September 2013 Issue 86

How many times have you searched for something online? How did you feel when you found what you were looking for, but couldn't read the details as the site appeared too small to read from? According to the statistics, around 94% of smartphone users have searched for a product or service on their phones and nearly 60% access internet via...

Forget pleading with a bank manager when you need cash to set up a new business. Crowdfunding, where you ask a large number of people for a small amount of money, is fast becoming the way to raise capital. The Pebble, an e-paper smartwatch, is the biggest success story to date, with 68,929 investors pledging over $10m through online funding...

BYOD might just be the biggest security risk the private and public sector has ever faced. Corporate and government security in relation to intellectual property, operational data and national security has never faced a greater security issue. The age of social media, frictionless document sharing and multiple network access points all enabled by mobile devices is any Chief Information Security...

Registering with the right IT recruitment agency is critical to finding the right opportunity for you. Does your agency work with IT clients that you want to work for? How strong is their relationship with their clients? Do they receive exclusive roles? Do they regularly survey their clients to understand what is valued and to identify any areas for improvements?...

Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer and respiratory disease account for 59% of the 56.5 million deaths each year. The World Health Organisation (WHO) have identified poor consumption of fruit and vegetables as a major contributing factor in the development of these diseases, and it is estimated that 2.7 million lives could potentially be saved with adequate intake of fruit and...

Sometimes I meet someone who happily tells me that they have "sorted" their property settlement, "just between us". No paperwork, no orders, no lawyers. Sounds good? A recent decision of the Full Court of the Family Court (Bevan and Bevan 2013) highlights again, the risk in relying upon informal settlements. The facts are interesting. The husband and wife had been...

When a couple separates, superannuation is an important issue to be taken into consideration. Since the introduction of the Superannuation Guarantee in 1992, the amount of money in superannuation is ever increasing. When the superannuation is a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF), another layer of complexity is added. In an SMSF the individuals that \"own\" the fund have the dual...

In many football codes we are seeing rival clubs "approaching and poaching" players who are still under contract for the following season. Many sports followers must be wondering what can legally be done to prevent this issue (assuming the club does not wish to grant a release). The answer may lie in the tort of interference with contract (or inducement...

In my last column, I reflected on the need to take action on regulation. In July, we also released our final policy position paper titled 'Towards better regulation.' We believe deregulation - stemming the growth in regulation and actually cutting back existing red tape - is a key element of the agenda for boosting national productivity and a crucial policy...

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As if the economy, business compliance and keeping up with customer demand were not enough for business owners to contend with: employers also need to be vigilant about the behaviour of their employees! Courts have found against employers for breaching their duty of care to employees and customers in circumstances where an employee has failed to exercise commonsense. By way...

It is possible for people to lose track of their super over the years as they change employers or funds. In this article, we look at how people can track their lost super by using the ATO's SuperSeeker service. Losing super According to the Commissioner of Taxation's 2010/11 Annual Report, Australians have around $20.2 billion in lost and unclaimed super....

As a provider of credit you insist on it and as the receiver of credit you baulk at providing it: a personal guarantee. How do they apply to sole traders? A sole trader is a person who trades without the use of a company structure, or partners, and who alone bears full responsibility for the debts of the business. A...