Practice area
Commercial law guidance for owners and directors — contracts, structures, sales and acquisitions, franchising, leasing, business succession and the legal infrastructure of a well-run business.
Featured in this area
How business ownership and control pass on death or incapacity, and how governing documents, buy/sell funding, tax and estate planning should work together.
How business valuers determine value in Australian family law property proceedings — fair market value versus value to the owner, future maintainable earnings, capitalisation multiples and rates, normalisation add-backs, goodwill and personal goodwill, minority and marketability discounts, surplus assets and shareholder loans, latent CGT under the Rosati principles, and the single expert process under the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021.
Legal risks in Australian advertising, influencer marketing and branded content — misleading claims, sponsored content disclosure, agency and talent contracts, promotions, copyright and creative clearance, spam, privacy, direct marketing and AI-generated creative.
How a Victorian business creditor works an unpaid B2B debt: verifying the debt and the debtor, issuing a proportionate demand, weighing dispute and solvency risk, choosing the right court, obtaining default or summary judgment, and moving to an enforcement gateway.
A practical Australian guide to the post-9 November 2023 unfair contract terms (UCT) regime under the ACL and ASIC Act — expanded small business coverage, standard form contracts, civil penalties, examples of unfair terms, contract remediation and the review process every business should now run.
A practical Victorian guide to enforcing a judgment debt — oral examinations, warrants of seizure and sale, attachment of earnings and debts, instalment orders, charging orders, bankruptcy and winding-up applications, and how to choose an enforcement pathway proportionate to cost and prospects of recovery.
A practical Australian guide to personal guarantees given by directors, shareholders and family members in commercial transactions — enforceability, unconscionability, independent legal advice, joint and several liability, negotiation points, spouse and family exposure, release and enforcement risk.
A practical Victorian guide to resolving retail lease disputes — notices of default, rent and outgoings, repairs and maintenance, make good, disclosure disputes, options to renew, VSBC mediation and VCAT or court pathways for landlords and tenants under the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic).
A vendor-focused Victorian legal guide to selling a business — preparation, confidentiality, buyer due diligence, structuring share vs asset sales, contract, employees, retail lease assignment, warranties and indemnities, GST going-concern, settlement mechanics and post-completion obligations.
A practical Australian guide for employers on enforcing post-employment restraints of trade — legitimate interests, reasonableness, valid implementation, solicitation and dealing, state-law differences, garden leave, confidential information, lawful evidence preservation, interlocutory relief and the September 2026 draft non-compete reforms.
A practical Australian employer guide to preventing, detecting and remediating wage underpayments — payroll audit methodology, the hierarchy of employment entitlements, civil and accessorial liability, the criminal underpayment offence from 1 January 2025, the Voluntary Small Business Wage Compliance Code, Payday Super from 1 July 2026 and Victorian long-service-leave exposure.
A practical Australian guide to family business governance and succession — separating family, ownership and management, family constitutions, board structure, employing family members, remuneration and dividend policy, next-generation transition and conflict prevention.
A practical Australian guide for employers on managing ill and injured employees — personal leave, extended absence, current medical evidence, the requirements of the role compared with the employer's preferred method, reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) and the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), consultation, privacy, Victorian return-to-work obligations, and procedurally fair termination on capacity grounds.
Practical strategies for keeping a business after separation in Australia — retaining control and continuity, funding an offset or buyout, staged payments, liquidity, interim governance and documenting the outcome in Consent Orders or a Binding Financial Agreement.
A Parke Lawyers map of Victorian property law — Torrens title, Section 32 disclosure, cooling off, duty and State property taxes, caveats and priority notices, co-ownership under Part IV, easements and covenants, mortgagee sale, adverse possession, owners corporations, leasing, off-the-plan purchases and settlement.
Definitive Australian guide for spouses, controllers, trustees and third parties on how family trusts are treated in divorce and property settlements — discretionary, fixed, unit, hybrid and testamentary trusts; control, Kennon v Spry, property vs financial resource, disclosure, valuation, evidence, third-party rights, post-separation restructures, Consent Orders and BFAs, tax and stamp duty interaction, and coordination with estate planning.
Victorian guide to Section 32 vendor statements — the sections 32A–32I disclosure architecture, who prepares and signs the statement, vendor and purchaser checklists, common defects, and the purchaser's section 32K rescission right and its limits.
