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 7 Sept 2026
Main law guides
297
Acts, regulations and codes worth reading first
Topics
22
Plain-English clusters
Published case explainers
511
Selected cases with a business lesson
Tracked updates
125
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 helpAustralian Competition and Consumer Commission v Ultra Tune Australia Pty Ltd (No 3)
If your business is under court orders, treat every compliance deadline as a board-level issue. In this case, the Court dealt with repeated failures to update a...
Australian Securities and Investments Commission v BSF Solutions Pty Ltd (Liability)
If your business touches consumer lending, do not assume that a separate service agreement, a different operating entity or a "no fee" label will keep you outside...
Broadband Solutions Pty Ltd v Ramirez
Business owners should read this as an evidence case, not a blanket endorsement of all restraint clauses. The court was not finally deciding that every alleged...
Ceni Enterprises Pty Ltd (in liq) v Sykes, in the matter of Ceni Enterprises Pty Ltd (in liq)
If your business is involved in a franchise, distribution or branded product arrangement, this case shows the importance of both transaction discipline and...
CW Group Holdings Limited, in the matter of CW Group Holdings Limited
If your business is pursuing a merger, sale or restructure through a scheme of arrangement, this case shows that the early court stage is largely about whether...
Directed Electronics OE Pty Ltd v Isuzu Australia Limited (No 2)
If your business is considering separate proceedings arising from the same commercial events, plan the sequence carefully and document the reason for it. A later...
Directed Electronics OE Pty Ltd v Isuzu Australia Limited (No 3)
If your business is thinking about a procedural application to shut down, pause or narrow a claim, treat it as a commercial decision, not just a legal tactic. Ask...
Elisha v Vision Australia Limited
A disciplinary policy can become contractually binding, especially where the employment contract requires compliance with workplace policies. An employer that...
Fair Work Ombudsman v 85 Degrees Coffee Australia Pty Ltd
Franchisors cannot treat franchisee payroll compliance as someone else's problem where they have enough control and warning signs. If a brand knows similar...
Fair Work Ombudsman v Blue Sky Kids Land Pty Ltd (in liq) (No 3)
Read this case as a systems warning. If someone is really your employee, you need the right employing entity, the right award classification, the right pay...
Fair Work Ombudsman v Make Dough Enterprises (in liquidation)
If you run a franchise network, treat workplace compliance as a live legal risk across the network, not just a franchisee issue. This decision shows that where a...
Ford Kinter & Associates Pty Ltd, in the matter of Reliance Franchise Partners Pty Ltd (in liq) v Reliance Franchise Partners Pty Ltd (in liq)
Read this case as a reminder that funding a liquidator can be commercially powerful, but it does not guarantee a simple court pathway. Ford Kinter funded...
Fortescue Limited v Element Zero Pty Limited (No 2)
If your business is considering urgent action to protect confidential information, treat search orders as a last-resort evidence-preservation tool, not as a...
Fortescue Ltd v Element Zero Pty Ltd
Read this case as a procedural decision, not a final win for either side on ownership or misuse of technology. The court was dealing with the first hearing after...
Hytera Communications Corporation Ltd v Motorola Solutions Inc
If your business builds or imports products with software, you need a documented process showing where the code came from, who had access to competitor materials,...
Koninklijke Douwe Egberts BV v Cantarella Bros Pty Ltd
If your product stands out because of its container, this case is a practical warning not to overestimate what a shape registration does. The registered mark here...
Lian Fa International Dining Business Corporation v Mu (No 2)
If your business is in a serious brand, franchise or distribution dispute, do not treat trial dates as flexible. The court will look closely at whether you acted...
Light & Wonder, Inc v Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited
The practical lesson is that preliminary discovery under r 7.23 is available for a narrow but important purpose: helping a business decide whether to start a...
Mansfield, in the matter of Fresh For Life.....Pty Ltd (administrators appointed)
Read this case as a practical administration decision, not as a ruling on whether the franchise termination was valid or whether a deed of company arrangement...
Productivity Partners Pty Ltd v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission; Wills v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
A business can breach consumer law through the design of a sales or enrolment system, even without proving that each customer was individually targeted. Senior...
Punchbowl Casual Dining Pty Ltd v Rashays Cafes & Restaurants Pty Ltd (No 2)
If you are relying on a promise that a franchise will be renewed, extended or replaced, get that promise recorded clearly and early. Do not assume a verbal...
Punchbowl Casual Dining Pty Ltd v Rashays Cafes & Restaurants Pty Ltd (No 3)
If your business is already in litigation, do not assume you can add a major new contractual complaint just before trial. In this case, the applicants tried to add...
Sydney Trains v Australian Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union (Separate Question)
The main lesson for business owners is to treat bargaining procedure as a connected sequence, not as a set of isolated technical steps. In this case, the employers...
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc v Anderson (No 2)
Do not assume your business is safe just because you only distribute a tool and do not use it yourself. In this case, the court held that manufacture and...
The Game Meats Company of Australia v Farm Transparency International Ltd
For business owners, this case shows the difference between controlling your premises and controlling what happens to information taken from them. GMC succeeded on...
The Practice Pty Ltd v The Practice Business Advisers & Tax Practitioners Pty Ltd
If you are choosing a business name or logo, do not stop at ASIC, business name or domain availability checks. This case shows that the real legal question is...
Transportable Shade Sheds Australia Pty Ltd v Aussie Shade Sheds Pty Ltd (Contempt Application)
If your business obtains an urgent injunction, treat the drafting and service steps as part of the enforcement strategy, not as administrative follow-up. The order...
Trimuryani v Retail Food Group Limited
Business owners should read this case as a lesson in litigation risk, not as a statement that the franchisor was liable. The Court did not decide the pleaded...
Tse v Evans as trustee in bankruptcy for Ngo (No 2)
If your business is litigating against someone who becomes bankrupt, do not assume you can later recover the extra court costs from that person personally just...
Vitaco Health IP Pty Ltd v AFI Cosmetic Pty Ltd (No 3)
For business owners, the practical lesson is to clear branding properly before launch and to respond quickly if a dispute escalates into court proceedings. A basic...
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Honda Australia Pty Ltd
The practical lesson is to separate network status from real-world trading status. A former authorised dealer may no longer be part of your official network, but...
Colbran, in the matter of Balsub Pty Ltd (in liquidation)
If your business uses a company as trustee, but the same company also signs contracts, employs staff or incurs tax liabilities in its own name, you need clear...
Court House Capital Pty Ltd v RP Data Pty Limited
If your business is using a commercial litigation funder, do not assume the downside sits only with the claimant on the court record. This case shows that a funder...
Davaria Pty Limited v 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd (No 13)
If your business is involved in a funded class action, do not focus only on the settlement total. You need to understand the distribution model, the categories of...
Hardingham v RP Data Pty Limited (Third Party Costs)
Read this case as a practical warning about risk allocation, not just funding mechanics. A commercial funder cannot assume it is insulated from adverse costs merely...
Higgins v JSS Logistics Pty Ltd (in liq) (No 2)
If you are buying or selling a business, document exactly what is being transferred, what is excluded, what stock is on hand, and what happens if items are missing...