Law and Compliance Issues

Question: Explore the issues related with law and compliance that are related with the business that is being run by the family in Sydney. Answer: In this research essay, an attempt has been made to explore the issues related with law and compliance that are related with the business that is being run by the family in Sydney. In this regard, it has to be mentioned that some of the areas of law regarding which compliance is necessary by the investment business include property law, the protection of its intellectual property, the effect of consumer protection legislation. At the same time, the business is also required to comply with the health and safety legislation as well as the employment law and the equality legislation (Vickery and Flood 2009). In this way, the restaurant is being run by the family in Sydney and they want to call it the Great Catch!. In this context, the law provides that the name of the restaurant should be registered by the parties with the ASIC. The legal position is that the name of the business has to be registered by the parties if they want to run the business as a sole trader or in the form of a pa rtnership. The result is that in such a case, the family is required to register the name of the restaurant with ASIC. But this requirement is not applicable if it has been decided by the parties that the name of the business will be kept according to the first name and the surname of the owner of the business or a partner. In this case, it is not required that the name of the business should be registered with ASIC. In this way if the owner of the businesses David Smith, and the name of the business is going to be David Smith car wash, it is not necessary that the name should be registered. On the other hand, if the name of the businesses David's Bergers, it is essential that it should be registered with ASIC. The restaurant business is also required to comply with the property law and the tax law. In this case, the restaurant trade has to comply with the provisions of GST and PAYG. Another relevant issue is that the restaurant business is being conducted as a sole trader/partnership, it is significant that the parties should create a written contract, before it becomes operative and starts making monetary commitments. The compliance of property law is also necessary in this case (Hinchy and Mcdermott, 2007). For example, the family will be running the restaurant according to the Retail Shop Lease Act, 1994 and therefore, the requirements that have been prescribed by this legislation should be complied with. It is also necessary that before signing the lease by the parties, they should properly understand the terms and conditions of the lease. In this way, the parties will become aware of the obligations that have been imposed on them by the lease. Similarly if a home business is being don e by the parties, certain other requirements may be prescribed by the property law. For example, restrictions may have been placed by the local council on the number of persons that can work at the premises. In this way, the restaurant owners should be aware of the requirements that have been prescribed by the property law. The protection of intellectual property is another field of compliance that is important for the parties in this case. They should make efforts to protect their intellectual property and this will allow legal entitlement to the family over their intellectual property. In order to protect the intellectual property related with the restaurant business, the family can use trademarks, designs and patents. It is also important that the business regularly reviews and whenever required, renews the protection of its intellectual property. For example, it has been provided by the intellectual property law that the trademark needs to be renewed after the period of 10 years. However it is advisable that the intellectual property law experts should be consulted because it is a complex issue. Consumer protection legislation also has a significant impact on the restaurant business therefore the fields of compliance also include the consumer protection legislation (Bank of NSW v The Commonwealth., 1948). In this regard the relevant legislation is Australian Consumer Law that is a part of Competition and Consumer Act, 2010. The ACL provides a nationwide law and it has been enacted in place of the Trade Practices Act, 1974. However, this legislation has been replaced by the new Australian Consumer Law. The ACL is applicable in all States and Territories of Australia and therefore it provides the same rights to the consumers throughout Australia. In the same way, the same obligations have been imposed on the businesses regarding consumer protection in Australia. Some of the main features of the ACL is that the unfair trade practices have been prohibited by it. The ACL were also provides the general standard that has to be followed by the businesses. In the same way, the busine sses to consumer transactions are regulated by the ACL and at the same time, statutory guarantees have also been provided by the ACL to the consumers (Tomasic and Bottomely, 1995). The statutory guarantees cannot be excluded by the parties with the help of the terms of the contract. The ACL also contains the provisions related with the safety of the products and services that are provided by the businesses. As a result of the significant provisions related with him to protection and also in view of the penalties and injunctions that are applicable under the ACL, it is very important that the businesses aware of its obligations related consumer protections that have been prescribed by the ACL. In this case, the family wants to name the business as the Great Catch! As in this case, the restaurant will not be named after the name of the surname of its owners, it is required that this name should be registered. In this way, the family that owns the restaurant business in Sydney, is also required to consider the other legal requirements that may apply. If the family fails to follow the legal requirements that are applicable in this case, they may have to pay serious penalties. It has been clearly established in the present research that there are several laws and regulations that apply to the restaurant business. References Vickery R. and Flood, M. A., 2009, Australian Business Law: Compliance and Practice, Pearson Education Australia Hinchy R. and Mcdermott, P. 2007, Fundamental company legislation, edited, Sir Gordon Borrie, QC, LLM Commercial law 6th edition Tomasic R. and Bottomely, S 1995, Corporations Law in Australia, Australia: The Federation Press.