Expert Advice

Sugar has become one of the main talking points of our society in terms of health, with the prevalence of obesity related diseases, such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome increasing all the time. Glucose (also known as sugar or carbohydrates) is what the brain uses for energy. Consequently, we cannot take sugar out of our diet. The Atkins Diet is...

In 2003 Australia ratified the Child Protection Convention. This Convention is also known as the Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition and Enforcement and Co-operation in respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children. The Child Protection Convention provides for the personal protection of children and for the protection of property of children. While the Convention was...

As Neil Sedaka crooned "Breaking up is hard to do". But it is doubly hard if you are both members of an SMSF! In an SMSF, the individuals that "own" the fund have the dual role of trustee and member. This gives rise to problems that are unique to SMSFs. The individuals must separate their roles as trustee from their...

Do you know that the registration of a business, company or domain name gives you no substantive intellectual property rights in law? Many businesses operate under the belief that the registration of a business, company or domain name gives them the exclusive right to use that name and provides a form of immunity against infringement proceedings brought by owners of...

The confidence of Australian directors about the outlook for business and the future of the economy has dramatically improved since the election of the Coalition, but they see increasing red tape and the burden of regulation as Australia's greatest economic challenges, according to the latest Director Sentiment Index (DSI) which is published by the Australian Institute of Company Directors ....

  Many businesses invest considerable sums to develop functionality for their computer programs. Contracted IT developers are commonly asked develop solutions to reorganise the way in which business information can be stored, accessed and used. The solutions themselves become valuable assets, but controlling rights to the solution is often left overlooked until it is too late. Paying a consultant to...

We have seen a significant amount of activity by the Australian Taxation Office ("ATO") in relation to reviewing the timing of Superannuation Guarantee ("SG") payments. Employers are currently required to pay 9.25% (up from 9% in 2012-2013) of Ordinary Times Earnings into the employees' superannuation fund by the 28th day after each quarter end (i.e. 28 October, 28 January, 28...

The way we did business 25 years ago is very different to today, and to what it will be in the next 25 years. The world and the economic landscapes are changing fast. Many of the traditional ways are no longer applicable. To put it simply, digital economy is based on the online trades and consumption of goods and services...

When times are hard, the cry always goes up to cut costs. It's not the best place to start. In selective ways, you have to spend money in order to give a business the capacity to recover and grow. One problem is language. We should talk about saving money, not cutting costs. If you think only about cutting, it is...

In its most basic form communication is the ability to convey a message to an audience. Communication is also the process by which information is exchanged between individuals. Recently at PCA we participated in an in-house training activity designed to challenge and highlight the different ways people communicate. The activity involved two teams with "lookers" who saw a finished lego...

When a deal involves financing a newly completed property for investment purposes a key element in a Lender's assessment of the loan application is the anticipated gross weekly rent income. Typically the rent projection is determined by the valuer at the time that the mortgage valuation report is prepared. The valuers anticipated rent income should closely match the independent property...

McDonaldization is a term used to describe a society with a fast food culture. Although the number of fast food restaurants in Australia don't compare to the high number of restaurants in America, health statistics indicate obesity is becoming more prevalent as Australia becomes more industrialized. According to the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in 1995, 57% of adults were...

For many people, updating their Facebook page, sending a tweet or keeping their blogs fresh are easy ways to stay in touch and keep others informed. Even our politicians have embraced social media to share information with us all... sometimes more than we want course… But, in the context of a Family Law matter extra care should be exercised. Real...

If you are a diligent reader of this column, then you will already be aware of the importance of having a valid will. However there are other things that you should do to make the lives of your executors and beneficiaries a lot easier. We have put together a checklist of some things that you ought to do before you...

After a trade mark application is filed it is examined by a Trade Mark Examiner. All trade mark applicants hope to get a "clear" Examination Report. This enables the application to be advertised as accepted. However, many applicants receive an Examiner's "adverse report", leaving some to think the application is "dead in the water" (not automatically true) and others wondering...

The recently released Directors Social Impact Study again provided fascinating insights into the governance of the Not for Profit ( NFP) sector. One of the key findings was that there was no evidence that NFP boards are not any more or less effective than for-profit boards. This finding is important, as there has been much anecdotal commentary that governance of...