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If you are a “foreign person” investing in Australia, be that real estate, businesses or other assets, you should be aware of the existing framework of approvals required from the Australian Government, and in particular the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), prior to the acquisition of these assets.

With the impact of COVID-19 affecting thousands of businesses across Australia, Virgin Australia has been forced into voluntary administration noting the shutdown of the airline industry to help prevent the spread of the disease.

As mentioned in our previous article, on 22 April 2020, the NSW Attorney General has announced the temporary introduction of the Electronic Transactions Amendment (COVID-19 Witnessing of Documents) Regulation 2020 (NSW) (Regulation) which allows video conferencing technologies, such as Skype, WhatsApp, FaceTime and Zoom to be used in witnessing of certain legal documents during the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes will make it easier for the residents of NSW to stay home and reduce physical interactions, while still completing important transactions.

On the 22 April 2020, the Electronic Transactions Amendment (COVID019 Witnessing of Documents) Regulation 2020 was published. In a media release regarding the Amendment, the Attorney General Mark Speakman confirmed that this will allow for the temporary use of video conferencing technology including Zoom, Skype and Facetime to witness important legal documents.

Federal Government Reform to Retail Leases. What does this mean for you?

The Federal Government’s JobKeeper stimulus package, which was announced on 8 April 2020, provides not only financial wage relief for eligible business – it also provides increased flexibility for operations of eligible businesses.

The Fair Work Commission has recently made sweeping changes to over 100 different Industry Awards to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequential strain placed on both employers and employees.

Legislation has recently been amended in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to assist local Council’s through these difficult times. On 25 March 2020, the COVID-19 Legislation Amendment (Emergency Measures) Act 2020 (NSW) (“the Emergency Measures Act”) commenced and made a number of unprecedented amendments to the Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (“EP&A Act”) and Local Government Act 1993 (“LG Act 1993”) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Are you covered under the Workers Compensation Legislation if you contract the Coronavirus (COVID-19)? The answer to that question depends firstly on whether Coronavirus is an injury and secondly, whether it is related to work.

On 7 April 2020 the Federal Government announced the introduction of the Mandatory Code of Conduct (Code) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Code imposes a set of good faith leasing principles for negotiations between Landlords and Tenants which will apply to commercial tenancies (including retail, office and industrial leases), where the Tenant is an eligible business for the purposes of the Commonwealth Government’s JobKeeper stimulus package.