Corporate Law

Companies & Trusts

Our team has extensive experience with complex business structures including companies, trusts, associations, superannuation funds and partnerships – public and private, incorporated and unincorporated, pre-existing or start-up. We can advise on tax structures, asset protection and compliance. We can assist in registration, restructuring and winding up and can prepare all relevant documents necessary for ASIC or the relevant state based consumer affairs department. We are experts in creating standard and special purpose constitutions, rules of association and by-laws and have no issue with complicated public offerings and hybrids of structures. Note that we prefer to work closely with your accountant to ensure that the best structure is put in place alongside your financial and tax requirements.

Regulation & Compliance

We can provide advice and can assist with the multitude of Australian regulatory and reporting requirements, including reviewing, preparing and lodging documents with ASIC, assisting with audits, providing advice and preparing documents relating to compliance, and maintaining registers in accordance with the Corporations Act.

In addition to ASIC, we are conversant with a range of Australia financial institutions and reporting agencies requiring ongoing or one-off regulatory compliance. The banks, APRA, ATO, EPA, Fair Work and the various State Revenue Offices are some of the organisations we regularly deal with.

Financing & Capital Raising

Whether it be bank or private lending, financial restructuring or refinancing, Greenmonts can assist you in determining the most appropriate finance or capital raising option based on your individual business needs. We can provide individualised advice, evaluating and balancing the potential benefits of each finance option with any risks, ongoing compliance costs, establishment fees and any other associated issues. We can prepare, advise, negotiate and settle facility agreements, security deeds, loan arrangements, guarantees and similar documents. We are independent of banks, accountants, stockbrokers and tax advisers and provide advice free from external influences ensuring that our advice is always in our clients best interests.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Our services include the full spectrum of M&A advisory services. We can provide individualised advice and 'project' management services to our clients on public and private mergers, negotiations, acquisitions, takeovers, disposals, restructurings and joint ventures, whether they be a public company subsidiary, a small business, a share transaction or an asset deal. Our approaches are designed to incorporate due diligence, risk management, tax effectiveness and obtaining best value from the deal.

We offer comprehensive due diligence checks before all deals by utilising our range of financial and risk management tools, we can drill into all aspects of every deal to ensure a complete and thorough understanding of the transaction prior to entering any contracts or agreements.

Franchising

Greenmonts has extensive experience dealing with franchisors, franchisees, setting up franchise arrangements, terminations, preparing and reviewing franchise agreements, disclosure documents, leases, sub leases & licences, employment contracts, supply & services contracts, branding, compliance and mediation & litigation of disputes. We have expertise with the Franchise Code of Conduct and how it applies to franchisors and franchisees and can provide advice on all aspects of retail, OH&S, employment and operational requirements. We can also assist with the sale and purchase of franchisees.

Debt & Security

We frequently assist clients in securing lending facilities, investments and protecting their assets when debt is involved. This includes preparation and registration of a range of instruments mortgages and caveats over properties and shares, guarantees, collateral agreements, bonds and charges. We then arrange as required the associated registrations against properties and the Personal Property Securities Register. We regularly communicate with banks and financiers concerning our clients borrowing strategy and negotiate critical loan provisions to reduce exposure.

We defend claims, enforce securities, issue statutory demands, seize secured property, negotiate payment plans and if necessary initiate and follow through with insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings.

Insolvency

Greenmonts are well placed to provide a range of insolvency services and provide practical advice if you are experiencing financial difficulty, subject of insolvency action or seeking to make a person or organisation insolvent. Our firm can provide information regarding creditors rights, administration, liquidations, receivership, company voluntary arrangements, winding up proceedings, bankruptcy proceedings, statutory demands and deeds of arrangement – corporate and personal. We also manage the defence of oppressive orders and subpoenas to produce documents and material, personal examinations, claims for preferential payments and insolvent trading.

Employment Law

The Australian industrial relations landscape is complex with many types of legislation, awards and collective agreements dictating how an employee should be paid and handled. Our team have had 20+ years advising employers on matters from the interpretation, preparation and negotiation of industrial instruments, advice on workforce management, redundancy and dismissals; and defence of unfair dismissal, discrimination, bullying, adverse action and union complaints directly or in the courts. Our team drafts and reviews employment contracts, advises on potentially contentious clauses and assists in ensuring that no important and protective provisions are excluded. We can assist with ensuring the rules and requirements of pay instruments, awards and contracts are configured into your payroll systems correctly, Greenmonts have a broad skill base which includes legal analysis, interpretation and advisory over workforce requirements. We can conduct workplace investigations, assist with performance management, and can audit payroll and HR practices. All employment disputes are handled discreetly and efficiently with the best interests of our clients our highest priority.

Intellectual Property

Whether protecting or licencing intellectual property, our teams have had decades of experience in this space, especially with technology, software and health related IP. We assist companies with the best possible commercial exploitation of rights and have experience with a range of approaches including royalty based and annual licencing. Copyright, trademarks and patents are handled by us and for specialist jobs we have close ties with several patent attorneys. We have assisted with cross border transactions, advice around jurisdictional rights and the impact of the new Trans Pacific Partnership. Data ownership and being able to define and separate IP during M&A transactions is also a speciality.

Tax

With an extensive background in global and Australian tax, we can provide advice across a variety of tax issues and the potential implications in any transaction. We can assist in reviewing and objecting to tax decisions, particularly relating to land tax, stamp duty, CGT and SRO assessments and have successfully challenged a number of unjust penalties. We can provide advice on all types of duties, CGT, GST, PAYG, Superannuation land tax and stamp duty.

Consulting

Engaging an external resource can be critical for business success. Companies regularly seek the opinion of a third party, gaining the benefits of a second pair of eyes, learning from the experience of others, or simply finding out what isn't known. We provide a variety of integrated consulting services to meet corporate and business needs in strategy, business and technology focussing on increasing income, managing operational costs, and establishing long term revenue streams to build sustainable business. Small and large firms, including many of the Australian Top 100 public companies, turn to Greenmonts for hands-on consulting solutions. We have an integrated perspective on organisational structures, best practices processes, inside knowledge, specialised skills, horsepower for large jobs, and the strength to tell it like it is to achieve results.