From 13 December 2022, Australian employers have a new positive duty to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment and sex discrimination as far as possible.
In a world of basically instant communication methods, one of the poorer decisions a construction company can make is to try and fire off an email terminating a contract when it doesn’t have lawful grounds to do so. Why? Because it’s digging yourself into a legal hole that will ultimately cause you loss, legal fees, and general irritation.
Developers in the Queensland building and construction industry may be faced with regulatory requirements previously unseen in this State. The role of developers in the construction industry has been the subject of review by the Developer Review Panel (Panel), appointed by the Queensland government.
Underpayment of employees continues to be rife in Australia. Usually this is not because of deliberate wage theft, but rather mistakes by employers in modern award interpretation or misclassification.
Recent times have seen a rise in online business presence and work-from-home arrangements. However, in certain industries like the construction industry there will always be a need for a bricks and mortar business premises.
In the usual lifecycle of a project, the final certificate is issued at the end of the defects liability period, which is usually at least 12 months after practical completion of the works.
It is fairly common for a claimant (subcontractor/head contractor) to submit a payment claim under the security of payment legislation, and then a revised claim soon after. Usually this is because the first payment claim was incomplete or contains errors, and the claimant intends to supersede the payment claim with a revised version.
Labour shortages, increases to the cost of materials, stimulus packages ending, and major international events have concocted the perfect storm – in the first 6 months of 2022 there have been 16 major collapses in the construction industry.
Failing to plan is planning to fail. There is no substitute for diligence and preparation, particularly when navigating the complex path towards buying or selling a construction business.
