Resources

Payment redirection scams increasingly hinge on whether a business had reasonable verification processes in place, not just on the scammer's sophistication — and the fix is a documented, independent-channel verification step, not just staff vigilance.

Paying a contractor doesn't automatically transfer IP ownership the way employment does — Australian law requires an explicit assignment clause, and without one, businesses may only hold a limited licence to use work they paid to have created.

Courts start from a position that restraint of trade clauses are void unless proven reasonable, and an overly broad clause risks being struck out entirely rather than simply narrowed — which is exactly why cascading, stepped clauses exist.

A company lease doesn't protect a director personally once a landlord requires a personal guarantee, and the scope often extends well beyond rent — covering make-good costs, option periods, and holding over, with liability that doesn't end just because the director resigns.

Since November 2023, including an unfair term in a standard form small business contract carries a direct financial penalty — not just unenforceability — and many B2B contracts wrongly assume they're excluded from these protections.

Many SMEs assume data breach notification only applies to large corporations, but the obligation applies broadly once a business crosses the Privacy Act's turnover threshold — and the definition of a notifiable breach is wider than most owners expect.

A statutory demand isn't ordinary debt collection correspondence — failing to respond within 21 days creates a legal presumption of insolvency that a creditor can use to wind up the company, regardless of whether the company is actually insolvent.

The margin scheme can significantly cut GST on a property sale by taxing only the margin rather than the full price, but it requires a written agreement between buyer and seller before settlement — miss that, and it can't be applied retroactively.

A retention of title clause in your terms and conditions generally isn't enough on its own to protect your goods if a customer becomes insolvent — without a PPSR registration, a liquidator can treat your goods as part of the general asset pool.

Safe harbour protects directors from personal liability for insolvent trading while genuinely working toward a better outcome, but the protection is conditional — it can be lost mid-period if employee entitlements or tax obligations lapse.

Every discretionary trust has a vesting date buried in its deed that automatically ends the trust once it passes — and older trusts, especially those established decades ago without a deed review, are at real risk of this arriving unnoticed.

Going concern GST-free treatment on a business sale requires six specific conditions to all be met — miss even one, like retaining a "minor" asset the buyer actually needs, and GST applies to the full sale price

PAYG instalments are based on last year's income, so a genuine drop this year means overpaying — but varying the instalment down carries a real penalty risk if the estimate turns out to be significantly understated.

STP reporting is tied to each pay day itself, not a periodic deadline like BAS — and businesses often misjudge this because it feels like other, less time-sensitive obligations. This

The 5-year record retention rule sounds simple, but the clock starts from when you lodge the relevant return — not the transaction date — and some records (depreciating assets, CGT) need to be kept well beyond 5 years.

Business owners with irregular income are particularly likely to exceed a super contribution cap without realising, since multiple contribution sources can stack up unnoticed.

This offset is capped at $1,000 per person and calculated as a percentage of tax payable on business income — not a percentage of profit, which is the mistake that trips most people up.

The Div 7A minimum yearly repayment isn't a figure companies choose — it's calculated from the ATO's annually published benchmark rate using an amortisation formula, and getting it wrong triggers an immediate deemed dividend.

Equity granted to employees isn't taxed like ordinary salary, and startups often assume any equity grant automatically qualifies for concessional treatment without checking the actual eligibility criteria.

Foreign parent companies often treat the Australian resident director requirement as a formality, but genuine governance activity and where central management and control actually sits both affect the company's tax residency position.