Buy Now Pay Later (‘BNPL’) is a system of advancing funds to consumers for the purchase of goods and services, with repayments made in regular instalments. The consumer can take possession of the goods or services immediately.

Currently, BNPL advances are unregulated by consumer credit law, as no interest is charged on the advances. 

The National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 does not apply, and providers of BNPL finance are not required to meet the compliance requirements of that legislation.

Finance providers obtain a return on BNPL transactions via the collection of merchant fees (paid by vendors to the finance provider at the time of sale) and by recovery of fixed late fees by consumers if they default on their repayment schedule.

Congratulations to Associate Funda Karabacak, who has been listed in Australasian Lawyer's Rising Stars 2022 list!  

Presented by Partner and National Insurance Group Leader John Van de Poll on Wednesday 23 February 2022, this webinar examined a range of significant cases from 2021.

Discussion topics ncluded:

• Credit Hire
  Arsalan v Rixon [2021] HCA 4
   
• COVID-19 Business Interruption Test Cases
  Swiss Re International Se v LCA Marrickville Pty Limited (Second COVID-19 insurance test cases) [2021] FCA 1206
   
• s.54 and Failure to Notify Avant
  Insurance Limited v Burnie [2021] NSWCA 272
  Darshn v Avant Insurance Limited [2021] FCA 706
   
• Professional Services Exclusion
  Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, Australia Branch v SunWater Ltd [2021] NSWSC 1582

This seminar will be highly-relevant to claims staff and managers, regulatory/compliance and risk teams, in addition to internal counsel.

Two recent Full Court of the Federal Court decisions have impacted the way in which preference claims are conducted referable to the application of the ‘peak indebtedness rule’, and the application of set-off under s. 553C of the Corporations Act 2001.

Companies can now sign documents by electronic means and with directors using electronic signatures. 

On 10 February 2022, the Australian Senate passed the Corporations Amendment (Meetings and Documents) Bill 2021.  The passing of the Bill now clarifies the execution requirements of companies when signing documents (including deeds) - whether in physical or electronic form, or a hybrid of physical and electronic.

In the 14 February 2022 decision in Osei v P K Simpson Pty Ltd [2022] NSWCA13, the Court of Appeal clarified an important issue regarding the cap on costs for personal injury damages matters, as set out in clause 2 of Schedule 1 to the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act (NSW) 2014.

We are pleased to invite readers to join Holman Webb's Insurance Group for our first webinar of the year: 2021 - A Year in Review.

Presented by Partner and National Insurance Group Leader John Van de Poll and taking place on Wednesday 23 February 2022, this webinar will examine a range of significant cases from 2021.

In the December 2021 decision in Skytraders Pty Ltd v Ian Wallace Meyer [2021] NSWSC 1670 (an employment and confidential information dispute), the Supreme Court of New South Wales held that the Plaintiff was entitled to have an independent forensic computer expert appointed by the Court to conduct an analysis of the defendants’ documents before pleading and evidence closed, to permit the Plaintiff to gain evidence to support its case against the Defendant employee.

This case highlights what is required to have an early independent examination ordered before the pleadings, evidence and discovery stage.  It also demonstrates the disclosure requirements for a party seeking ex parte orders.

The practitioner in the matter of Hampshire v Health Care Complaints Commission [2021] NSWCA 283 was first registered as a medical practitioner in 1976, and had been a consultant psychiatrist since 1988.

His registration was cancelled by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in 2020 because he had sent sexually inappropriate text messages to a young woman after a medico-legal assessment of her in April 2017. He had also failed to comply with health conditions on his registration that imposed limits on his intake of alcohol and sedatives, and he was considered not competent to practice due to alcohol dependence.

This matter is not the first to clearly illustrate the importance of complying with professional standards, and the risks of failing to do so.  Hampshire v Health Care Complaints Commission [2021] NSWCA 283 is similar to the matter of Rahman v Health Care Complaints Commission [2021] NSWCA 247 (discussed in Holman Webb’s December 2021 article), in that the practitioners in question both had histories of non-compliance with conditions, which gave the respective Tribunal Members no confidence that either would adhere to further conditions imposed.

The current landscape of regulation in respect of digital payments within Australia is set to change significantly within the coming 12-18 months.  

Part of this change is the prospect of greater codification and regulation of the legal management of the varying types of payment systems - including Buy Now Pay Later (‘BNPL’), cryptocurrency, and mobile telephones; as well as traditional systems such as credit cards and eftpos.