Allens Arthur Robinson

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Personal property securities reform has passed into law in PNG but will not come into force untila security interest registry is established. Partners Steve Pemberton and Vaughan Mills look at the implications of the new law for doing business in PNG

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A new Civil Code that will significantly change Cambodia's legal framework for a wide range of civil and commercial matters has recently come into force. Partner Marae Ciantar and Lawyer Anne Beresford report.

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The Chinese Government has made further moves towards the internationalisation of its currency with the release of a number of regulations regarding the use of the RMB both in investments made by Chinese companies overseas and, significantly, investments made by overseas companies into the PRC. Special Counsel Ross Keene, Senior Associates Adrian Fisher and Maggie Ma and PRC Consultant Michelle Ding report

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The Federal Government has released a discussion paper that outlines proposals to reform the Australian retail corporate bond market. Partners Stuart McCulloch and David Clifford spoke to Boardroom Radio about some of the proposals and what their implementation may mean for the market

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In the important class action brought against the ANZ Bank on the issue of various fees, the Federal Court has looked at the principles of penalties generally. Partners Diccon Loxton, John Gallimore, Phillip Cornwell and Lawyer Rob Clark look at the decision, where the court found that to be a penalty, a clause must sanction a breach of an obligation under an agreement

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The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) is on track for commencement in October this year. In the first of a series, Senior Associate Andrew Edington speaks to Boardroom Radio on the legislation, how it affects a wide range of services and businesses, and the risks to organisations that fail to protect their security interests

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A recent case in the NSW Court of Appeal gives some important clarification on aspects of a mortgagee's obligation following the exercise of a power of sale. Partner John Gallimore and Lawyer Jacinta Dyer report on how the court dealt with the issue of contested surplus funds

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The Federal Government today released its exposure draft legislation relating to the issue by authorised deposit-taking institutions of covered bonds. Partners Matthew Allchurch and David Clifford outline the proposed legislative regime and comment on its implications

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A recent English High Court decision introduces conditions on relying on flawed asset clauses, particularly with respect to the ISDA Master Agreement. Partner Tom Highnam and Summer Clerk Elise Ho report

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A recent English decision is a useful case study (and cautionary tale) for lenders in LBOs and syndicated loans generally. Partner Diccon Loxton and Lawyer Michael Wells look at a case that highlights what can occur when an affiliate of a private equity sponsor purchases the majority of debt in a facility. With distressed debt now regularly traded, it also raises the distinct possibility of majority decisions being reversed and changed as a syndicate changes

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In a judgment that will be welcomed by securitisers, syndicated lenders and other buyers and sellers of financial assets, the full bench of the Federal Court has handed down its decision in the Goodridge appeal. In this article, Partner Matthew Allchurch examines the appeal judgment and its ramifications

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An exposure draft of legislation to introduce a new civil prohibition regarding the exchange of sensitive information between competitors has been released by the Federal Government. Partner David Brewster spoke to Boardroom Radio about the implications of the new legislation

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The far-reaching Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth)is due to come into force in May 2011 and businesses operating in the manufacturing and retail sectors will be affected. It covers a wide range of transactions, not just security interests. It is not just limited to consumer transactions, and significantly alters aspects of commercial law and contracts law. Partner Diccon Loxton reports on how the changes will affect the manufacturing and retail industries

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This morning, the High Court unanimously rejected the appeal from the decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal and thus quashed the first instance decision in Octaviar which had thrown long-accepted practices into doubt. On a first reading, affected parties can now relax. Partners Diccon Loxton and Andrew Boxall and Lawyer Michael Wells report

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The far-reaching personal property securities reform is due to come into force in May 2011 and companies with significant intellectual property assets will be affected by the sweeping changes the new legislation will bring to Australia's commercial law. Partners Diccon Loxton and Tim Golder, Special Counsel Rebecca Sadleir and Senior Associate Robyn Chatwood report on how the changes will affect IP owners

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The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) will commence in May 2011. It covers a wide range of transactions, not just security interests.It is not limited to consumer transactions, and significantly alters aspects of commercial law and contracts law. It makes fundamental changes to the way in which securities are taken and enforced over most forms of property other than land. Significantly for those in the construction industry, the legislation will affect retention of title clauses and rights over temporary works and a contractor's equipment. Partners Leighton O'Brien, Steve Pemberton and Diccon Loxton and Lawyer Merav Bloch report

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The far-reaching Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) is due to come into force in May 2011 and businesses operating in the mining and petroleum sectors will be affected. It covers a wide range of transactions, not just security interests. It is not limited to consumer transactions, and significantly alters aspects of commercial law and contracts law. Partners David Maloney and Diccon Loxton report on how the changes will affect the mining and petroleum industries

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The far-reaching Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) is due to come into force in May 2011 and companies operating in the communications, media or technology sectors will be affected by the sweeping changes the new legislation will bring to Australia'scommercial law. Partners Ian McGill and Diccon Loxton and Lawyer Valeska Bloch report on how the changes will affect those sectors

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The first covered bond in Australasia was launched in New Zealand this month. Partner Tom Highnam and Senior Associate Paul Cerch speak to Boardroom Radio about what this means for the Australian covered bonds market

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Existing regulations require Indonesian insurance companies and banks meet new minimum equity capital requirements by the end of 2010. As the deadline approaches, Partners David Holme (Jakarta) and Robert Clarke (Singapore) and Lawyer Brooke Nicholls revisit the requirements, and examine the consequences for businesses that fail to comply and the opportunities that will arise from the expected consolidation and capital raising

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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

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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

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

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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.