Preface xi
About the authors xii
Part 1 Business law 1
Chapter 1 Business and the law 2
Introduction 3
1.1 Law and the business person 4
1.2 The nature of law 5
1.3 Justice, ethics and politics 15
Chapter 2 The Australian legal system 27
Introduction 28
2.1 The Australian legal system 28
2.2 The Australian Constitution 42
2.3 The executive government 49
Chapter 3 Deliberately causing harm 63
Introduction 64
3.1 Causing harm 64
3.2 Deliberately causing harm to person or property 68
3.3 Deliberately causing financial harm 82
3.4 The consequences of causing harm 87
Chapter 4 Carelessly causing harm 97
Introduction 98
4.1 Carelessly causing harm to person or property 98
4.2 Carelessly causing financial harm 120
Chapter 5 Contract law: formation of the contract 129
Introduction 130
5.1 Contracts 131
5.2 Requirement 1: agreement 131
5.3 Requirement 2: intention 141
5.4 Requirement 3: consideration 144
5.5 Formalities 152
5.6 Capacity to contract 153
5.7 Legality 156
Chapter 6 Contract law: terms of the contract 163
Introduction 164
6.1 Express terms 165
6.2 Terms implied by the court 169
6.3 Statutory terms 171
6.4 Disclaimers 181
6.5 Unenforceable terms 184
6.6 Non-contractual representations and promises 185
Chapter 7 Contract law: enforcement of the contract 195
Introduction 196
7.1 Entitlement to enforce 196
7.2 Unenforceable contracts: lack of consent 199
7.3 Remedies 208
7.4 The end of the contract 216
Chapter 8 Contract law: working with agents 225
Introduction 226
8.1 Getting someone else to do it 226
8.2 Scope of authority 229
8.3 The agent’s duties 235
8.4 The agent’s entitlements 241
8.5 Liability of agent and principal 242
8.6 Concluding the agency 245
Chapter 9 Dealing with consumers 253
Introduction 254
9.1 Protecting consumers 254
9.2 Dealing with consumers 257
9.3 Consequences of contravention 282
9.4 Consumer privacy 287
Part 2 Company law 301
Chapter 10 Business organisations 302
Introduction 304
10.1 Choosing a business structure 304
10.2 Sole traders 308
10.3 Partnerships 311
10.4 Joint ventures 318
10.5 Trusts 320
10.6 Companies 327
10.7 Cooperatives 331
10.8 Incorporated associations 334
10.9 Hybrid business structures 336
10.10 Business names 338
Chapter 11 Companies and incorporation 347
Introduction 348
11.1 Company regulation in Australia 349
11.2 Classes of companies 350
11.3 Starting a company 357
11.4 Separate legal entity 361
11.5 Corporate groups 363
11.6 The corporate veil 364
11.7 Limited liability 368
Chapter 12 Company constitution 375
Introduction 376
12.1 Rules and procedures 376
12.2 Replaceable rules 378
12.3 The company constitution 382
12.4 Objects clause 385
12.5 Who is bound by the replaceable rules and constitution? 387
12.6 Changing the rules of a company 390
Chapter 13 Membership, members’ powers and dividends 397
Introduction 398
13.1 Members’ rights 398
13.2 Members’ meetings 409
13.3 Dividends 421
Chapter 14 Members’ remedies 429
Introduction 430
14.1 Members’ rights and remedies 431
14.2 Statutory remedies 434
14.3 Statutory derivative action 441
14.4 Personal action 444
Chapter 15 Corporate governance and company management 453
Introduction 454
15.1 Corporate governance 454
15.2 Officers 458
15.3 Roles and powers of directors and members 462
15.4 Appointment, remuneration, resignation, removal 469
Chapter 16 Directors’ and officers’ duties A 479
Introduction 481
16.1 Officers’ duties 481
16.2 The duty of care and diligence 485
16.3 The standard of care 487
16.4 Diligence 491
16.5 Defences against a breach of duty of care and diligence 493
16.6 The duty to prevent insolvent trading and creditor-defeating dispositions 496
Chapter 17 Directors’ and officers’ duties B 509
Introduction 510
17.1 Good faith 510
17.2 Best interests of the company 512
17.3 Proper purpose 515
17.4 Conflict of interest under general law 517
17.5 Statutory provisions relating to conflict of interest 522
17.6 Remedies and penalties for breach of duty 525
Chapter 18 Financing a company via equity or debt 533
Introduction 534
18.1 Choosing between equity and debt 534
18.2 Issuing shares 536
18.3 Different types of shares 539
18.4 Debt financing 542
18.5 Debentures 543
18.6 Security for debts 546
Chapter 19 Receivership and administration 555
Introduction 556
19.1 Insolvency 557
19.2 Receivership 560
19.3 Voluntary administration and small business debt restructuring 566
Chapter 20 Liquidation 577
Introduction 578
20.1 Liquidation or winding up 579
20.2 Appointment of a liquidator 582
20.3 Property available to a liquidator 584
20.4 Final distributions and deregistration 589
Appendix A 595
Index 625
