Aitken Partners - Legal Partners for Life

As a business owner, it is important to understand the various business structures available to you and their respective pros and cons. In this Business Law Breakfast, we will introduce you to different business structures and how they can affect your business operations, tax obligations, and liabilities.

In addition, we will provide practical tips for starting your business, including required registrations, premises/leases, and operational matters. We understand that starting a business can be overwhelming, and we want to ensure you have all the necessary information and resources to get started on the right foot.

We will also discuss what happens when things go wrong, including shareholder disputes, breaches of contracts, and insolvency. We will give you an overview of the legal processes involved and the steps you can take to protect your business, including ongoing management, how to handle growth and possible changes in structure.

In December 2022, Aitken Partners hosted a mock VCAT hearing for an Owners Corporation Debt Recovery Hearing. This video is a recording of that session. 

Aitken Partners is one of the most experienced law firms in Melbourne, representing clients from across the private and business sectors for nearly 100 years. We work for you, providing one-on-one consultations to better understand the finer details of your matters and to deliver a more personalised and supportive form of legal representation.  

Our staff are approachable, compassionate and dedicated, standing up for you and your interests throughout the various legal processes and striving to deliver the very best outcome possible.  We have been in business since 1923 when we grew from being a small country firm to become one of the most respected legal firms across Victoria and throughout Australia, and have been located in William Street, Melbourne, for all that time.  For a local law firm you can trust to represent your voice and interests, turn to Aitken Partners.  

Aitken Partners, Lawyers & Advisors Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 

(03) 8600 6080 www.aitken.com.au  

#Lawyers #AustralianLawyers #MelbourneLawFirm #ownerscorporation #VCAT #OC

The easing of isolation rules and positive duties imposed by the Respect@Work Bill to prevent harassment – what does it mean for employers?  

In this Business Law Breakfast Seminar and Webinar, our new Workplace Law Principal Lawyer, Bhrig Chauhan, will lead a panel discussing The Workplace & Employment Law. 

The end of Covid? Far from it – What does the easing of isolation rules mean for businesses?  

• Lifting of mandatory Covid-19 isolation requirements effective 14 October 2022. 
• Risks to businesses arising from positive cases at the workplace. 
• Management of risks including obligations to be aware of before implementing any business plan.   

What does the future of working look like? The challenges of hybrid working?  

• Have businesses really embraced flexible work arrangements? 
• What are future business models likely to resemble?  
• Can businesses ‘wind back’ flexible arrangements now that public health directions have been relaxed? 
• Covid hasn’t disappeared, can employers still require staff to be ‘fully’ vaccinated?   

Respect@Work - Positive duties on employers to prevent harassment, discrimination and victimisation in the workplace. - Overview of significant changes to Federal anti-discrimination laws.  

• The impact of the changes on employers' duties to provide a harmonious workplace.   
• Practical solutions on how employers may satisfy their obligations.    

In the age of technology, it has become too easy for people to pick up their smartphone and jump onto social media or Google and make public their views – whether fact or fiction – about virtually anything.

But is it defamatory, and what are your rights? And what happens if the comments are posted on a social media page hosted by you or your organisation?

Defamation is a complex legal issue, and in this session, we will guide you through the changing landscape for when you are defamed and for when you are responsible for the defamation, either directly by your own words or as an ‘accidental’ publisher.

We will cover:

• Defamation Overview
• Online Defamation Caselaw, including Voller (Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd v Dylan Voller; Nationwide News Pty Limited v Dylan Voller; Australian News Channel Pty Ltd v Dylan Voller) and Defteros (Google LLC v Defteros)
• What you can do about defamatory posts concerning you and your business
• What you need to do to protect yourself from being an accidental publisher on your social media or websites
• Proposed Reforms.

Paolo Tatti of Aitken Partners has experience in matters including large defamation cases against national Australian newspapers through to matters involving small businesses and individuals.

He will moderate a panel, including:

Melissa Marcus is an experienced barrister at the Victorian Bar who practices intellectual property and defamation law.

Amanda Robinson is a lawyer with Aitken Partners and works on complex litigation, including defamation.

What are the legal (and moral) obligations of an Owners Corporation when dealing with abandoned goods on common property?

Unfortunately, residents often treat common property inside an Owners Corporation as a good place to dispose of goods. But what is an OC manager allowed to do, and what are their obligations.

Our panel for this session is led by Deb Andronaco (Owners Corporation Team Leader, Aitken Partners), Kevin Tan (Director, Clean As You Go) and Hayley Tran (Senior Property Manager, Inner Real Estate), will look at the changing regulatory landscape and provide you with some practical tips from real-life examples.

We will cover:

• Amendments to the Owners Corporation Act 2006 inclusion of new Division 5A - Disposal of goods abandoned on common property
• OC's ability to dispose of abandoned goods on common property in accordance with Division 5A and Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012
• The process to lawfully dispose of goods
• Residents (owner occupiers and renters) dumping things on common property when they move out, including white goods, small appliances, furniture and clothing
• Unregistered cars left on common property or in visitor car parking spaces
• Unidentifiable owners.

In Everything You Need to Know About Objecting to Property Rating Valuations, we look at the processes behind lodging objections and some of the triggers to be aware of when it comes to making an objection.       

These valuations directly relate to the Council Rates and Land Tax you pay, and recently we have successfully represented a number of clients in VCAT in land tax objections. It is important you make sure these valuations are right.     

