Business & Corporate Law — All States & Territories
Business & Corporate Lawyers — Protecting Your Business. Resolving Disputes.
Whether you need a commercial contract reviewed, a shareholder dispute resolved, a business acquisition managed, or ASIC compliance advice, a business lawyer protects your commercial interests and keeps your business moving. Commercial disputes are expensive and disruptive — the right legal structure and early advice prevents most of them. Get connected with a business and corporate lawyer today.
⚠ Director duties breaches, ASIC investigations, and insolvent trading claims can result in personal liability for directors. Limitation periods apply to commercial contract claims. Get advice before a dispute escalates.
Business & Corporate Practice Areas
Every business and corporate legal matter — from disputes to transactions.
Select the business law issue that matches your situation. Each page explains the legal framework, the process, and the risks that apply to your specific type of matter.
Shareholder & Partnership Disputes
Shareholder disputes — including oppression claims, deadlock, breach of shareholders' agreements, and director misconduct — are among the most disruptive events a business can face. A lawyer resolves disputes through negotiation, buy-out, or court proceedings while protecting the ongoing business.
Get shareholder dispute help →Commercial Contracts & Disputes
A commercial contract properly drafted protects your interests, allocates risk, and prevents disputes. When a contract is breached, a lawyer identifies remedies — damages, specific performance, or termination — and resolves the dispute efficiently, including through negotiation and mediation.
Get contracts help →Business Sales & Acquisitions
Buying or selling a business involves a comprehensive due diligence process, detailed sale agreement, and careful allocation of risk between vendor and purchaser. A lawyer manages the transaction from heads of agreement through settlement — protecting the purchaser's investment and the vendor's proceeds.
Get business sale help →Director Duties & ASIC Investigations
Company directors owe statutory duties under the Corporations Act 2001 — including duties of care, good faith, and the prohibition on insolvent trading. ASIC investigations and civil or criminal proceedings for director duties breaches carry severe consequences. A lawyer protects directors and ensures compliance.
Get director duties help →Intellectual Property
Trade marks, copyright, patents, and confidential information are among the most valuable business assets. A lawyer registers and protects intellectual property, advises on licensing and assignment, and pursues or defends infringement claims — preserving the competitive value of what makes your business distinctive.
Get IP help →Debt Recovery & Commercial Litigation
Unpaid invoices, disputed debts, and commercial disputes that cannot be resolved by negotiation require experienced commercial litigation support. A lawyer pursues debt recovery through demand letters, statutory demands, and court proceedings — and defends businesses against unjust commercial claims.
Get debt recovery help →Franchise Law
The Franchising Code of Conduct imposes specific disclosure, good faith, and dispute resolution obligations on franchisors and franchisees. A lawyer reviews franchise agreements before signing, advises on Code compliance, and resolves franchise disputes — including wrongful termination and breach of disclosure obligations.
Get franchise help →Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency
When a company faces financial difficulty, directors must act quickly — insolvent trading liability accrues every day the company continues to trade while unable to pay its debts. A lawyer advises on restructuring options (voluntary administration, DOCA, small business restructuring) and manages the process to protect directors and preserve business value where possible.
Get restructuring help →Why Business Legal Advice Matters
The legal risks most businesses don't manage — until it's too late.
Most business disputes are preventable with the right legal structures in place. When they do arise, early legal advice almost always produces better outcomes at lower cost than waiting until the dispute escalates to litigation.
Shareholders' agreements — why a handshake isn't enough
A shareholders' agreement sets out the rights and obligations of shareholders in a private company — including decision-making, dividend policy, restrictions on share transfers, buy-out mechanisms, and how deadlock is resolved. Without a shareholders' agreement, the company's constitution (or, where there is none, the replaceable rules in the Corporations Act) governs these matters — and may produce outcomes that none of the shareholders intended. Most shareholder disputes could be prevented or resolved far more efficiently if a well-drafted shareholders' agreement had been in place from the start.
Director duties — personal liability for what happens in the company
Company directors owe statutory duties under the Corporations Act 2001 — including the duty of care and diligence (s180), the duty of good faith (s181), and the duty to prevent insolvent trading (s588G). These duties are personal — breaching them can expose directors to civil liability (compensation claims), civil penalties (disqualification from managing corporations), and in serious cases criminal prosecution. Directors who continue to allow a company to incur debts when it is insolvent can be personally liable for those debts. Early legal advice when a company faces financial difficulty is essential.
Contracts — what your standard terms might be missing
A contract that does not clearly define the scope of work, payment terms, liability limits, intellectual property ownership, termination rights, and dispute resolution mechanisms creates uncertainty — and uncertainty creates disputes. In many industries, the gap between what a business thinks its contracts say and what they actually say (when reviewed by a lawyer) is significant. A lawyer reviews existing contract templates and identifies gaps that could create liability or disputes — and prepares new contracts that genuinely protect the business's interests.
