Victoria overhauls property tax laws

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Several changes to Victoria’s property tax laws have been made after the State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2023 received royal assent in December.

Vacant residential land tax (VLRT)

From 1 January 2025, VRLT will be expanded to apply to all residential land across the state that has

Govt closes loopholes in workplace laws

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There have been changes to workplace relation laws as the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 received royal assent in December.

Part one of the bill has been passed, with changes coming into effect from December onwards. Part two will be debated in early 2024.

Changes to the

Protect yourself against underquoting when buying property

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In November, CoreLogic’s home value index showed a 3% increase in property values in Melbourne. But as prices rise and the market becomes tighter, how can buyers be sure the price they have been told is not much lower than its likely sales price?

Underquoting is a method sometimes used

New fixed-term contract rules have come into effect

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The regulations that govern fixed-term contracts for employees have changed as of early December.

Starting 6 December, a fixed-term contract you have with an employee must now terminate at the end of a set period. This can include the date set in the contract or a period of time like

Industry unhappy with new property tax amendments

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The government of Victoria has proposed several amendments to the state’s property taxation laws.

New amendments explained

Under the amendments, the revenue office hopes to expand vacant residential land tax to all vacant residential land in Victoria from the 2025 tax year. The amendments also expand the definition of vacant

How to protect yourself during a building project

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A recent McKinnon survey showed that 50% of Australia’s workforce is covered by some form of a restraint of trade or non-compete clause.

But how airtight are these clauses and can they be enforced?

Types of restraints of trade

Common restrictions of trade include:

Confidentiality clauses Non-solicitation clauses Non-compete

Victoria Unveils Short-stay Levy

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Investors who rent their property out on short-stay accommodation platforms like Airbnb and Stayz will soon face an additional tax charge.

The Victorian government has announced it plans to introduce a 7.5% levy on short-stay rental platforms, effective from 1 January 2025. The fees collected will fund Homes Victoria, supporting

How to Protect Yourself during a Building Project

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Before starting construction or renovations, there are several legal aspects you should take note of. This will protect both you and your builder so that the project runs smoothly.

Signing a written contract

By law, you must have a written contract for work worth more than $10,000. This can include

New ACCC Regulations to Penalise Unfair Contract Terms

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You may need to look at the contracts you use in your business because, come 9 November, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will prohibit businesses from using unfair contract terms.

According to the new regulations, courts will have the authority to impose significant penalties on businesses using contracts

The Hidden Risks of DIY Conveyancing

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As Australia’s spring selling season kicks off, some vendors might consider going down the do-it-yourself (DIY) conveyancing route to save money. But while it can be tempting, particularly given the current cost of living, there are many risks involved in managing your own conveyancing.

Providing legal protection

When using a

Navigating Privacy Versus AI in Business

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As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop, businesses and consumers are becoming more concerned about how to manage the relationship between privacy and AI.

For industry and the public sector, AI, machine learning and using big data has opened new avenues for growth and development. But this brings with it

Victorian government considering rent cap

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Melbourne might be Australia’s most affordable city to rent a house, with a median rent of $520 per week during the June quarter, according to Domain’s house price report.

But nonetheless, the state government recently indicated it’s considering rent controls as part of a new housing package. The rent controls

Australia’s corporate insolvency laws facing extensive reforms

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In July, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services handed down its long-awaited report into the effectiveness of Australia’s corporate insolvency laws.

The inquiry has been ten months in the making, during which the committee heard from insolvency and legal practitioners, government agencies, unions, creditors (both large and

How to avoid business disputes

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UFC Gym Australia entered voluntary administration last month “after becoming embroiled in a messy $5 million court case with several disgruntled franchisee owners”, according to news.com.au.

What makes this story important is not the specifics of the company or court case but the lesson it teaches: when it comes to business

Criminals steal $300k in property scam

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Barely a month goes by without reports of a property scam making the news, including the recent example of a Western Australian real estate agency that had more than $300,000 of buyers’ money stolen from its trust account.

What these scams have in common is that criminals have developed incredibly

What happens if you don’t use a registered builder?

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If you’re renovating or building a domestic structure, you need to hire a registered builder if the work is worth more than $10,000. You also need a written ‘major domestic building contract’.

In this context, building work includes:

Constructing a home, including the landscaping, paving, retaining structures, driveways, fencing,

Your product must meet these seven consumer guarantees

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In a recent court case, Mazda was found to have breached Australian consumer law because they gave customers the run-around by refusing to refund or replace their faulty cars.

In Australia, the products we buy are required to meet these seven consumer guarantees:

1. Be of acceptable quality

The product

What happens if your property developer goes bust?

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The construction of 1,700 dwellings is in limbo after builder Porter Davis Homes collapsed. Of these, about 250 homes were close to completion, according to the liquidator Grant Thornton.

Although several companies wanted to buy some of Porter Davis Homes’ assets, no buyers were willing to buy all the assets

How to protect your intellectual property

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When you use a brand name or specific mark, you should register it as a trademark to prevent other Australian businesses from using it.

