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 helpKing (Trustee) v Hockings
Business owners should read this as a practical service case with an insolvency backdrop. The Court did not decide whether the respondent ultimately had to repay...
Kirk v Commissioner of State Revenue
Payroll tax, payment plans and insolvency do not sit in separate boxes. If a company pays old tax debts shortly before liquidation, those payments can be attacked...
Kutti Bay v Rattlejack patent amendments
Patent drafting and enforcement strategy need to be settled early. If a business loses a patent construction or validity fight, later amendments cannot be used as a...
Lake House v Timor Resources Holdings
A shareholders' deed can matter in a real fight, not just at signing. If the deed gives a special process for independent directors or reserved matters,...
Leung v Omnia Inclusive Employment Solutions
Probation does not make termination administration optional. A business can defeat serious adverse action allegations and still be exposed if the dismissal date,...
Li v Clear Environmental
Letting a company fall off the ASIC register can make later business disputes much harder to fix. Reinstatement is not automatic, especially where the company's...
Liberty Bell Bay administration directions
Environmental obligations can shape an administration or sale process. If a distressed business operates a site with permits, hazardous materials or pollution...
Lighthouse Building Permits Pty Ltd v Site Inspections Pty Ltd
Business owners should read this as an interlocutory procedure case with a practical defamation lesson. The Court did not decide that defamation had been proved. It...
Lindsay v Qld Childcare Centres
If a business operates from land owned personally by shareholders or related parties, do not rely on everyone continuing to get along. Put tenure, sale rights,...
LK Law Pty Ltd v Karas (No 5)
Business owners should read this case as a disclosure and governance warning, not just a dispute between former business associates. The Court’s orders show that if...
LK Law Pty Ltd v Karas (No 7)
If your business is considering an appeal after an adverse judgment, plan for enforcement risk at the same time. A stay may be available, but it can come with...
Loewenthal v Universal Music Publishing
Members and shareholders do not get open-ended access to company books just because a dispute exists. Inspection requests need a proper purpose, a tight document...
Lumina BPO v Cocoon Data
Group service contracts should identify every company that is actually on the hook for fees. If one company is only the payroll or administration vehicle, suppliers...
Lye v Commonwealth of Australia
Urgent reinstatement is hard to get if the evidence does not connect the employer's decision to a prohibited reason, and delay can be fatal. Employers still need...
Marie v Trustee for Aspire Residences Unit Trust
Read this case as a warning about settlement follow-through. A deed of release is a binding contract. If your business agrees to pay by a set date, treat that date...
Marlu Transport Solutions Pty Ltd v Bishdun Pty Ltd (No 2)
The main takeaway is that this was a procedural refusal, not a final ruling on the Australian Consumer Law allegations or on whether the related company could ever...
Mashni v The Herald and Weekly Times Pty Ltd
If your business is involved in Federal Court proceedings, start from the assumption that names and allegations may become public. Do not build your litigation plan...
Mastercard v ACCC privilege appeal
Privilege can be lost by the way a business runs its defence. If affidavits or evidence put decision-makers' purposes into issue, the business may open privileged...
Mazi v Elizabeth Andrews hospitality employment case
Hospitality and catering businesses should treat award classification, payslips, break records, payroll timing and casual rosters as everyday compliance systems....
McCallum v Projector Films
Creative businesses should be careful with credit clauses and moral rights consents. A broad contract waiver may not solve attribution risk if the project later...
McCallum v Projector Films
Creative credits are not just etiquette. If a production agreement promises attribution, promotional materials, festival listings, IMDb entries and final cuts need...
MCR Melrose v Borger Crane
Business sale contracts should spell out exactly how debt, leased equipment, financed assets and payout figures affect the purchase price. If equipment finance is...
Melbourne Rebels Rugby Union Pty Limited v Rugby Australia Limited, in the matter of Melbourne Rebels Rugby Union Pty Limited
If your business is suing and there is a real concern you may not be able to pay the other side's costs if you lose, security for costs should be treated as part of...
Michales v CharterLaw Legal
Bankruptcy notices and statutory enforcement steps are deadline-driven. If a debtor says there is a set-off, cross-claim or defect, the evidence has to connect...
Modco Residential Pty Ltd (in liq) v Nextruss Steel Pty Ltd (No 2)
If your business is involved in court proceedings, do not treat delay as harmless administration. In this case, the plaintiffs kept their claim alive, but only...
Mokhtari v Piacentini & Son Pty Ltd (No 3)
Business owners should read this case as a reminder that employment litigation often becomes a contest about documents before it becomes a contest about witnesses....
Mokhtari v Piacentini & Son Pty Ltd (No 4)
Read this as a procedural expert-evidence case, not a ruling on who was right in the underlying employment dispute. The Court did not decide liability, causation or...
Nafar v BT Funds Management Limited
The main takeaway is that policy-specific certification requirements are not just paperwork. They can be threshold conditions to any entitlement. In Nafar, the...
Nalco v Cytec patent amendments
Patent value depends on the fit between the invention, the specification, the claims and any amendment strategy. R&D businesses should involve patent advisers early...
Nanshan (Aust) Golf Resort Pty Ltd v Earth Fill Group Pty Ltd (No 2)
Read this case carefully as a default judgment decision, not as a final trial ruling on disputed facts. The Court did not decide after cross-examination that the...
Narayan, in the matter of Elexsys Energy
Trade credit and retention-of-title clauses need PPSR discipline. If goods, equipment or inventory are supplied on credit, the paperwork and registrations should...
New Aim v Leung
Supplier lists, buyer know-how and marketplace sourcing data can be protected, but only if the business treats them like valuable confidential information before a...
North v Cool Dynamics Refrigeration Pty Ltd
The practical lesson is to treat a trade mark opposition as an active dispute with deadlines, evidence requirements and communication risks, not as a simple filing...
NTMA Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd v Beardmore
If your pharmacy business is part of a wider group, do not assume each entity will be treated in isolation during a compliance investigation. This decision shows...
Offshore Employers v CFMEU
Enterprise-agreement disputes need careful scoping. If a dispute is referred to the Fair Work Commission about one employee's entitlement, later attempts to treat...
Ogbonna v Link Workforce Pty Ltd (No 2)
Business owners should read this as a procedure and risk-management case, not a ruling that Link Workforce did or did not breach workplace law. The Court did not...