On 13 June 2017 the Australian Financial Review published an article titled “SumoSalad uses Insolvency Laws to fight Scentre’s Westfield”.
In the recent Federal Budget, one change that hasn’t been given media attention is a change to the GST Legislation, which is to become effective from mid-July 2018 whereby purchasers of ‘new constructed residential premises’ and ‘new subdivisions’ become responsible to remit the GST to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
The Government has not published any details as to how these changes are going to operate other than claiming that the ATO expects to recover upwards of $650 million in GST revenue over the next four years.
When a lessee fails to comply with a notice to remedy a non-payment or other lease default, the lessor may be entitled to terminate the lease and retake possession of the property. This is commonly done by changing the locks.
However, a lessee who wants to save itself from being evicted can apply to court to prevent the lessor from retaking possession. In Queensland this application is made under section 124 of the Property Law Act 1974 (Qld) and is known as an application for relief against forfeiture.
When is relief against forfeiture granted?
Failing to register a lessor’s security interest on the PPSR over plant and equipment at leased premises can result in the lessor’s unperfected security interest passing to the administrator of the lessee.
In the recent decision of Flown Pty Ltd v Goldrange Pty Ltd [2016] WASC 419, a lessee’s administrator successfully retained ownership of plant and equipment (which were not fixtures) in the leased premises.
Background
Year in Review - Australia Law in 2016
Two’s company when it comes to debt funding. Surely, three makes things a little crowded? It doesn’t have to be that way.
Welcome to the first edition of the Herbert Smith Freehills Guide to Restructuring, Turnaround and Insolvency, Asia Pacific .
The High Court of Australia has now had the final say in the ongoing saga of the restaurant tenant who leased premises at Crown and was told that if it carried out high quality refurbishments of the premises, then it would be ‘looked after at renewal time’. When it came to the expiry of the term of the lease, the landlord required the tenant to vacate the premises.
Legal principles
A problem often faced by creditors is how to recover unsecured judgment debts. If a debtor owns real property, there is a mechanism available through the Courts to have the debt registered against the property and the sheriff's office sell the property to satisfy the judgment debt.
Snapshot