Allens

27 May 2010

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh yesterday announced significant changes to Queensland's infrastructure and development planning frameworks, in response to projected population growth figures. Partners Ren Niemann and Bill McCredie and Senior Associate Nicholas Ng look at what is proposed

13 May 2010

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has announced a range of regulatory reforms designed to re-invigorate the retail corporate bond market in Australia and to increase the ease and efficiency with which ASX-listed issuers are able to issue corporate bonds to retail investors. Partners Robert Pick and Tom Story outline the changes and consider their likely impact

13 May 2010

Partners Stuart McCulloch and David Clifford talk to Boardroom Radio about the Australian Securities and Investments Commission reforms announced this week to help promote the issue of vanilla corporate bonds to retail investors

22 April 2010

The United States Congress is currently considering legislation that will require extractives companies to report on the payments they make to foreign governments in the countries in which they operate. This development comes in the context of increasing international pressures for greater transparency and accountability in revenue flows to government received from the extractive industries. Partner Annette Hughes, Senior Associate Rachel Nicolson and Lawyer Dora Banyasz report

30 March 2010

The Hong Kong Financial Services and Treasury Bureau last year launched a public consultation on the review of the Trustee Ordinance. Partner Matthew Barnard and Lawyer Angeline Wong examine the implications of the consultation's conclusions for the review's proposals, and report on the changes to be made to the Trustee Ordinance.

23 March 2010

The Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Bill 2009 was passed by both Houses of Parliament last week. The Bill, which is the first phase of the Australian Consumer Law, introduces an unfair contracts regime and additional enforcement remedies. The regime will commence on 1 July 2010 if it receives royal assent by that date; otherwise it will commence on a date to be fixed by proclamation or six months from royal assent. Partner Jacqueline Downes and Senior Associate Caterina Cavallaro report

17 March 2010

The Octaviar saga continues, with the High Court agreeing last week to hear the appeal against the Queensland Court of Appeal decision last year to overturn the original decision. Partner Diccon Loxton speaks to Boardroom Radio about the potential impact of the new personal property securities legislation on both the relevance of the Octaviar decision and the law surrounding company charges

04 February 2010

The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) has been amended so that transactions that result in foreign investors gaining, whether now or in the future, influence or control over an Australian company are now subject to Australia's foreign investment rules. In addition, there have been several other developments in foreign investment regulation, as Partners Alex Ding and Phillip Cornwell and Lawyer Tim Cardiff report

19 January 2010

The Federal Government has today proposed a reversal of the Sons of Gwalia decision. Partner Diccon Loxton speaks to Boardroom Radio about what the Federal Government needs to do to reverse the decision and what effect such a move will have on insolvency laws in Australia

13 January 2010

The long-established common law 'indoor management rule' protects outsiders in their dealings with companies and allows them to assume that a company's internal management requirements have been complied with. A recent Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal decision has examined the circumstances in which a lender would be put on notice of possible internal procedural irregularities in the borrower's approval process, thereby limiting the lender's ability to rely on the indoor management rule. Partner Matthew Barnard and Senior Associate Justin Chin report

11 January 2010

Partner Susan Burns and Lawyer David Marcus consider how the proposed Australian Consumer Law will affect managed fund products.

18 November 2009

On 16 November 2009, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission varied the Clerks - Private Sector Award 2010 and the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2010 by removing the exemption provision from each Award, and replacing it with an annualised salary clause. Senior Associate Veronica Siow and Law Graduate Sarah Hampton report.

18 November 2009

Personal property securities legislation is now a step closer to being passed by Federal Parliament. It's time for organisations to start to get ready. Allens Partner Diccon Loxton speaks to Boardroom Radio on how this legislation will affect a wide spectrum of transactions and businesses, and why organisations need to start thinking now about how they will need to change their policies, systems, documentation and training

16 November 2009

The cases considered below are a reminder of the risk that payments secured under a letter of credit may be set aside as an unfair preference in certain circumstances. Direct pay letters of credit have been used to mitigate this risk but recent case law suggests that payments under these may be open to attack. Partner Phillip Cornwell and Lawyer Maya Greenberg report.

02 November 2009

The Australian Government has released the first stage of its response to the Australian Law Reform Commission's report on privacy law. Partner Catherine Parr, Special Counsel Karin Clark and Lawyer Nicholas Tobias report on the credit reporting implications of the proposed reforms

02 November 2009

The Federal Government has tabled in the Senate material changes to the regulation of unfair contract terms in consumer contracts. Partner Catherine Parr reports

30 October 2009

In a recent case, the High Court of Australia examined the subrogation rights of guarantors, and applied them to the disadvantage of mortgagees. In this Focus, Partner Diccon Loxton analyses the principles in the case. In a separate Focus, he will look at the drafting of guarantees in the light of the decision

30 October 2009

Partner Diccon Loxton looks at the drafting of guarantees in the light of the recent High Court decision concerning guarantors' subrogation rights

29 October 2009

Partner Phillip Cornwell delivered a speech to the AMPLA 33rd Annual Conference on the role of mezzanine finance for projects

21 October 2009

In Australia and other jurisdictions, the 'flawed asset' aspect of the ISDA Master Agreement is a powerful weapon in the hands of parties dealing with insolvent counterparties. However, the recent US case of Lehman Brothers and Metavante has weakened it in the US context. Partners Diccon Loxton and Tom Highnam and graduate trainee Tom Gibson analyse the decision and its likely effects on existing swap agreements

19 October 2009

As we reported last week, in the ongoing Octaviar matter an application was lodged with the High Court on Thursday 15 October 2009 for special leave to appeal against the decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal, which had overturned the unsettling first instance judgment. In this Client Update, Partners Diccon Loxton and Andrew Boxall discuss the implications and suggest ways forward pending the High Court decision. As with some of our previous communications on this matter, this Client Update has been prepared jointly by us and Mallesons Stephen Jaques in consultation with John Sheahan SC

16 October 2009

An application has been lodged this morning with the High Court of Australia for special leave to appeal from the decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal in the Octaviar case, discussed in our Client Update: Octaviar - was it all just a bad dream? Partners Diccon Loxton and Andrew Boxall report

21 September 2009

The Octaviar decision has been overturned by the Queensland Court of Appeal. But this does not yet mean that life necessarily returns to the way it was. For a start, there is the possibility of appeal. In any event, the 'genie is out of the bottle': parties who want to attack charges will be looking closely at the registration provisions of the Corporations Act and the drafting and registration of charges and variations, and at least one remark in the appeal judgment may leave some uncertainty. Thus, parties taking security will need to remain alert, though not alarmed. For now, pending resolution of any further appeal, little should change in terms of documentation and practice, though some parties in some transactions may choose to proceed more slowly in addressing concerns. In this Client Update, we discuss the elements of the appeal court's decision, and what the decision means for Australian banking and finance market practice.

18 September 2009

In a unanimous decision today, the Queensland Court of Appeal has overturned the first instance decision in the Octaviar case, which had caused consternation in financial markets by suggesting that many existing charges are at least partially ineffective. Partner Diccon Loxton speaks to Boardroom Radio about the possible implications of today's decision

14 September 2009

Partner Michael Quinlan and Lawyer Peter Kim discuss the latest decision relating to the Bell litigation. In this decision, the Supreme Court of Western Australia considered the liquidator's application for directions under section 479(3) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) about a proposed course of action in the liquidation

09 September 2009

The Senate Economics Legislation Committee has delivered its reports on new legislation that will introduce unfair contract terms provisions, and the National Consumer Credit Protection Package. Partner Catherine Parr and Senior Associate Cameron Ball summarise some key recommendations from these reports and comment on some key practical issues raised by the draft National Consumer Credit Protection Regulations

01 September 2009

The Queensland Supreme Court recently set aside two deeds of company arrangement because they were not in the best interests of the company's creditors, and because misleading and incomplete information had been provided to the creditors at the time they voted on whether to approve the two deeds. Senior Associate Christopher Prestwich and Lawyer Ruth Greenwood report

01 September 2009

A Senate Committee has released its report on the Personal Property Securities Bill 2009 that will significantly alter financial and commercial law and procedures in Australia. Partners Diccon Loxton and Catherine Parr report

27 August 2009

As foreshadowed by the Treasurer in his announcement of 12 February 2009, the Federal Government has introduced into the House of Representatives a Bill to amend the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) as it applies to the acquisition of shares or voting power in Australian companies by foreign investors. Partners Alex Ding and Phillip Cornwell and Lawyer Tim Cardiff report on the key features of the amendments.

20 August 2009

The Vietnamese Government has issued the long-awaited Decree 53/2009/ND-CP on Issuance of International Bonds , which will, for the first time, allow Vietnamese companies to issue foreign currency denominated bonds in the international market. Partner Thomas Miller and Lawyer Minh Duong report

19 August 2009

The Federal Government's tax review panel is planning to meet Infrastructure Australia to discuss ways to increase private sector investment in infrastructure. Partner and tax law specialist Charles Armitage speaks to Boardroom Radio about the different options that the Federal Government may explore to boost private sector interest in infrastructure

08 July 2009

Infrastructure Australia has recently released the final volume of its National PPP Detailed Guidance Material, setting out jurisdiction-specific requirements and departures from the National PPP Guidelines. Partner Ren Niemann and Senior Associate Nicholas Ng report

01 July 2009

The core legislation for the National Consumer Credit Reform Package was introduced into Federal Parliament last week. Partner Catherine Parr and Senior Associate Cameron Ball report

29 June 2009

Another step in the establishment of a uniform national consumer law was taken on Wednesday with the introduction into Parliament of the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Bill 2009. The Bill will introduce a single national consumer law (to be known as the Australian Consumer Law), which includes provisions regulating unfair contract terms. Partner Catherine Parr reports on the implications of the Bill for financial service providers and provides an update on new guidance on unfair terms in consumer credit contracts in Victoria.

