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 8 June 2026
Main law guides
297
Acts, regulations and codes worth reading first
Topics
22
Plain-English clusters
Published case explainers
496
Selected cases with a business lesson
Tracked updates
110
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 helpCleary v Qube Ports
Sexual harassment and adverse action disputes can turn on the basic pleading story: who the worker was, what engagement existed, what complaint was made, what...
Combs v Careerseekers New Australian Internship Program Limited
Business owners should read this as a case about process, records and litigation realism. It is not authority that anyone breached director duties or that the...
Comino v Watson Webb
Design drawings, product concepts and supplier collaboration materials can stay confidential even inside a messy commercial relationship. The safer move is to...
Concept Cosmetic Medicine v Chater
Confidential information and restraint disputes need precise contracts, careful evidence and realistic interim orders. A business that wants urgent protection...
Consumer Affairs Victoria v White Ray
Advertising an indicative price below what the business actually expects can be misleading. Sales teams need systems that keep public price guides aligned with...
Container Rotation Systems Pty Ltd v Intermodal Solutions (Group) Pty Ltd (No 2)
If your business wants to use a term that customers search for, do not assume that calling it descriptive will protect you. In this case, the Court’s orders record...
Container Rotation Systems v Intermodal Solutions
A trade mark can lose practical power if competitors successfully turn it into a generic product descriptor. Businesses should use marks as brands, police misuse...
Crawford, in the matter of Carbon Revolution
Administrators may need Court orders before trading a distressed company through a rescue transaction. Suppliers, employees and directors should watch who bears...
Credit Suisse AG v Gu
Security documents and asset transfers made under financial pressure need precise drafting and real due diligence. Calling something a caveatable interest, mortgage...
Crowley v Worley disclosure appeal
Forecasts and investor updates need a reasonable basis across the business, not just board-level confidence. Listed companies and growth companies should preserve...
CSRP Pty Ltd v Australian Workers' Union
Read this case as a process and timing decision, not as a final ruling that the unions' requests were valid or invalid. If your business receives a written request...
Cussen, in the matter of Monarch Tower Pty Ltd (in liquidation) (Costs)
Business owners should read this as a procedural costs example rather than a case creating a new legal principle. The Court itself noted there was no issue of...
Dang, in the matter of JMJ Cosmetic
Once a company is in liquidation, directors lose control over company powers unless the Corporations Act or the Court allows a specific step. If a winding-up order...
Davis v M.G. O'Brien Investments Pty Ltd, in the matter of Davis
Treat a bankruptcy notice as an immediate enforcement event, not as something that will wait while related disputes continue in the background. In this case, the...
Dayforce Australia corporate relief
Corporate housekeeping can become expensive even when no one acted dishonestly. If a group relies on ASIC wholly-owned company relief or deeds of cross-guarantee,...
DC Rd DC v Zhang
Property deals with advisers, accountants, related entities and back-to-back contracts need ruthless transparency. If a buyer is relying on trusted advisers, hidden...
Deakin University v Macreadie
If a founder, employee or researcher builds a brand while using the business's resources, contracts, people and public identity, the goodwill may belong to the...
Dexus v Australia Pacific Airports Corporation
Confidentiality clauses in shareholder and investor agreements need to match the way a sale process actually runs. If a shareholder gives company information to...
Dhu v Karlka Nyiyaparli Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC (No 2)
Business owners should read this as a case about litigation strategy and evidence management, not as a general rule that hearings will be moved out of courtrooms....
Domino v Allen (Liquidator), in the matter of Domino
If a court has made a costs order against you personally, treat it as an urgent debt enforcement issue, not just another step in the underlying dispute. This...
DP World Sydney Ltd v Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union
The main lesson for business owners is to draft workplace process clauses as operating instructions, not slogans. If an enterprise agreement or similar instrument...
DRA Global Limited v Naude
The safest way to read this case is as a warning about process, not as proof that wrongdoing occurred. The Court expressly said its factual overview was based on...
Emergency Flood Response v Flood Emergency Services
Joint ventures need accounting rules before money starts moving. If a breakup happens, invoices, Xero records, receipts, controlled-money arrangements and any court...
eSafety Commissioner v X Corp
Platform safety obligations can require detailed regulator reporting, not just internal moderation effort. If a notice asks for information in a specified form, a...
Fair Work Ombudsman v Jats Joint
Rostering sleepovers is not just an operations question. Employers covered by the SCHADS Award need to separate ordinary hours, sleepover allowances, overtime...
Fair Work Ombudsman v New Switch Electrical
A Fair Work compliance notice is not background admin. If it is ignored, the business can face penalties and compensation orders for the employee entitlements that...
Fair Work Ombudsman v Super Retail Group listing
Payroll underpayment litigation can keep moving even when a business wants more time because of counsel availability or overlapping test cases. Employers should...
Fair Work Ombudsman v Torrens University
Award wording should be applied to the work actually being paid for. Employers using composite hourly rates need to know what work the rate covers and what work is...
First Class Securities Limited v Global Future Holdings Pty Ltd
Read this case as a warning about conduct during a payment dispute, not just the original deal. The Court was influenced by the overall pattern: an acknowledged...
First Class Securities Limited v Global Future Holdings Pty Ltd (ex parte Third Party Freezing Order)
Treat money received under a contract consistently with the purpose stated in that contract, and make sure your records can prove it. If funds are meant to be...
First Class Securities Limited v Global Future Holdings Pty Ltd (No 2)
If your business needs extra time in court, do not treat the explanation as a casual administrative step. Treat it as evidence that may be tested. In this case, the...
First Class Securities v Global Future Holdings
Freezing orders are urgent and serious. Businesses seeking them need focused evidence about risk, assets and undertakings. Businesses facing them need to comply...
Flinders Street Developments Pty Ltd v Bond Finance No 5 Pty Limited
Read this case as a warning about finance paperwork and litigation strategy. If your business is entering an urgent loan, refinance, variation or forbearance...
Forever Winner v Shenzhen Xinhe
Freezing orders can reach beyond the main defendant where related companies or asset transfers create a real risk that a judgment will go unpaid. Business groups...
Forrest v Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions
The clearest takeaway is that confidential deal information needs to be treated as a controlled risk, not just a sensitive file. In this case, the Court’s account...
Fortrend Securities Pty Ltd v Wollermann (Stay Application)
Treat a stay application as a separate and urgent task from the appeal itself. The Court will not assume that enforcement should pause just because an appeal has...