You are here: Home / CGLaw Advisor Day 2021

The team at Clifford Gouldson Lawyers would like to thank you for attending Advisor Day 2021. It was fantastic to have so much support from our local community and we truly value your participation.

Below you will find the list of presentations with links to the slides, a video of the presentation and any supporting materials referenced on the day.

Basic Legal Structures & Concepts | How to Quickly & easily explain these to your clients

Amanda Tolson, Director

As advisors you will understand the difficulty in the educational process involved in ensuring your client understands
what is happening, and why, so the client can make an informed decision.

Legal concepts are often abstract and appear shrouded in confusing terminology to a layperson, and professional
advisors are under time pressures to provide services at a reasonable cost.

Amanda will share her experience on how legal structures and concepts can be efficiently explained by using diagrams,
avoiding ‘legalese’ and summarising the common sense aspects and effects of the structures, and will outline some of
her proven techniques to do this.

Rural Property & Tax Issues

Amanda Tolson, Director & Tom Delany, Principal, Tax Partner Pty Ltd

Advising rural property owners brings a unique set of challenges. The legal issues CGLaw encounters often
require a team effort with accountants and tax advisors to get the best outcome for our clients. In the spirit of
that team approach, Amanda will present with Tom on a myriad of issues relevant for advisors to rural land
holders including:

  • Stamp duty – aggregation and how it works.
  • GST:
    • exemptions on a rural property sale; and
    • chattels/livestock/land/water etc when exemptions apply.
  • How different arrangements with land can be documented (e.g mining rights, wind, solar, share farming, agistment) and tax implications.
  • Capital/deduction considerations with leasing and licence arrangements, including related parties.
  • Capital/deduction considerations with structural improvements on land owned by a different entity to the one carrying on the business on the land.
  • CGT issues in the sale of rural properties.

Enterprise Bargaining Agreements | What are they and what are they good for?

Danny Clifford, Director & Ebony Archer, Associate

As advisors you would have heard the reference “EBA” when assisting clients within their business but what is it
and what does it mean for your clients?

An Enterprise Bargaining Agreement is an agreement which can be negotiated between an employer and its
employees to include matters which are not covered in an applicable Award, to alter how an Award may apply
to their employment and/or to provide more beneficial working conditions than those outlined in the National
Employment Standards. This agreement will also need to be approved by the Fair Work Commission in order to
become enforceable and to form a private ruling for that particular employer.

In this session, Danny and Ebony will shed some light on this form of industrial instrument and provide further
guidance on:

  • What an EBA actually is;
  • What they are good for;
  • How they are created; and
  • How they cease to operate

Property Development 101 | How to save aspiring property developers from themselves

Carly Brailak, Special Counsel

Carly will cover the fundamentals of property development.

As an advisor, you are in a unique position to assist your clients to make good decisions at every stage of their property development project to maximise their chances of success.

Drawing from a wide range of first hand experience with commercial, industrial and residential property development, Carly will provide helpful and practical information to assist you in guiding your clients through the highs and lows of their first property development.

Structuring & Tax for Startups | From the advisor’s desk

Ben Gouldson, Director

If you are an advisor with a passion for dealing with startups then this “back to basics” session is for you.

With an understanding of the unique needs of startups and how those needs differ from larger businesses, Ben will discuss the key structuring and tax related issues affecting startups.

Ben will outline critical incentives available for startups and offer you effective tips and practical guidance to allow you to truly value add for your clients.

Back to Basics Estate Planning | What you & your clients need to know

Sheelagh Gray, Head of Section

Sheelagh will clarify the role that you, as the advisor, play in assisting your clients to create an estate plan that achieves your client’s goals, minimises risks associated with an estate claim, manages tax implications and cements your position as a trusted advisor.

This session will cover:

  • The basics of estate planning including types of Wills, the importance of Enduring Powers of Attorney and the role of Advanced Health Directives, Binding Death Benefit Nominations and other supporting documents;
  • The statutory rules, the importance of structuring and how that influences which assets will become estate assets;
  • How to raise estate planning with your clients and demonstrate its importance; and
  • War stories that show the twists and turns that happen when estate planning goes wrong.

Industrial Manslaughter Laws

Kyle Paull, Lawyer

Kyle will discuss the industrial manslaughter provisions contained in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) which commenced in 2017.

The provisions have made it an offence for a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), or a senior officer, to negligently cause the death of a worker. Since these provisions were introduced, a small number of cases have been determined on the issue which have seen large penalties awarded.

Kyle will provide guidance on who may be caught by these provisions, what standard of care is required by PCBUs and senior officers, what penalties can be imposed.

Kyle will also provide a case example which will equip advisors with background knowledge in the unfortunate circumstance that one of your clients faces such an issue.

Forget What You’ve Learned | Construction Law

Kylie Howell, Head of Section

Kylie will explain why the usual advice given around structuring, asset protection and debt recovery doesn’t always apply to the construction industry.

Kylie will explain why you can’t roll out the same structures and strategies to your construction industry clients.

This presentation will include real world strategies that can better protect and add value to the operations of your clients that run a business in this space.

Cash is King | How to guide your clients in avoiding bad debt

Oliver Dornbusch, Lawyer

Oliver will discuss why prevention is better than cure when it comes to your clients chasing their debtors.
As advisors you are in the perfect position to encourage your clients to avoid writing off bad debt by getting on the
front-foot with preventative measures that match their business needs. Oliver will share:

  • A range of proactive protections to save your clients time and money chasing their unpaid accounts;
  • Steps your clients can take to put them in the best position possible should they need to chase their debtors; and
  • The process by which bad debts can be pursued formally.

Battle Tales | Including the first Qld Supreme Court class action

Ben Gouldson, Director, Danny Clifford, Director, Amanda Tolson, Director & Harrison Humphries, Head of Litigation + Dispute Resolution

Join other delegates for a discussion led by Harrison and featuring panel members Ben, Danny and Amanda to hear all about the trials and tribulations faced by our battle-hardened lawyers in some of our more interesting matters.

You will learn how we can adeptly scale our involvement to ensure the most commercial, efficient and effective service is delivered, regardless of the size of your client’s matter, whether it be a relatively small debt to collect or a multi million dollar court proceeding.

Questions from the floor will be encouraged and an “anything legal” question and answer session will be conducted if
time permits.

Feedback

Let us know how we can improve?  Have you got topic ideas or suggestions for a different approach to Advisor Day 2022?  Let us know via email.