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 helpFirst 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...
Friends of Nyah Vinifera Park Inc v Minister for Environment and Water
If your business is seeking or relying on a Commonwealth environmental approval, this decision is a reminder that the approval file matters as much as the project...
Frigger v Professional Services of Australia
Company registration records have real legal force. If ASIC has registered a company and issued the certificate, a later complaint about historical formation...
Frisken v E K Recruitment
A DOCA and creditors trust can help a business exit external administration, but messy drafting creates expensive uncertainty. The deed needs to say exactly what...
Fung, in the matter of VeroGuard Systems
Rescue funding during a DOCA needs clean authority and clear risk allocation. Administrators, directors and funders should document why funding is needed, who...
Galinovic v Singtel Optus Pty Limited (No 2)
Read this case as a warning against treating a costs order like a negotiable invoice dispute. Once a court has ordered payment, the safest course is to comply in a...
Gao v Australian Information Commissioner
Privacy complaints can be won or lost on evidence and procedure. Businesses handling customer or credit information should keep records that show what data was...
Gao v Macquarie Bank discrimination pleading case
Discrimination and workplace claims can narrow sharply if the complaint pathway is not handled properly. Businesses responding to AHRC or Fair Work-related...
Garan Holdings v Stonepoint Capital Management
A polished information memorandum and trusted adviser relationship will not protect an investment structure if the real flow of money is different from what...
Garvey v Australian Information Commissioner
When an organisation receives a formal access request or privacy complaint, the quality of its search record matters. Even where the exact FOI Act process does not...
Gastevich v Starwest Investments
Late PPSR registration can put a secured creditor at risk if the grantor later enters external administration. Security workflows need to happen when the deal is...
Gladstone Region Aboriginal & Islander Community Controlled Health Service Limited v National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (No 2)
If your business or organisation starts a Federal Court case, you need more than an arguable claim. You need working systems for discovery, document collection,...
Goldwind Australia v Ozlift Kranes
A company usually needs a lawyer in Federal Court, but the Court can make limited exceptions. If a business is in a serious dispute, the safer lesson is not to...
Gounder v Mansfield as trustee of the bankrupt estate of Gounder (No 2)
Treat each insolvency step as its own legal event. A bankruptcy order, an annulment application, and later orders for vacant possession or sale of property are not...
Great Energy WA v Northern Iron
A PPSR registration deadline is not admin trivia. If a business supplies equipment, stock or financed assets on credit, someone needs to know exactly when...
Great Northern and Ironbark statutory demands
A statutory demand is not a normal invoice reminder. If there is a real dispute about whether the debt is due, the amount owed or the timing of repayment, directors...
Grech v Heartland Hyundai
Customer-order mistakes can still become ACL disputes. If a price or quantity error happens, the business should move quickly, explain the mistake, preserve the...
Hall v Hemant Investments
A promise that business money will be repaid, or replaced with a property interest, needs to be documented with real security and clear default rights. If the...
Hanna v Kore
Construction payment claims need to match the contract stage and the evidence. A builder may obtain an adjudication certificate, but later proceedings can still...
Hassall Developments Pty Ltd (Receivers and Managers Appointed) (in liq) v QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited
The practical lesson is to treat insurance placement communications as legally significant records, not routine paperwork. In this case, the dispute about when...
Hera Project Pty Ltd v Woolworths Ltd
The main takeaway is that this was a procedure decision, not a merits win on the misleading or deceptive conduct claim. A business should read it as a case about...
Hisense Australia v Naskovski
This appeal narrows one Fair Work recordkeeping point, but it is not a reason to be casual with employment documents. Employers should still keep signed contracts,...
Hitachi Rail v Schoof
Payroll rules should be converted into worked examples before a dispute starts. If an enterprise agreement uses terms like base hourly rate, allowances, penalties...
Hubexo Australia Pty Ltd v CoreLogic Australia Pty Ltd (Amendment of Defence)
Read this case as a procedural lesson about timing and preparation. It does not decide whether Hubexo's substantive claims succeed, or whether the respondents'...
Hubexo Australia Pty Ltd v CoreLogic Australia Pty Ltd (Amendment of Particulars)
If your business is preparing or defending a claim built on customer churn, lost subscriptions, discounts or switching behaviour, do not assume data inconsistencies...
Hurburgh v Hurburgh
Family companies need governance even when everyone inherited the shares. If one shareholder controls the board, company assets and related farming or trading...
I Cook Foods Pty Ltd v City of Whitehorse
Business owners should read this as a case about preparation, records and response speed. A supplier facing a shutdown, recall or closure order needs to know...
Income Asset Management Group Limited v Henry
Read this case as a practical freezing-order decision, not as a final statement on director duties or employee liability. If your business uncovers suspicious...
Insight Water Technologies, Inc v Pure Technologies US Inc
If your business is suing in Australia from overseas, prepare for a security for costs application early. This case shows that the Court may order security under s...
Ioakimidis v Lygon Court Travel
Payslips and employee records are basic compliance, not back-office extras. A small franchise business can face penalties years later if it cannot show leave, pay...
JABW Pty Ltd v Estate of the late Williams, in the matter of the late Williams
Read this case as a procedural warning, not a final ruling on who was right about the debt. The Court did not finally determine the review application at this...