Red card for borrower claiming application fee as penalty
With the recent lending slowdown in the Australian banking sector, lead by the Banking Royal Commission, tougher lending standards and tighter serviceability requirements, demand for alternative non-bank lenders continues to increase. It is common for a non-bank lender’s lending terms to include an up-front arrangement or origination fee in respect of the establishment of the […]
ReadmoreThe Victorian State Government’s Building Amendment (Cladding Rectification) Bill 2019 passes Parliament.
On 12 November 2019 the Building Amendment (Cladding Rectification) Bill 2019 passed State Parliament and the Building Amendment (Cladding Rectification) Act 2019 (new Act) has now received Royal Assent. The new Act enacts the State Government’s consumer focused ‘rescue package’ in relation to the funding of ‘cladding rectification work’[1] associated with ‘non-compliant or non-conforming external […]
ReadmoreLarge retailers may be given the green light to collectively purchase electricity
You may or may not have seen in the media that on 20 September 2019 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a draft determination and interim authorisation giving members of the Large Format Retail Association (LFRA) a green light to begin the initial steps to collectively negotiate to purchase electricity. Members of the […]
ReadmoreUse of electronic signatures: reinforcing the need for a clear understanding
Following on from our previous e-update on the use of electronic signatures, the recent case of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd & Ors v Kenneth Ross Pickard & Anor [2019] SASC 123 (the Pickard Case) confirms our earlier comments that it would be preferable for a company to execute a Deed using a wet-ink signature. […]
ReadmoreThe dark arts of delay analysis turn ultra violet – or ‘don’t ignore the facts’
White Constructions Pty Ltd v PBS Holdings Pty Ltd [2019] NSWSC 1166 (6 September 2019) (Hammerschlag J) Delay and, separately, disruption claims are common sources of dispute in construction projects. Compounding what are usually factually complicated scenarios are issues of terminology and experts’ competing views about the correct analysis and approach to assessing the […]
ReadmoreBellamy’s cry for “cost capping” in competing McKay and Basil class actions dismissed by the Full Court of the Federal Court
On 23 August 2019, the Full Court of the Federal Court in Bellamy’s Australia Limited v Basil [2019] FCAFC 147 (Bellamy’s) unanimously dismissed the applicant’s application for leave to appeal “costs capping” orders, initially rejected by the primary judge at first instance. Bellamy’s Australia Limited (BAL) is the respondent to two class actions: McKay Super […]
ReadmoreSecurity of Payment Amendment Act set to commence
The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Amendment Act 2018 (Amendment Act), which was passed by the NSW Parliament in November last year, will commence on 21 October 2019. The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Amendment Regulation 2019 (Amendment Regulation) will also commence on this date. The changes made by the Amendment […]
ReadmoreQueensland e-conveyancing update
Queensland’s shift towards a fully digital land registry has taken further steps forward with enabling legislation passed by the Queensland parliament in recent months. The Revenue and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2018 expands the scope of transfers which can be carried out within an e-conveyancing network to all freehold land types (vacant, residential, commercial and industrial) with […]
ReadmoreI didn’t mean to sign that –when can a party escape from a contract because they didn’t understand it?
You are negotiating a deal and it becomes clear the other party has misread or misunderstood the effect of a clause in the document. Do you point this out to the other party or stay silent and hope they don’t notice? The risk of staying silent is highlighted by the recent decision of the Victorian […]
ReadmoreGoing digital – When is an electronic land contract ‘signed’?
When the concept of electronic contracting was first conceived, there was some uncertainty about whether they would be suitable for land sale contracts. This was due to the requirement in the Property Law Act 1974 that, to be enforceable, a contact for the sale of land has to be: in writing; and signed by the relevant party […]
ReadmoreDeveloping Resilient Future Cities
The 2019 Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS) and Mayors’ Forum provided a platform for connection and conversations on cities’ innovation, mobility, liveability and sustainability. A powerful contingent of some 1480+ delegates, spanning 140 cities, close to 90 Mayors and Deputy Mayors, and entrepreneurs came together to solve complex problems to develop resilient future cities. What does this […]
ReadmoreIs a sand quarry ground lease a “retail premises” lease?
In the recent decision of Phillips v Abel (Building and Property) [2019] VCAT 1031 the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has once again considered the question of what is a “retail premises” for the purposes of Section 4(1) of the Retail Leases Act 2003 (“the Act”). The case involved a lease of a quarry at […]
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