LAW – AUSTRALIA – CASES

Court says backpacker tax is discriminatory

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 31-Oct-19

Arnold Bloch Leibler partner Clint Harding says some backpackers could be entitled to tax refunds after a landmark court ruling on the federal government’s tax on the earnings of working holidaymakers. The Federal Court’s Justice John Logan has ruled that the backpacker tax breaches non-discrimination clause in Australia’s tax treaties with eight countries, including the UK, the US, Germany and Japan. The Australian Taxation Office may appeal the ruling.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ARNOLD BLOCH LEIBLER, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, TAXBACK.COM

ABC raid could scare off sources

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Original article by Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Oct-19

The Federal Court has adjourned its hearing into the ABC’s legal challenge to the validity of a police raid on its Sydney headquarters in June. Matt Collins, SC, who is representing the public broadcaster, has told the court that whistleblowers will be reluctant to contact journalists if the Australian Federal Police’s search warrant is not overturned. Amongst other things, the ABC’s case is based on the implied freedom of political communication in the Constitution.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Google faces court case over misled users

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Original article by David Swan, Elias Visontay
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 30-Oct-19

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has launched legal action against digital giant Google for misleading users of Android smartphones with regard to the amount of data it collects and how the data would be used. Amongst other things, the ACCC contends that Google failed to inform consumers that it would continue to receive location data from their smartphones if they switched off the ‘location history’ option. Google faces potential fines of up to $10m or 10 per cent of its annual turnover if the alleged breaches of Australian consumer law are proven in the Federal Court.

CORPORATES
GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Westpac lashed in advice ruling

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 29-Oct-19

The Federal Court has upheld the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s appeal against a December 2018 judgment in favour of Westpac. The case had centred on Westpac’s use of cold-calling to urge its customers to switch their superannuation accounts from other providers to its BT subsidiary, and whether this constituted the provision of general or personal advice. Westpac could face a financial penalty of up to $15m if it decides not to appeal the ruling.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Secrecy law a burden: HRC

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic
The Australian – Page: 5 : 18-Oct-19

Details of submissions to News Corp Australia’s legal challenge to the validity of a police raid on the home of journalist Annika Smethurst have been released. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s submission has broadly supported News Corp’s stance, although it has taken a different legal approach to the issue, arguing that secrecy laws limit the freedom of political expression. Constitutional law expert George Williams, says the two approaches could both support the media group’s view that the raid on Smethurst was unlawful.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

CFMEU branded a serial offender

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-Oct-19

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union and Victorian shop steward Kevin Pattinson have been fined $69,000 in total for preventing an apprentice and an electrician from working on a Melbourne construction site. The court was told that Pattinson had barred the two workers from the site because they were not members of the CFMMEU. The Federal Court’s Justice John Snaden noted that the union is a "serial ­offender" with regard to its lack of compliance with workplace laws.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Costs blow strikes Fair Work funders

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-Oct-19

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox has welcomed the Federal Court’s ruling that litigation funder August Ventures should provide security for employers’ costs in a class action over alleged breaches of workplace laws. Willox hopes the ruling will make Fair Work class actions less attractive to litigation funders, while he has called for such businesses to be subject to greater regulation. There are currently 11 class actions before the Federal Court involving ­alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUGUST VENTURES, ADERO LAW, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, WORKPAC PTY LTD

IOOF no closer to ANZ deal after court win

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Aleks Vickovich
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 17 : 23-Sep-19

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has failed in its court case against IOOF Holdings, in which it sought to argue that the financial services company breached its obligation to act in its members’ best interests. It had been the first time in more than 10 years that APRA had taken superannuation trustees to court, with Federal Court Justice Jayne Jagot finding that its legal arguments were "unpersuasive". Despite APRA’s lack of success in the case, industry observers say it does not mean that IOOF is guaranteed to complete its takeover of the ANZ Bank’s wealth unit.

CORPORATES
IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ALLENS, ADVISER RATINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD

Glencore beats ATO in transfer pricing battle

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Original article by John Durie
The Australian – Page: 20 : 4-Sep-19

The Australian Taxation Office may appeal a Federal Court ruling in favour of mining giant Glencore over a transfer pricing dispute. The case centred on the price that Glencore’s offshore trading arm paid for copper from its Cobar mine in New South Wales. The ATO contended that the transaction should have been done at arm’s length. The ruling may have implications for other transfer pricing investigations being undertaken by the ATO.

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC, GLENCORE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Watchdog takes aim at Medibank as patients denied payments

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 4-Sep-19

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has launched legal action against Medibank Private, accusing the health insurer of making false representations about the benefits covered by its policies. It will be alleged that Medibank had wrongly advised customers that its AHM Lite and Boost policies did not cover medical procedures such as knee reconstructions and spinal surgery. ACCC chairman Rod Sim says this forced many policyholders to delay necessary surgery.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, AHM HEALTH INSURANCE, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA