Experienced South African commercial law solicitor Johan Engelbrecht has joined the team at local law firm Garland Waddington - our wonderful Silver Sponsors. 

Johan has almost 30 years’ experience, specialising in commercial and business law including retail and commercial leasing and sales, purchases of businesses and residential conveyancing.

Partner Ken Waddington said it was a pleasure to welcome someone with Johan’s extensive international experience. 

“Johan’s experience in commercial and property law will be an important asset to the firm, complementing our expertise in property law, litigation and dispute resolution and business and construction law,” said Mr Waddington. 

Johan was first admitted as a lawyer in the High Court of South Africa in 1991, and went on to open his own practice (which is still being run by his son and daughter) and was admitted as a lawyer in Australia in 2011.

In 2017, Johan and his wife Sharon moved to Australia where he was appointed the Head of the Property Law and Conveyancing Department at a Canberra law firm.  

He quickly became a well-respected solicitor in Canberra (where he was a nominee for the Canberra R.E.I. Property Lawyer of the year).

In July 2018, Johan and Sharon moved to the Sunshine Coast for the warmer climate, initially to join a Buderim law firm. 

For more than 40 years, Garland Waddington has been delivering practical legal solutions to clients on the Sunshine Coast and across Queensland.

For more information about Garland Waddington, visit www.garlandwaddington.com.au 

Peta Grenfell and Amanda Arnold from Bentleys are looking forward to sharing important tips and tricks with attendees at the first Inside Business Workshop on Thursday 26 September - What you always wanted to ask about finance but were too afraid to.

 

The session has been designed to help you understand your profit and loss, your balance sheet and what all those financial terms mean that your bank, lawyer and accountant keep talking about. The team will workshop your individual business’  financial reports and answer your questions so you can truly understand your businesses’ financial position, engage in meaningful conversations with your advisers and use this information to make better decisions – business and personal.

 

Attendees will walk away with information, tips and resources that will help you to increase your financial literacy and truly understand all those things you wanted to know about finance but just didn’t know who to ask.

 

Between them, Peta and Amanda have worked with business owners and operators of every size in a range of industries. Their passion is sharing their expertise and knowledge to help business owners – particularly women in business! – to better understand and manage their businesses and increase their chances of success.

 

Seats are filling fast – don’t miss out on this opportunity to get some Inside tips! Register now.

 

If you’re not able to get along to this presentation, Peta and Amanda will be running more sessions over the rest of 2019 – visit the website to find out more.

Maroochydore-based law firm, Garland Waddington, is proud to announce the appointment of Madeline Klein and Nicole Downs as Associates.

Garland Waddington has been delivering high-end legal solutions to clients on the Sunshine Coast and across Queensland for almost 40 years. Madeline and Nicole have been valued members of the Garland Waddington team since 2017 and 2016 respectively, and brought with them a diverse range of legal expertise and experience.

Madeline was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court in early 2014 and has since developed her areas of expertise in litigious matters including building & construction, commercial law and wills and estate litigation.

“Some call me a litigation lawyer, but I think of myself as someone who can support my clients and achieve meaningful solutions to complex problems,” Ms Klein said.

“Becoming an Associate is a welcome recognition, particularly when the appointment is with a firm I am extremely proud to be a part of, and look forward to continuing my career with for years to come,” Ms Klein said.

Nicole was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court in 2002 and specialises in wills, estates, business and property law.

“I like to think I add value in saving them time and money through better outcomes as a result of years of experience and my understanding of the areas of business and property law,” Ms Downs said.

“Being appointed as Associates is recognition of the time and energy we have invested in our careers and into the people we help at Garland Waddington,” Ms Downs said.

Partner at Garland Waddington, Ken Waddington, said promoting Nicole and Madeline was an easy decision, given their levels of legal expertise and their dedication to problem solving.

“Both Nicole and Madeline are the very definition of our firm: city competence, coastal calm,” Mr Waddington said.

“Not only do they deliver unambiguous, high level legal advice and expertise, they both provide Garland Waddington clients with a level of empathy and reassurance that is essential when navigating legal situations,”

“Both I and my partner Brendan Bathersby are delighted at their appointments to Associates and look forward to continuing our work as a team known for delivering effective results for our clients,” he said.

Garland Waddington has been delivering practical legal solutions to clients on the Sunshine Coast and across Queensland for almost 40 years.

For more information about Garland Waddington, visit www.garlandwaddington.com.au

What the social media pros had to say at the SCBWN Social Media Cocktail Evening.

Bronte Cresswell, Brooke Styles, Liv Blondeau and Dr Karen Sutherland graced us with their wisdom last week at the SCBWN Social Media Cocktail Evening. Here’s a snapshot of what they had to say and the wisdom we took away.

Where and How to start

Content creator Liv Blondeau laid the social media foundations and told us where to start when it comes to social media.

“Start back to basics, really knowing and understanding your business and knowing who your audience is,” says Liv.

Bronte Cresswell, the director of Dash of Milk, delved deeper and highlighted the importance of knowing the audience’s wants, where they’re headed and what their struggles are.