Definitive Victorian legal guide to buying residential property at auction — how auctions work, why auction contracts are immediately binding, why cooling-off does not apply, pre-auction due diligence, Section 32 review, finance, deposits, bidding strategy, settlement, common legal mistakes and a practical auction checklist.
Victorian guide to the section 31 cooling-off right: who qualifies, counting three clear business days, signing and serving the notice, what the vendor keeps and the exclusions.
Definitive Victorian guide for first home buyers — finance pre-approval, deposits and contracts, Section 32 disclosure, building and pest inspections, auctions versus private sales, cooling-off rights, stamp duty concessions, the First Home Owner Grant, off-the-plan, settlement, insurance, common mistakes and when to get legal advice.
Definitive Victorian guide to buying residential property off the plan — contracts, Section 32 disclosure, sunset clauses, plan variations, finance and valuation risk, stamp duty and FHB concessions, construction delays, building defects, settlement, default by buyer or developer and due diligence.
Definitive Victorian guide to land transfer duty (stamp duty) — how duty is calculated for residential, commercial and vacant land, first home buyer, off-the-plan, pensioner and PPR concessions, foreign purchaser additional duty, family and Family Court transfers, deceased estates, trusts, landholder duty, common mistakes and penalties.
Definitive Australian guide to heads of agreement, letters of intent, memoranda of understanding and term sheets — Masters v Cameron, subject-to-contract wording, exclusivity, confidentiality, deposits, due diligence and finance conditions, and use in business sales, share and asset sales, commercial property, franchising and joint ventures.
How representations, warranties and indemnities work in Australian commercial contracts — the causes of action each engages, misrepresentation and section 18, warranty drafting, knowledge and materiality qualifiers, disclosure, indemnity construction, damages and consequential loss, caps, baskets and survival, limitation periods, consumer guarantees, unfair contract terms, MAC clauses, W&I insurance and the tax and GST treatment of payments.
Buyer's guide to Australian business due diligence — how scope, materiality and reporting are agreed, confidentiality and data-room governance, what ASIC, PPSR, court and title searches can and cannot establish, corporate, financial and tax workstreams, employees and contractors, IP, privacy and cyber, regulatory, safety and environmental review, and how findings become price, warranty, indemnity, condition and completion terms on share and asset sales.
Definitive Australian guide comparing share sales and asset sales — legal differences, liabilities, employees, contracts, leases, licences, IP, PPSR, tax and GST, stamp duty, warranties, due diligence, vendor and purchaser risk, and a practical comparison table.
Authoritative Australian guide to tax and capital gains tax in divorce and property settlements — marriage-breakdown CGT rollover under Subdivision 126-A, the main-residence exemption, investment property, latent tax, sale versus transfer, state transfer duty, shares, private companies, Division 7A, trusts, SMSFs, superannuation splitting, GST, overseas assets, cryptocurrency, Consent Orders, Binding Financial Agreements, indemnities and tax-aware drafting and implementation.
Definitive Victorian legal guide to building and pest inspections for residential property purchasers — why inspections matter, what inspectors do, typical structural, pest, moisture and illegal-works defects, auction and cooling-off timing, finance interaction, negotiating after an adverse report, vendor disclosure, new versus established homes, commercial inspections and a practical checklist.
Authoritative Australian guide to how assets are valued in divorce and family-law property settlements — valuation date, single experts, instructions, the family home, investment and specialised property, businesses, professional practices, companies, trusts, partnerships, shares, superannuation, SMSFs, cryptocurrency, overseas assets, latent tax and transaction costs, double counting, disclosure, Consent Orders and Binding Financial Agreements.
Cornerstone Australian guide to buying plant and equipment — new vs used, asset vs share purchase, PPSR, finance leases, chattel mortgages, hire purchase, retention of title, warranties, due diligence, delivery, risk, insurance, installation, training, maintenance, IP in embedded software, imported equipment, OHS, Australian Standards, product liability, default, repossession, limitation of liability and dispute resolution.
Cornerstone Australian guide to commercial contracts — formation, key clauses, indemnities, warranties, force majeure, IP, PPSR, novation, termination, dispute resolution, electronic execution, deeds, unfair contract terms, drafting mistakes and a practical checklist.
