Proposed Small Business Ombudsman ‘with teeth’ welcomed by industry groups
Small Business Minister Bruce Billson has released a discussion paper, outlining the proposed creation of a Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman with real power to resolve disputes. According...
View ArticleACCC to crack down on businesses making misleading representations over...
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has initiated proceedings in the Federal Court against a refrigerant gas business on the grounds of deceptive conduct. The ACCC alleges Actrol Parts...
View ArticleACCC drags Coles into court over supplier deals
Supermarket giant Coles is today defending itself against allegations by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that it engaged in unconscionable conduct towards 200 of its smaller...
View ArticleCourt awards $174,000 after small business said pregnancy was “not a good look”
The Federal Court has awarded a photographer $174,000 in compensation after finding she was subject to pregnancy discrimination by her employer Piccoli Photography. The court found Samantha Sagona was...
View ArticleACCC signals strategic change in battle with supermarkets
The corporate regulator’s ongoing battle with the major supermarket chains took an interesting twist on Monday when it alleged that Coles had engaged in unconscionable conduct against various small...
View ArticleChristmas party breast groper gets job back
The NSW Industrial Relations Commission has reinstated a public servant who was fired after groping five women at his work Christmas party. The commission found Andrew McCaskill, a project officer with...
View ArticleNine steps to help businesses avoid litigation
Litigation has increasingly become a tool of last resort. It is expensive, distracting and can seriously reduce the productivity of the people involved in running a case. But it is naive to think that...
View ArticleA Small Business Ombudsman moves closer
The government says it is committed to establishing a Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman “with real power”. It has now released a discussion paper on establishing such an ombudsman. The...
View ArticleOrigin Energy in hot water over alleged false conduct
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted proceedings against Origin Energy in the Federal Court of Australia, alleging the energy provider made false or misleading...
View ArticleBauer Media attempts to trademark the word ‘glossy’
Australian publishers could soon be prevented from using the word “glossy” to describe their publications if an attempt to trademark the term by Bauer Media is successful. Mumbrella reports the German...
View ArticlePandora jewellery founder backs major online legal player LawPath
Lawpath, a “one stop-shop” for individuals and businesses with legal needs, has announced the closure of a new funding round, with the full investment coming from Brook Adcock, the founder of the...
View ArticleFair Work Commission approves one day’s notice of redundancy
The Fair Work Commission has found a manager who was made redundant was not treated unfairly by receiving one day's notice. Paul Murray, a technical project manager with software development company...
View ArticleBearing distributor slapped with $3 million fine for price fixing
Bearing distributor NSK Australia was yesterday slapped with a $3 million penalty, after the Federal Court found Japanese executives had conspired to fix prices in Australia. The court found several...
View Article“Go put some lippy on”: Sussan cops $237,000 payout in bullying case
Women’s clothing retailer Sussan has been ordered to pay $237,000 by the Supreme Court of Queensland after the retailer failed to follow its own bullying policy. Gabrielle Keegan, a former assistant...
View ArticleFormer chief executive faces criminal charges over $6 million fraud allegations
Esra Ogru, the former chief executive of Melbourne based biotech company Phosphagenics, is facing criminal charges over an alleged $6 million fraud. The Australian reports Ogru has been charged with...
View ArticleAustralian Mutual Holdings forks out $20,400 for misleading statements
Australian Mutual Holdings has paid more than $20,000 in penalties after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission issued two infringement notices for alleged misleading statements in...
View ArticleColes to stomach fine for expired deli meat
Coles has been hit with a $31,500 fine for displaying deli meats past their use-by date. The Adelaide Magistrates Court found the supermarket giant breached the food code at its McLaren Vale store in...
View ArticleCourt orders Taxsmart to cough up $260,000 to former franchisees
The Federal Court has ordered Taxsmart Group to pay $260,400 in franchise fees to five former Taxsmart franchisees. In a judgment handed down on Friday, the court found the accounting and taxation firm...
View ArticleLandscape business slapped with $13,000 in fines for threatening to sack...
An east coast landscaping business and two of its employees have been fined for threatening to sack a worker who asked for a car allowance owed to him. After a legal battle which has lasted more than...
View ArticleFair Work dismisses bullying claim as behaviour “bordering upon unreasonable”
In one of the first decisions made by the Fair Work Commission under its new jurisdiction the commission has dismissed a bullying claim. The Fair Work Commission received an application for a stop...
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