The importance of the audience was highlighted throughout the night and at all stages of the social media process, from choosing the platform, what to post and when to post it.

Which Social Media platform

According to the 2018 Yellow Social Media Report 88% of online consumers are on social media. The importance of social media is clear, but what social media platform should your business be on?

“Wherever your audience is,” says social media educator, researcher and consultant, Dr Karen Sutherland.

According to last year’s Yellow Social Media Report, Facebook is used by 91% of social media users, followed by YouTube at 53%, Instagram at 39%, Snapchat with 23%, and LinkedIn and Pinterest at 22%.

The report goes on to list more social media platforms and goes into further detail of the age, gender and even geographic location of who’s using what platform says Dr Sutherland.

There’s a multitude of social media platforms out there and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and pressured to tackle them all but Dr Sutherland advises people to stick to just a few.

“It’s best to pick maybe one or two platforms and do those really well than trying to spread yourself across too many and not being able to function,” says Dr Sutherland.

The panel touched on a few social media platforms throughout the night, Instagram influencer, Brook Styles highlighted the power of Instagram and social media influencers like herself. With over 119K in followers, and a portfolio with brands like City Beach, Colette and Big W, the reach Instagram influencers provide is clear.

Dr Sutherland talked about the power of LinkedIn, a platform where you can build proper connections, network and more.

“They’ve changed the algorithm, they’ve added video, now they’re actually trialling live video and so there’s so much more you can do on it,” she says.

What to post and when

Once you know what social media platform you should use, you can begin to create an objective “from that objective you should film, capture or write your content,” says Liv.

The content creating machine is a keen planner and urges people to plan their content two weeks or even a month in advance, but when and how often should you plan to post?

“Three posts a week, at your prime times, and keep it consistent,” She says.

Liv stresses the importance of objectives but also notes the importance of content that means more than reaching your business goals.

“Make content that’s meaningful … content that people can actually use,” says Liv.

Bronte confirmed this to be a quality of effective social media use, a process of not only posting specials and key messages but also listening to the audience.

It’s not only important to listen to your audience but you need to engage them.

Engaging with the audience

The content you post also needs to be content people want to engage with “content that actually solves people’s problems, you’re there to actually help them,” says Dr Sutherland.

Reply to comments, answer messages and remember Dr Sutherland’s wise words “if you want engagement you have to engage”.

We enjoyed taking with these amazing women about all things social media and we’re looking forward to incorporating social media into our upcoming events.

By Tia Somerville.

 

This weekend the SCBWN had a stall at the Sunshine Coast Women's Lifestyle Expo and we had the opportunity of talking with lots of beautiful women who are seeking connection and business opportunity in our region.

Some insights we gained from this:

• There continues to be an incredible number of passionate business women who have so much to share - this event has been inspiring!
• Nearly all these women in business face challenges and find connecting with other women to talk through their challenges and celebrate their wins helps them get through the hard times and really enjoy their successes.
• 99.9% of women were excited about our bottle of wine in our giveaway hamper! Who doesn't love a glass of wine and a good chat!
  
• Lots of new Sunshine Coast residents are looking to connect with our business community - let's welcome them with open arms! Some interstate and many international re-locators are loving our region.
• Health, wellbeing and personal growth are key topics of conversation and we LOVE the positivity that surrounds this.

From July 2017, buyers of some residential property will be obliged to withhold and pay 10% of the purchase price to the ATO, at settlement.

As you may be aware, the term ‘phoenix company’ is sometimes applied to a company which is deliberately liquidated to avoid paying its debts, including taxes.

Some unscrupulous developers have used phoenix companies to develop and sell residential property without paying GST to the ATO on those sales.

The Australian Government has now passed legislation to ensure it always receives the GST, by putting the onus on all buyers and sellers of ‘residential property’ and ‘potential residential land’.

The effect of the legislation is very wide reaching, and effectively means the ATO is receiving very large sums, much sooner, as well as more information.

Who is affected?

Sellers of residential property and of potential residential land who enter contracts dated after 30/6/2018 must give written notice to the buyer informing them whether GST is payable on the sale, before supplying the property. [Such notice is not required for commercial residential property (e.g. caravan parks, hotels and the like) or commercial property or for potential residential land (if the purchase is a business to business transaction)].

If GST is payable on the sale, the notice must also include details about the seller and the amount of GST payable and when such payment is due.

The seller may suffer a penalty of up to 100 penalty units (currently $11,000) if it fails to provide the required notice.

Every relevant buyer is then required to pay GST (generally 10% of the price) directly to the ATO (rather than to the seller) as part of the settlement proceeds. The seller is (eventually) entitled to a credit for the amount payable on its GST return.

Penalties apply if the seller fails to give a notice, or if the buyer fails to make payment.

Even if a seller does not provide a notice, or if the notice stating no payment is required is not reasonably believable, the buyer is still obliged to make payment to the ATO under this new legislation.

In what circumstances is GST payable?

