Table of Contents:
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