26 June 2009

Among a blizzard of significant new legislation, the Federal Government has introduced into Parliament the Personal Property Securities Bill 2009. Implementation may be delayed until 2011 rather than the original 2010, but its effects are so extensive you will need to start considering it now. Partners Diccon Loxton and Catherine Parr look at the new legislation

22 June 2009

A Bill has been introduced into the NSW Parliament that proposes to make major changes to NSW mortgage duty, with effect from 1 July 2009. Borrowers with existing or potential security arrangements over NSW property, and who are intending to drawdown or grant security on or after 1 July 2009, should urgently review their existing or proposed arrangements. Partners Adrian Chek and Tony Sheehan report

11 June 2009

There have been further developments in the regulation of unfair contract terms in Victoria and by the Commonwealth. Partner Catherine Parr and Lawyer Katya Rozenblit report.

04 June 2009

The Hong Kong Companies Ordinance imposes a number of liabilities and prohibitions on shadow directors. Banks need to be aware of what conduct, in a workout situation, could give rise to the accusation of being a shadow director of a distressed corporate borrower. Partner Matthew Barnard and Foreign Lawyer Caroline Chan report on some cases that clarify the issue

03 June 2009

Yesterday, the Victorian Legislative Council passed the Fair Trading and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2008. The changes in the Bill will come into effect on the day after the day on which the Bill receives Royal Assent. Partner Catherine Parr reports

26 May 2009

The Senate Standing Committee on Economics has tabled a report which recommends that the Senate pass the Australian Business Investment Partnership bills. Partner Nicholas Cowie and Lawyer Andrew Selim take a closer look at the committee's findings

21 May 2009

The proposed national regulation of consumer credit involves the introduction of a licensing regime for all credit providers, finance brokers and other intermediaries. The licensing regime will impose responsible lending requirements, extensive conduct and disclosure obligations, and substantial penalties for non-compliance. Partner Catherine Parr and Lawyer Katya Rozenblit outline the proposed regime and its potential consequences.

13 May 2009

The proposed national regulation of consumer credit involves changes to the existing Uniform Consumer Credit Code that will have important implications for lenders. Partner Catherine Parr and Senior Associate Cameron Ball look at what will change

12 May 2009

The Federal Government has released The Australian Consumer Law - Consultation on draft provisions on unfair contract terms. The draft provisions have been developed by the Federal Treasury to reflect the proposals in the Discussion Paper An Australian Consumer Law Fair markets - Confident consumers released in February 2009. Partner Catherine Parr reports

08 May 2009

The Federal Government yesterday released the exposure draft of the Corporations Legislation Amendment (Financial Services Modernisation) Bill 2009 and requires feedback on its proposed reforms within three weeks. This follows the announcement in January 2009 that the Government was commencing consultation with industry about its proposed margin lending reforms. Partner Warwick Painter and Senior Associate Justine Woodford provide an overview of the reforms

01 May 2009

On 13 March 2009 we sent out a Focus about the Queensland Supreme Court's decision in Re Octaviar Ltd; Re Octaviar Administration Pty Ltd 2009 QSC 37, which raised issues around the registration of charges and variations to them

28 April 2009

Yesterday the Federal Government released its National Consumer Credit Reform package, including the National Consumer Credit Protection Bill 2009. The proposed reforms will have significant consequences for credit providers and other participants in the credit industry. Partner Catherine Parr, and Senior Associate Cameron Ball report

24 April 2009

Victoria is set to extend the provisions in Part 2B of the Fair Trading Act 1999 (Vic), which prohibit the use of unfair terms in consumer contracts, to consumer credit contracts. Partner Catherine Parr and Lawyers Katya Rozenblit and James Greenwood report

07 April 2009

We look at the legal regime for mergers, recent regulatory developments in the banking industry, key issues under the current mining regime and the National Social Security Fund scheme

01 April 2009

Consumer finance companies and banks in Vietnam have recently had some reason to rejoice, thanks to a joint effort by the State Bank of Vietnam and the Vietnamese Government to stimulate consumption, lending and investment activity. Partner Thomas Miller and Senior Associate David Hinchey report

18 March 2009

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission has proposed to amend the definition of 'dealing in futures contracts' in the Securities and Futures Ordinance in order to assist overseas market players to participate in regulated Hong Kong futures markets. Partner Matthew Barnard and Lawyer Angeline Wong report