Articles and News

Without the proposed temporary changes to the Companies Act directors could face personal liability for their company’s debts if they allowed a company with cash flow or other solvency issues to continue trading.

This is the story of how Body Corporate Apartment X (BCAX) has responded to COVID-19. Other Bodies Corporate may find this useful in determining their own courses of action.

Are employees still paid for public holidays if they are not working because of COVID-19? And if so, how much are they paid?

If you are in the process of buying or selling a property, we recommend you discuss matters with your lawyer. Although our physical offices are closed, Gibson Sheat remains open for business to provide its clients with the advice they need in these unprecedented times.

I anticipate that the vast majority of contractors will not be throwing in the kitchen sink on delay costs and letting the contract become a battleground. Pragmatism needs to win the day because it is very likely that none of the current contracts adequately deal with all the financial implications of the current lockdown.

The wording of the lease will be critical to determining rights commercial tenants have to relief from paying rent and outgoings during the lock-down period.

Legal advice is crucial before taking action.

Home-owners who have had their income disrupted by COVID-19 may be entitled to a 6-month mortgage payment holiday, but they should carefully consider whether a mortgage holiday is necessary because it will lead to a greater liability in the future.

Employers can apply for a lump sum payment for their employees over 12 weeks if they have experienced a 30% actual or predicted decline in revenue due to COVID-19, over the period of a month when compared to a month last year.

• The rent freeze applies for an initial period of six months
• If a landlord has already given a rent increase or termination notice that comes into effect on or after the Bill comes into force (26 March 2020), this notice is of no effect.

Before bringing a contract to an end on the grounds of frustration we strongly recommend you to talk to one of our commercial lawyers to avoid being held liable for breach of contract.

In this article we’ve summarised the process that we as a business have been through and recommend other businesses follow to keep agile and weather the COVID-19 storm.

A $6.25 billion scheme is available for lending to small and medium-sized businesses with an annual turnover between $250,000 and $80 million per annum.

A Power of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Attorney and a Will are always important documents to have in place, but at times like this they take on a renewed significance.

There's a longer term view than just dealing with the emergency knee-jerk reaction of the disruption to businesses

The Government has announced a rent freeze in response to the Covid-19 virus. The rent freeze only applies to residential properties ...