Business Law Library & Tracker
Selected Business Law Cases
Short explainers for court decisions that change how Australian businesses handle contracts, staff, customers, IP and company duties.
Sources last reviewed 9 Nov 2026
Main law guides
297
Acts, regulations and codes worth reading first
Topics
22
Plain-English clusters
Published case explainers
519
Selected cases with a business lesson
Tracked updates
137
New, amended & reviewed
Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Use the linked official source for section-level detail, and get advice for your situation.
Get legal helpBCI Media Group Pty Ltd v CoreLogic Australia Pty Ltd (Review of Registrar’s Decision)
If your business is in a court dispute, this case is a reminder to get the pleading right early. You need to state the material facts clearly enough to give fair...
BDR21 v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (No 3)
Read this case as a warning against casual reuse of litigation documents. The Court did not give a general right to repurpose discovered material. It granted a...
Bickford’s Australia Pty Ltd v Trink Tank Pty Ltd
Treat court selection, timing and claim structure as part of your substantive brand strategy, not as an afterthought. In this case, the real commercial fight about...
Bilal v Ampol Limited
Business owners should read this as a procedure-heavy but very practical case. It does not say whistleblower claims are weak. It says they must be pleaded and...
Bilal v EML NSW Limited
If your business is sued over whistleblower protections, workplace rights representations or alleged personal involvement by managers, start with two separate...
BlueScope Steel Limited v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Businesses should read this case as a warning about pricing communications that go beyond announcing your own prices and move into trying to shape how others price...
Bowcher (liquidator), in the matter of Blacktrans Express Pty Ltd (in liq) v Black
If your company enters liquidation, do not treat company books, passwords, keys, vehicles, trailers, plant or records as if they remain yours to hold back, sort out...
Butler v Total Tools Holdings Pty Ltd
If your business wants to reward a director, executive or adviser with equity on a future sale or IPO, use a full written incentive agreement and make the corporate...
Byrnes (Administrator), in the matter of Salads of Australia Pty Limited (Receivers and Managers Appointed) (Administrators Appointed)
If your business is facing a distressed sale, do not assume the standard administration timetable will suit the transaction. This case shows that an extension can...
Caporaso Pty Ltd v Mercato Centrale Australia Pty Ltd (No 3)
If your business is thinking about suing for trade mark infringement, do not only ask whether the other side's branding looks too similar. Also ask whether your own...
Cathro, in the matter of Stormon Industries Pty Ltd (in liq)
If your business trades through a corporate trustee, do not assume insolvency will be administered in the same way as an ordinary company with assets in its own...
CIP Group Pty Ltd v So (No 10)
If your company is bringing a major claim and has limited assets, do not assume that once security for costs is ordered the issue is finished. The Court may...
CleanFin Pty Ltd v Forest Carbon Methodology Pty Ltd (No 2)
Read this case as a warning about governance, profit flows and litigation readiness. If directors are involved in multiple entities, keep clear records showing...
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation v Urrbrae Foods Pty Ltd
If your business wants broad patent protection, make sure the specification does more than describe a promising example. It should disclose a workable technical...
Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia v Endeavour Energy Network Management Pty Ltd
Do not assume your overtime settings are safe just because they have been used for years without challenge. In this case, the employer’s long-standing daily method...
CPC Patent Technologies Pty Ltd v Apple Pty Limited (No 2)
If your business is considering patent litigation, this case is a reminder that costs can be carved up issue by issue. Losing the infringement claim does not...
Crawford, in the matter of Pro-Pac Packaging Limited (administrators appointed)
Read this case as a practical administration and group-structure decision. The Court did not rewrite lease law. What it did was support administrators trying to...
Cussen, in the matter of Monarch Tower Pty Ltd (in liquidation)
Treat service and notice as critical parts of an insolvency claim, not administrative clean-up. If you are bringing a voidable transaction proceeding, filing within...
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations v Howell, in the matter of Castel Electronics Pty Ltd (No 2)
If your business has employees, secured finance and insolvency risk, this case is a warning to map priorities before money is distributed. The Court had already...
Director, Professional Services Review v Yoong
If your practice receives a Professional Services Review notice, do not assume it is invalid just because it asks for a complete patient file rather than only...
Dunn, in the matter of Centrex Limited (Subject to Deed of Company Arrangement)
If your company is being restructured through a DOCA, do not assume existing shares will survive. This case shows that the court can approve a compulsory transfer...
Dyno Nobel Asia Pacific Pty Ltd v Orica Explosives Technology Pty Ltd
A business owner should read this case as a warning against treating patent risk as a last-minute legal issue. The Court dealt with four patents, multiple validity...
EIS Gmbh v LELO Oceania Pty Ltd (Costs)
If your business is in a patent dispute, this case is a reminder to run a disciplined case, not the widest possible case. The Court accepted that the respondents...
EIS Gmbh v LELO Oceania Pty Ltd (Liability Trial)
The practical message is to treat patent enforcement as a technical evidence exercise, not just a commercial complaint. Before accusing a competitor, check what the...
Elks, in the matter of Moreton Resources Limited (Receivers Appointed)
If your business is thinking about seeking public examinations, treat the application as a serious forensic step, not an information-gathering shortcut. Be precise...
Ergon Energy Queensland Pty Ltd v Australian Energy Regulator
Read this case as a warning against relying on narrow legal arguments to avoid an investigation notice. If money can continue to arrive through an automated payment...
ETO Group Pty Ltd v ETO Gruppe Technologies GmbH
If your trade mark is challenged for non-use, keep the focus on both evidence and procedure. You should be able to produce dated examples showing the registered...
EV20 Consulting Group Pty Ltd v Paperless Warehousing Pty Ltd
The practical message is twofold. On the substance, software support work can create copyright, confidentiality and licence risk, especially where former employees...
EV20 Consulting Group Pty Ltd v Paperless Warehousing Pty Ltd (No 2)
If your business develops, resells, customises or supports software, do not assume the risk sits only with the company that signs the customer contract. This case...
EV20 Consulting Group Pty Ltd v Paperless Warehousing Pty Ltd (No 3)
The practical lesson is to make authority to instruct lawyers clear, current and documented. If a director wants a senior manager, consultant, investor or...
Fair Work Ombudsman v Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (Ironside Case)
Business owners should read this case as a site-control and compliance decision, not as a statement that union entry rights can be ignored. The Court dealt with...
Fair Work Ombudsman v Woolworths Group Limited; Fair Work Ombudsman v Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd; Baker v Woolworths Group Limited; Pabalan v Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd
Business owners should read this case as a warning against treating an annual salary as a complete compliance solution for award-covered staff. The Court’s summary...
Fanca Technologies Pty Ltd v CFH Airtechnic Australia Pty Ltd
If your business sells modular or configurable equipment, do not assume patent risk disappears because the customer performs the final assembly step. This case...
Ford Kinter & Associates Pty Ltd, in the matter of Reliance Franchise Partners Pty Ltd (in liq) v Reliance Franchise Partners Pty Ltd (in liq) (No 2)
If your business is owed money by a company in liquidation, this case shows that funding a liquidator can sometimes improve your position, but only where the facts...
Fortescue Limited v Element Zero Pty Limited (No 3)
If your business is in a hard-fought commercial dispute, document management can become as important as the underlying claim. This case shows that search orders are...
Galinovic v Singtel Optus Pty Limited
Read this case as a practical warning about service continuity and contract discipline. The Court did not finally decide all underlying allegations. It decided only...