Business acquisitions — what due diligence reveals
Buying a business without proper legal due diligence is one of the most common ways businesses end up in disputes. Legal due diligence for a business acquisition covers: the validity of key contracts (are they assignable? do change of control provisions apply?); employee entitlements and redundancy exposure; intellectual property ownership (does the business actually own its trade marks?); regulatory licences and compliance; and any existing or threatened litigation. A lawyer who conducts thorough due diligence before the contract is signed identifies issues while they can still be negotiated — after settlement, the risks are the purchaser's to manage.
IP protection — the cost of not registering
A business name registration does not give you trade mark rights. A domain name registration does not stop a competitor from using a confusingly similar name. Registered trade marks are the only reliable way to prevent competitors from using your brand — and the registration process takes 6–9 months from filing. Many Australian businesses discover (too late) that a competitor has registered a confusingly similar trade mark while they were operating on an unregistered basis — and then must either rebrand or challenge the registration. Registering intellectual property proactively costs a fraction of the cost of an infringement dispute.
Commercial disputes — why early resolution saves money
Commercial litigation in the Federal Court or Supreme Court is expensive — legal costs in a contested commercial dispute can run to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the outcome is rarely certain. Most commercial disputes settle before trial — but the later a settlement occurs, the more costs have been incurred by both sides. Early mediation (before significant legal costs are incurred) often produces the same commercial outcome as a later settlement — at a fraction of the cost. A lawyer experienced in commercial disputes advises on realistic prospects and the most efficient path to resolution at the first consultation.
How It Works
One request. A free business law consultation.
Tell us your business structure, the nature of the matter (dispute, transaction, compliance, or contract), and what outcome you need. A business lawyer will contact you for a free consultation.
Submit Your RequestDescribe your business matter
Tell us your business structure (Pty Ltd, partnership, sole trader), the nature of the matter (dispute, acquisition, IP, contract, insolvency), the state, and any urgency or deadlines.
Matched to a business lawyer
Your request is matched to a commercial lawyer experienced in your specific matter — whether that is a shareholder dispute, a business acquisition, IP registration, or corporate restructuring.
Free consultation arranged
A business lawyer contacts you for a free, confidential consultation — assessing the legal position, advising on strategy and risk, and providing a clear cost estimate for the work.
About Business & Corporate Law in Australia
The Corporations Act, the ACL, and why the legal framework matters for every Australian business.
Business and corporate law in Australia is primarily governed by federal legislation — the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) governs companies, directors, and corporate governance; the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) governs consumer protection, unfair contract terms, and misleading conduct; and the Competition and Consumer Act governs competition and market conduct. These federal laws apply uniformly across all states and territories — providing a consistent regulatory framework for Australian businesses regardless of where they operate.
Commercial contracts, property transactions, partnership agreements, and employment arrangements are governed by a combination of federal and state law — with state courts having jurisdiction over contract disputes (subject to federal court jurisdiction where the matter involves federal law or exceeds the relevant financial threshold). Business lawyers advise on the applicable legal framework for each type of matter and choose the most appropriate forum for dispute resolution.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the national regulator of companies — responsible for corporate governance, financial services regulation, and market integrity. ASIC has broad investigative powers and can bring civil penalty proceedings or criminal prosecutions against directors, officers, and companies that breach the Corporations Act. A business lawyer experienced in ASIC matters is essential where a company or its directors are under investigation.
Intellectual property in Australia is governed by the Trade Marks Act 1995, the Copyright Act 1968, the Patents Act 1990, and the Designs Act 2003 — all federal statutes administered by IP Australia (for registration) and enforced through the Federal Court. Trade marks and patents must be registered to attract the full protection of the legislation. Copyright protection is automatic on creation of an original work — but proving ownership and pursuing infringement requires careful legal advice.
Corporate insolvency is governed by the Corporations Act 2001 — with voluntary administration (Part 5.3A), deeds of company arrangement, liquidation, and the small business restructuring process (Part 5.3B, introduced in 2021 for companies with liabilities under $1 million) providing a range of options for financially distressed companies. Directors who allow a company to continue trading while insolvent (incurring debts that cannot be paid) face personal liability for those debts under s588G of the Corporations Act.
The Franchising Code of Conduct (a mandatory industry code under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010) imposes extensive disclosure, good faith, and dispute resolution obligations on franchisors. Franchisees who have been misled or whose agreement has been wrongfully terminated have access to remedies under both the Code and the Australian Consumer Law — including compensation for loss suffered and orders for reinstatement.