Definitive Australian guide to business valuation — goodwill, maintainable earnings, EBITDA multiples, DCF, net tangible assets, minority discounts, control premiums, and valuations for succession, shareholder disputes, deceased estates and family law.
Victorian conveyancing guide to the statement of adjustments — council rates and the ESVF levy, water, owners corporation fees, rent, land tax limits, GST and foreign resident withholding, a fully worked example and how electronic settlement actually works.
Definitive Australian guide to shareholders' agreements for private companies — reserved matters, share transfers, pre-emptive rights, drag-along, tag-along, deadlock, buy-sell mechanisms, death and incapacity, dispute resolution and minority protection.
Definitive Victorian legal guide for purchasers of small and medium businesses — share vs asset sale, due diligence, contracts, lease assignment, employees, PPSR, GST, restraints, settlement and post-settlement obligations.
Pillar Australian guide to deceased estate taxation for executors, administrators, beneficiaries, accountants and financial advisers — the deceased's final affairs and final return, estate tax file numbers and trust returns, estate income and deductions, present entitlement and IT 2622, sections 97, 98, 99 and 99A ITAA 1936, Division 128 capital gains tax and the deceased's dwelling, superannuation, state duty and land tax, executor exposure under section 254 and Subdivision 260-E, testamentary trusts, distributions, record keeping and a staged executor tax checklist.
Search orders (historically Anton Piller orders) require a respondent to permit a supervised search party to enter premises and preserve important evidence. A Victorian guide to Order 37B, the rule 37B.03 test, the independent solicitor, privilege and respondents' rights.
Freezing (Mareva) orders preserve assets so that a future Victorian judgment is not rendered worthless. A plain-English guide to the evidence required, the undertaking as to damages, interstate and overseas reach, and the costs and contempt risks of breach.
When assets, confidential information or transactions are at imminent risk, an urgent injunction may be an important remedy. A plain-English Victorian guide to interim and final injunctions, ex parte applications, the integrated serious-question and balance-of-convenience approach under ABC v O'Neill, the undertaking as to damages, and costs and contempt considerations.
Who pays legal costs in Victorian court proceedings? A plain-English guide to the 'costs follow the event' rule, party/party vs solicitor/client costs, indemnity costs, Calderbank offers, offers of compromise and the costs risks of estate and commercial disputes.
A practical Victorian guide for business owners on resolving commercial disputes before court — letters of demand, negotiation, mediation, expert determination, arbitration, VCAT and cost-effective strategies.
What a letter of demand is, common types of claim, time limits, preserving evidence, the risks of ignoring correspondence, negotiation and settlement options, and when to obtain legal advice.
A practical Australian guide for employers on redundancy — what makes a redundancy 'genuine' under section 389, consultation obligations under modern awards and enterprise agreements, redeployment, selection criteria, redundancy pay and notice, sham redundancy and the interaction with unfair dismissal and general protections claims.
A practical Victorian guide to suspending an employee pending a workplace investigation — when suspension is justified, suspension with or without pay, procedural fairness, duration, confidentiality, Fair Work Commission considerations and common employer mistakes.
How private companies, partnerships, trusts and professional practices are treated in Australian family law property settlements — valuation, goodwill, disclosure and protecting a business during separation.
Definitive Victorian legal guide to PEXA and electronic conveyancing — how electronic settlement works, workspaces, verification of identity, client authorisation forms, financial settlement, lodgement and registration, refinancing, executor settlements, commercial transactions, cybersecurity, digital signatures and the practical settlement workflow.
The 15 mistakes Victorian employers, boards and HR decision-makers most often make in workplace investigations — from triage, terms of reference and investigator selection to recording, privilege, findings and delay — why each creates legal or evidentiary risk, and the corrective control for each.
An Australian guide for employers on the employee versus contractor distinction — the Fair Work Act whole-of-relationship test from 26 August 2024, where the contract-focused High Court approach still matters, and the separate superannuation (including Payday Super from 1 July 2026), PAYG, payroll tax, WorkCover and sham contracting consequences of getting classification wrong.
A practical Australian guide for business owners, family groups, trustees, appointors, executors and advisers on what happens to a family trust when the appointor dies — the appointor role, succession clauses in trust deeds, the executor's involvement, control of family businesses after death, asset protection, taxation considerations and common mistakes.