The buyer’s liability arises when there is a taxable supply of:

1)     certain types of ‘new residential premises’ as defined in the Act; or2)     ‘potential residential land’ (unless the buyer is registered for GST and acquiring the property for a ‘creditable purpose’)

The payment

If GST is payable, the buyer must pay 1/11 of the contract price, [unless the margin scheme applies (in which case 7% of the contract price must be paid)].

The GST must be paid by the buyer to the ATO (generally by providing a Bank cheque drawn in favour of the ATO to the seller at settlement, or if there is no payment in the transaction, an amount equal to 10% of the GST exclusive market value must be paid to the ATO by the buyer on the day the supply is made.

We strongly advise all buyers of residential property and potential residential land obtain legal and accounting advice prior to entering contracts from 1 July 2018, to determine if GST applies to the purchase, to ensure the contract allows for payment of any GST to the ATO and to reduce the risk to the parties of incurring potential penalties from the ATO.

Thank you to our sponsors Garland Waddington Solicitors for this useful information.

At the 2018 AGM of the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network yesterday, the new management committee members were announced to lead our 200+ strong membership of business women on the Sunshine Coast.

1. Roz White – President
2. Lizzie Henebery – Vice President
3. Anita Owens – Treasurer
4. Michelle Hamer – Secretary
5. Kaitlyn Akers
6. Dr Jackie Holt
7. Dr Brenda Jamnik
8. Min Swan

This new committee will work to grow the network and continue to provide wonderful opportunities for their membership and partners, while ever committed to deliver the mission of the network - to be the platform to empower and celebrate women to achieve in business.

With the next committee meeting and a strategy planning session already booked in for the coming weeks and new ideas on the table, the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network is primed and ready to deliver more great things to our community so ‘watch this space’.

“I am delighted to be elected President of the Network and absolutely thrilled to be supported by such a dynamic and experienced team of successful business women. I look forward to seeing 2018/19 continue the upward trend of success for our Network and members,” said President Roz White.

Outgoing committee members were also thanked at the AGM for their hard work and dedication, and recent past president Vickie Magic was awarded a life membership to the Sunshine Coast Business Women’s Network for her valued contribution over the last three and a half years.

With the recent release of the 2018-19 Federal Budget we sought insight from Federal Member for Fairfax Ted O'Brien on what impacts we might feel as business owners and community members of the Sunshine Coast. The following snapshot has been provided to highlight the main changes. For more information on the Budget click here. 

To download a copy click the link here: Budget Summary for the Sunshine Coast

News from our Silver Sponsors Garland Waddington Solicitors:

The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) recently held its annual awards ceremony at the Innovation Centre, spotlighting the best and brightest students in the areas of Arts, Business and Law. 

In keeping with their deep and ongoing commitment to recognising and celebrating excellence in the community, Garland Waddington proudly sponsored awards for the highest achieving students in the subjects of Tax and Estate Planning and Property Law.

Partner, Brendan Bathersby had the privilege to present the awards on the night to Meg Lucas and Katie O’Connor and congratulated all award recipients at this year’s Faculty of Arts, Awards Business and Law and Prizes Ceremony 2018.

Garland Waddington enjoys playing an active role in our community whether through providing legal assistance or financial support to worthy causes or encouraging staff to be part of one of the many community projects and industry associations we support each year.

"We are proud to add value to the broader community and to make a positive difference to the lives of others."

While television shows like The Brady Bunch and Modern Family make entertaining viewing, the reality is that once-harmonious blended families can soon turn into warring parties if a parent or step parent forgets to update their will.

Ken Waddington a Partner at Garland Waddington Solicitors, Maroochydore, reminds us that many Australians wills were often out of date and failed to reflect current family circumstances.

Public Trustee data, cited in the “Having the Last Word” report1 by The University of Queensland, showed that complexity of the family relationship was a trigger in 62 percent of disputes over estates.

New spouses or partners, separation or divorce and the addition of step families were all listed as factors likely to lead to a will challenge.

Close to 6 percent of families in Australia include step children, and determining who gets what under a will is often based on the extent to which children are seen to be children of both parties.

Factors such as the length and timing of the relationship, the age of the step children at the time, and the degree of active parenting all come into play when will-makers decide how to apportion their estate.

“One of the major grey areas in the past has been whether a step child of a de facto relationship could make a claim against the estate of their step parent,” Mr Waddington said.

Changes to the Queensland Succession Act, made in June this year, have now made it clear that the meaning of ‘step child’ includes the child of a party to a de facto relationship.

“This means that a step child to a de facto relationship is eligible to make a claim against the estate of their step parent – but only if their step parent and biological parent were in a relationship at the time of their death.”

Mr Waddington indicated that estate matters could become complicated if parties in a de facto relationship with step children or joint children had failed to revise their wills, dying with out of date wills listing ex-partners or biological children as sole beneficiaries.

“For example, in certain circumstances, adult children from a previous relationship could claim against the estate of their step parent, regardless of whether or not they had been a part of the new blended family or had a close relationship with the step parent.”

“Just another reason why it’s so important for people to update their wills to provide clear direction on how they want to provide for their partner, step children and biological children from current and past relationships,” he said.

For more information in relation to a family law matter or to obtain professional advice, visit www.garlandwaddington.com.au