Before registering a trademark, IP Australia will check that there aren’t competing trademarks in Australia, but not internationally.

Registering a trademark protects it in all the

Treasury considers regulatory changes for buy-now-pay-later sector

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Currently, buy-now-pay-layer services like Afterpay, Zip and Klarna are exempt from laws designed to protect consumers from taking out credit they can’t afford.

That’s because BNPL providers don’t charge customers interest so, technically, the product they provide isn’t credit.

However, following concerns consumers are racking up unaffordable debts, the sector

Your rights when a business goes bust

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Melbourne-based Hallbury Homes entered administration in January, with 50 projects on its books, according to The Property Tribune.

While Hallbury Homes is the latest casualty in Australia’s embattled building industry, challenging trading conditions aren’t limited to the construction sector – with nearly 4,000 corporate insolvencies occurring over the 2021-22 financial

Independent review of the Modernising Business Registers program announced

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The federal government has announced that the Modernising Business Register program will be independently reviewed after Treasury estimated it would cost $1 billion more than originally budgeted for under the previous government.

The Modernising Business Register project will see more than 30 ASIC business registers consolidated into a single platform

Victoria state government urged to review stamp duty

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The New South Wales government is planning to overhaul its property tax regime by giving first home buyers the choice between making a one-off, upfront stamp duty payment or paying a smaller, annual land tax instead.

This prompted the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, Housing Industry Association and Australian Property

What should you do when you haven’t been paid?

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Cash flow is the lifeblood of every small business, which is why it’s challenging for businesses to meet their expenses when customers are slow to pay their bills.

Unfortunately, though, it’s a common problem, with more than half of Australia’s big businesses failing to pay their small suppliers on time,

What do you have to disclose when selling property?

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Spring selling season is here. But if you’re considering listing your property on the market, it’s important to know what you’re legally required to disclose, especially as there have been some small – but significant – amendments to the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic).

These amendments to section 12

Big increases for breaches of consumer law on the cards

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It was only four years ago, in September 2018, that maximum penalties under the Australian Consumer Law were last increased from $1.1 million to $10 million.

But the new federal government wants the price of misconduct to be high enough to deter non-compliance, so it’s released a draft bill proposing

What do you have to disclose when selling property?

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Spring selling season is here. But if you’re considering listing your property on the market, it’s important to know what you’re legally required to disclose, especially as there have been some small – but significant – amendments to the Sale of Land Act

Big increases for breaches of consumer law on the cards

This post was originally published on this site

It was only four years ago, in September 2018, that maximum penalties under the Australian Consumer Law were last increased from $1.1 million to $10 million.

But the new federal government wants the price of misconduct to be high enough to deter non-compliance, so it’s released a draft bill proposing

What should you do when you haven’t been paid?

This post was originally published on this site

Cash flow is the lifeblood of every small business, which is why it’s challenging for businesses to meet their expenses when customers are slow to pay their bills.

Unfortunately, though, it’s a common problem, with more than half of Australia’s big businesses failing to pay their small suppliers on time,

Victoria state government urged to review stamp duty

This post was originally published on this site

The New South Wales government is planning to overhaul its property tax regime by giving first home buyers the choice between making a one-off, upfront stamp duty payment or paying a smaller, annual land tax instead.

This prompted the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, Housing Industry Association and Australian Property

How to avoid commercial disputes

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Commercial disputes are inevitable no matter the industry.

Take, for example, a long-running dispute between construction giant CIMIC and engineering services firm JKC Australia, which has just ended with CIMIC agreeing to make a $492.5 million payment.

That obviously wasn’t a good result for CIMIC. But the battle, which lasted

What happens if your builder goes bust?

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A perfect storm of rising costs, supply issues and labour shortages has hit the Australian building industry, compounding problems caused by Covid-19 shutdowns.

As a result, several building firms have collapsed in recent months – including industry giants Probuild and Condev.

Master Builders Victoria has already warned these challenging business

A $60 million breath of fresh air

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The Victorian government has encouraged applications for the $60 million Small Business Ventilation Program.

The funding is to help eligible public-facing small businesses improve their ventilation in areas accessible to customers and reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.

The program offers two types of support:

Ventilation Rebate – A

3 Questions to Ask a Lawyer When Starting a Business

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After almost two years, Australia is reopening its international borders again to fully vaccinated travellers. The move will likely give a significant boost to our economy, thanks to the return of tourists, business travellers and migrants.

So if you’ve been considering starting a business, this could be your year to

Melbourne land prices soar to new record-high

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Metropolitan Melbourne’s land market ended 2021 on a strong footing, according to Oliver Hume Quarterly Market Insights.

The report found median lot prices in the city climbed by 6% over the December quarter and 11.3% over the year to hit a new record high of $355,000.

That strong performance was

Rent relief extended for commercial tenants

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The Victorian Government has extended the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme (CTRS) for two months until 15 March 2022.

CTRS is designed to support struggling retail and commercial tenants and encourage renegotiation of terms.

Alongside the extension come new regulations. While the 2022 regulations are broadly similar to the previous CTRS