From Friday 1 July 2022, there will be a number of changes set to impact all Australian businesses.

These changes include increases to minimum wages, compulsory superannuation and penalty units in NSW.   

The changes come as a timely reminder for businesses to review their contracts and industrial instruments. 

It is also a good time for businesses to ensure that they are meeting their minimum obligations, and to confirm who will bear the increase to superannuation.

Risk is when your loss can easily surpass your gain – severity of that loss can come down to exposure and vulnerability of your business.

In many industries, risk takes various forms and the risk factors that could affect your business the most are could be external – economic downturn and insolvency.

This piece from Holman Webb's Commercial Recovery and Insolvency Group takes a look at the concept of risk, what those working within a credit function need to know - and how Holman Webb can help.

In April 2022, the ATO issued 50,000 letters of demand to company directors giving them 21 days to resolve tax liabilities.

Historically, once ATO and major banks start escalating collection activity, it’s not uncommon to see insolvencies rise.

This piece from Holman Webb's Commercial Recovery and Insolvency Group highlights the impact that the ATO's issuance of these letters is likely to have within the building and construction industries.

The Australian Financial Review recently reported that “total construction sector inflation will hit 9.5 per cent over the year to June 2022, and 6 per cent over the year to December 2022”.

This increased financial pressure in the industry will heavily impact the likelihood of increased insolvency activity.

With the latest ABS statistics confirming that the CPI increased by 2.1% in the last quarter, and that inflation reached 5.1% over the 12 months to March 2022 quarter (the highest since 2001) - those in the building and construction industries have been particularly hard hit.

Higher inflation impacts:

• Supply chains: a shortage of materials has seen an increase of 3.8% in construction costs;
• Labour markets; and
• RBA interest rate rise: higher interest rates may lead to a dampening in economic activity.

These additional costs have flow on effects to construction activity, some of which may be far reaching.

On 21 June the New South Wales (NSW) Treasurer, the Hon. Matt Kean MP, announced a range of property-related as part of the 2022-2023 State Budget on 21 June 2022.  

These include:

• NSW Land Tax
• First Home Buyer Choice
• Shared Equity Scheme

Click through for an overview of these new measures, and how they are likely to impact you.

Click through to download Holman Webb Lawyers' new Minor Injury Guide, which assists those working within the CTP Insurance space in determining whether an injured person has sustained minor or non-minor injuries for the purpose of your liability decisions.  

On 15 June 2022, the High Court unanimously dismissed an appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, in the case of Hill v Zuda as trustee for The Holly Superannuation Fund [2022] HCA 21.

The High Court ruled that Regulation 6.17A (Payment of a benefit on or after death) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994, does not apply to binding death benefit notices in self-managed superannuation funds (‘SMSFs’). 

This means that binding death benefit notices are applicable to regulated superannuation funds that are not SMSFs, but that binding death benefit notices are not applicable to SMSFs.

Presented by CTP Insurance Partner Stephanie Davis on Thursday 16 June 2022, this webinar recording provides an overview of how the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017, Motor Accident Injuries Regulation 2017 and the Motor Accidents Guidelines work together to define minor injuries and the procedure for assessment of Minor Injury Disputes.

Click through to watch this webinar, and to download Holman Webb's recently published Minor Injury Guide, which highlights some recent Review Panel decisions concerning Minor Injury Disputes.

Important takeaways from the decision in Talevska v AAI Limited t/as AAMI [2022] NSWPICMP 82:

• Only one injury needs to fall outside the definition of “minor injury” to entitle the Claimant to ongoing statutory benefits and common law damages.
   
• The Review Panel dismissed an Application to assess other injuries on the basis it was no longer relevant.

Important takeaways from the decision in Muradi v QBE Insurance (Australia) Ltd [2022] NSWPICMP 59:

• The Review Panel had regard to various studies addressing annular tears and determined that although the accident could have caused an annular tear, it did not cause the Claimant’s annular tear.
   
• The Review Panel considered that the Claimant’s symptoms were more likely attributable to damage to other musculoskeletal structures and psychological distress, than the annular tears.