In this Business Law Breakfast Seminar and Webinar, we will look at some of the key factors in what leads to an objection, and then the process that is required to make an objection.    

Ebony Roach of Aitken Partners will discuss the objection process and making an application to review a decision in VCAT.  She will also look at the importance of engaging experts and their role   

Chris Nicodimou of Fitzroys (Valuer) will talk about valuation considerations when assessing site value; the impact of improvements and heritage constraints when determining the highest and best of the property.  

Will Pearce of Human Habitats (Planner) will look at planning controls and considerations and the impact on the highest and best use of the property and how this impacts site value.   

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Aitken Partners is one of the most experienced law firms in Melbourne, representing clients from across the private and business sectors for nearly 100 years. We work for you, providing one-on-one consultations to better understand the finer details of your matters and to deliver a more personalised and supportive form of legal representation.  

Our staff are approachable, compassionate and dedicated, standing up for you and your interests throughout the various legal processes and striving to deliver the very best outcome possible.  We have been in business since 1923 when we grew from being a small country firm to become one of the most respected legal firms across Victoria and throughout Australia, and have been located in William Street, Melbourne, for all that time.  

For a local law firm you can trust to represent your voice and interests, turn to Aitken Partners.  Aitken Partners, Lawyers & Advisors Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (03) 8600 6080 www.aitken.com.au  #Lawyers #AustralianLawyers #MelbourneLawFirm

A change in Federal Government and the impacts of the COVID pandemic have altered the employment landscape in 2022, but what are the changes we know and what might we expect?  

Our panel, featuring the head of Aitken Partners' Employment Law team, Stephen Curtain, lawyer Zoe Zhou and the Chief Operating Officer of IPA Recruitment Services, Paul Barbaro will look at:  

• Employees or contractors and the consequences of getting it wrong 
• Current Labor Party policy and what might that mean in government 
• The employment marketplace 
• Wages – are they on the rise? 
• Trends in the workplace 
• Update on recent employment law issues, including some case overviews  

The accompanying slide show can be found at https://www.aitken.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2022-06-BLB-Employment-Law-2022.pdf  

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Aitken Partners is one of the most experienced law firms in Melbourne, representing clients from across the private and business sectors for nearly 100 years. We work for you, providing one-on-one consultations to better understand the finer details of your matters and to deliver a more personalised and supportive form of legal representation.  

Our staff are approachable, compassionate and dedicated, standing up for you and your interests throughout the various legal processes and striving to deliver the very best outcome possible.  

We have been in business since 1923 when we grew from being a small country firm to become one of the most respected legal firms across Victoria and throughout Australia, and have been located in William Street, Melbourne, for all that time.  For a local law firm you can trust to represent your voice and interests, turn to Aitken Partners.  

Aitken Partners Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
+61 3 8600 6080 

www.aitken.com.au  

#Lawyers #AustralianLawyers #MelbourneLawFirm #employment #employmentlaw #recruitment #workplacelaw #wages #wagegrowth

in this Webinar with the Aitken Partners Owners Corporation team, we will look at Dysfunctional OCs and what that means to the OC.  

If you are a member or a manager of an Owners Corporation (OC), you will be aware of the many problems that can render an OC dysfunctional. 

But what does that mean, and how does it get fixed?   

There are many reasons for this dysfunctionality, ranging from one member’s lack of participation in the decision-making process or meetings to more serious actions such as fraud or a general lack of understanding of things like accounting, building works and legislation. These issues can cripple the functionality of the OC leaving the managers incapable of resolving basic or complex issues.   

But help is at hand.   

Deb Andronaco will lead a team discussion on dysfunctional Owners Corporations with input from insolvency expert Shane Cremin from Rodgers Reidy and Sam Merrylees from our team.   

Deb and Sam cover the legal aspects including:  

• What is a dysfunctional OC? 
• What does the Owners Corporations Act say? 
• What can VCAT do if an OC is dysfunctional? 
• Case law with regards to dysfunctional OCs.  

Shane will discuss:  

• The role of an administrator in a dysfunctional OC?  
• Can the Administrators cancel contracts signed prior to administration?  
• How can the Administrator handle unhelpful Owners and ex-Committee Members?  
• What happens if all records are not handed over by the manager?

Join our Business Law team as we look at the ins and outs of buying or selling a business in 2022. Frequent and sometimes long lockdowns in Victoria have led to significant financial distress in the business community, which has also led to businesses being up for sale.

But what are the risk of buying a distressed business and how do you know whether the distress was COVID-related or not? Do you need to avoid the ‘bargain’? How do you determine the true value of a business with the ongoing pandemic?

This webinar, chaired by Julie Maxfield, will look at all steps involved in the buy-sell process. From the seller’s side, how do you prepare for sale and what disclosures are required, and for the buyer how do you know what you are buying.

Our panel will help you to understand everything you need to know about buying or selling a business in 2022.

John McCombe is one of Victoria’s most highly regarded Business Lawyers and has been recognised in The Best Lawyers in Australia since 2013 for his work in Corporate Governance, Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions Law. John will talk about:

• Whether there are any changes from the legal side to buying or selling a business in 2022
• 5 Steps to take prior to Selling
• 5 Steps to take prior to Buying

Rhys Pedler from Hamilton Morello will look at the accounting aspects of buying or selling a business and some of the dos and don’ts.