How sole trader, partnership and company structures are affected when an owner dies — executor responsibilities, business continuity, key person risks and the practical planning steps every Victorian business owner should take.
How buy/sell agreements work — trigger events, valuation, funding, insurance, shareholder disputes and the drafting issues that commonly cause problems for Victorian businesses.
Why every business owner needs an exit plan — the common options, how legal structures affect planning, and the link between business succession and estate planning.
A practical guide to when the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) applies to a lease, the common exclusions, landlord disclosure obligations and the risks of getting classification wrong.
A practical guide for Victorian business owners, purchasers and investors on business sale agreements — asset vs share sales, due diligence, restraints, employee transfers, lease assignments, warranties and settlement risks.
A plain-English guide to the Franchising Code of Conduct for franchisees, prospective franchisees and franchisors — disclosure, good faith, cooling-off rights, dispute resolution and common risks.
How the PPSR works — security interests in substance, attachment and perfection, PPS leases, PMSI timing, insolvency vesting and the registration errors that matter.
A purchaser's roadmap to buying commercial property in Victoria — entity and contract decisions, Section 32 review, title, planning, building, contamination and lease due diligence, GST and going concern, duty and CIPT, land tax and windfall gains tax, foreign investment and withholding, finance and settlement.
The absentee owner surcharge is an additional Victorian land tax charge for certain absentee owners. Learn when it may apply, notification issues and when to seek advice.
A practical Australian guide for executors, administrators and beneficiaries on lost or missing share certificates in deceased estates — CHESS vs issuer-sponsored holdings, HINs and SRNs, locating share records after death, transmission applications, replacement certificate processes with Computershare, MUFG Corporate Markets and Boardroom, and how to resolve missing share records.
A practical Australian guide for executors, beneficiaries, directors, shareholders, accountants and advisers on private company shares in deceased estates — how they differ from listed shares, transmission to the legal personal representative, the role of the company constitution and shareholder agreement, valuation, control issues, sole director risk, dividends, tax and disputes.
A practical Australian guide for executors, beneficiaries, accountants and advisers on whether an executor can distribute a deceased estate before tax is finalised — the difference between authority and readiness, the deceased's final return, estate income tax returns, CGT, super death benefit issues, ATO assessments, interim and final distributions, beneficiary indemnities, retention amounts, executor personal liability, over-distribution risks and how to manage beneficiary pressure.
A practical Australian guide for executors, beneficiaries, accountants and advisers on when a deceased estate ends for income tax purposes — the difference between estate administration continuing and an estate being fully administered for tax, present entitlement, the administration period, partly and fully administered estates, ATO guidance, CGT, testamentary trusts, delays, ongoing litigation, rental properties and share portfolios, and the executor mistakes we see most often.
A practical Australian guide for executors, beneficiaries, accountants and advisers on dividend reinvestment plans (DRPs) in deceased estates — how DRPs operate after death, Division 128 rollover, why rollover relief does not apply to post-death DRP shares, cost base consequences, CGT on transfers to beneficiaries and on sales by executors, estate income tax returns, record keeping and the executor mistakes we see most often.
A practical Australian guide for executors, beneficiaries, accountants and advisers on capital gains tax in deceased estates — Division 128 rollover, the main residence exemption, investment property, shares and post-death DRP units, in specie transfers, testamentary trusts, cost base record keeping and the executor mistakes we see most often.
A practical Australian guide for executors, beneficiaries and accountants on when a deceased estate must lodge an income tax return, when one is not required, how the estate return differs from the deceased's final personal return, estate TFNs, executor obligations, common mistakes and penalty risks.
A practical Australian guide for executors, beneficiaries, accountants and family members on who pays tax on estate income during administration — the administration period, executor obligations, beneficiaries presently entitled, trustee assessment, interest, dividends, rent, capital gains and testamentary trusts.
A practical Australian guide for executors, surviving directors, shareholders, accountants and family business owners on what happens to a company when a director or shareholder dies — ASIC, transmission of shares, sole director companies, replacement directors, the company constitution, shareholders agreements, buy/sell agreements and estate administration.
A practical Australian guide for will-makers, executors, trustees, beneficiaries, accountants and advisers on the taxation of testamentary trusts — present entitlement, excepted trust income for minors, streaming franked dividends and capital gains, sections 99 and 99A, TFNs, trust tax returns, anti-avoidance limits and common trustee mistakes.
