharmacists in the sale and purchase of their pharmacy businesses.  Issues which arise in these transactions commonly include: the negotiation of the contract for sale of the business in order that the written contract reflects the wishes of the parties the obtaining of necessary approvals and consents (such as Pharmacy Council […]

Many pharmacy business owners are interested in becoming franchisees in order for them to trade with the benefit of national brand recognition, marketing power and tried and tested operating systems. However, it is crucial that pharmacists understand the content, substance and implications of the franchise documentation before they sign or make any non-refundable payment to […]

On 22 February 2018, mandatory data breach notification requirements were incorporated into the Privacy Act 1988 (Act) and now apply to all entities regulated by the Act. Typically, health service providers such as pharmacists will be bound by the Act irrespective of the size of their business, because they provide a health service and because […]

Expansion of a pharmacy may take place where the floor size of a pharmacy is increased, for example by expanding the pharmacy into adjacent premises. An example of contraction of a pharmacy would be where the floor size of a pharmacy decreases, perhaps because part of the pharmacy is surrendered back to a landlord, or […]

From 1 November 2018 (changed from the initial start date of 1 July 2018), AFCA will start accepting consumer complaints for all financial services and superannuation complaints. The new EDR framework will give consumers access to a single external dispute resolution scheme to resolve all disputes about financial products and services. AFCA will replace three […]

Lending to a small business under a standard form loan contract will be susceptible to new unfair contract terms protections under the Australian Consumer Law and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act. The new unfair contract terms protections will apply to all standard form contracts used by lenders entered into or renewed on or […]

From 22 February 2018, mandatory data breach notification will apply to any individual or organisation regulated by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). This will affect financial services businesses and foreign financial service providers with an Australian link and a continued presence in Australia. Under the new law, if a financial services business is the subject […]