A Field-by-Field Guide to Company Extracts The Search Before the Handshake Before a law firm does anything for a client involving a company or trust structure, it pulls the ASIC search. An ASIC Organisation Extract is a snapshot of everything the public register knows about a company at the moment the search is run. It …
A Due Diligence Primer for Clients and Practitioners What Is a Company? A company is a legal fiction. The law says: we will treat this thing as though it were a person. It can own land, sue and be sued, enter contracts and owe money. Not All Companies Are the Same The type of company …
A Plain-English Guide to Company and Trust Structures Read More »
There is an old joke among insolvency lawyers that the only people who profit from a winding up are the liquidators. The recent decision of Brereton J in Segal v Sharma; In the matter of South West Radiology Pty Ltd (No 3) [2026] NSWSC 543, handed down on 18 May 2026, does little to dispel …
Trust Me, You Don’t Want Your Trustee Going Broke: Set-Off and the Mutuality Trap Read More »
When the photocopier turned up, there was no Procedural Direction requiring disclosure that a brief had been duplicated rather than transcribed by hand. The fax machine, the word processor, email, electronic filing – each one quietly revolutionised legal practice, and each time the profession absorbed the change without requiring an entirely new regulatory apparatus. The …
When clients come to us for estate planning, one of the most common sources of confusion is the Binding Death Benefit Nomination, or BDBN. Many people assume that their superannuation works just like their Will. They think they can leave their super to whoever they choose, only to discover that the law imposes strict limits on …
Binding Death Benefit Nomination: Who Can Actually Receive Your Superannuation Read More »
When getting judgment doesn’t mean you won the case The Star Entertainment Sydney Properties Pty Ltd v Buildcorp Group Pty Ltd trading as Buildcorp Interiors (No 2) (Costs) [2026] NSWSC 190 In what Justice Rees described as “fairly disastrous proceedings”, The Star Casino learned an expensive lesson about litigation strategy, the importance of suing the right …
Star Casino Costs Case: When Your Damages Win Doesn’t Cover the Costs Read More »
Parkas v Shankar [2025] NSWSC 1140 provides a recent and clear summary of the principles governing co-ownership accounting and equitable allowances between co-owners, particularly regarding claims for improvements or repairs that enhance a property’s value. The decision explores differing judicial views on whether a co-owner may receive an allowance for time personally spent carrying out …
Beyond 50/50: How Parkas v Shankar [2025] NSWSC 1140 Reshapes Co-Ownership Accounting Read More »
Caveats and costs agreements in NSW raise important legal and ethical issues for solicitors seeking to secure unpaid fees. Under the Real Property Act 1900 (NSW), a person may only lodge a caveat if they claim a legal or equitable interest in land. A debt alone—such as unpaid legal fees owed to a solicitor—does not …
Caveats and Costs Agreements in NSW – Securing Fees or Overstepping? Read More »
Trustees’ Duty to Consult Under Section 66H When Appointed Under Section 66G When the Supreme Court appoints statutory trustees for sale under section 66G of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) (“the Act”), those trustees assume the ordinary fiduciary duties of trustees toward the co-owner beneficiaries. One key obligation is the trustees’ duty to consult under …
Trustees’ Duty to Consult Under Section 66H: Recent Judicial Guidance Read More »
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What happens when someone makes a big promise—say, “One day this farm will be yours”—and then dies without ever putting that promise in writing? What if the deceased’s later will says something totally different? In Kramer v Stone [2024] HCA 48, the High Court confirmed that in Australia, if you rely on a promise and …
Kramer v Stone [2024] HCA 48: When There’s a Will, There’s Not Necessarily a Way Read More »