Michael Cordover

You are required by law to register a business name if you are carrying on a business under that name, unless one of the following applies:

• you are an individual carrying on business under your own name;
• the business is run by a corporation and the business name is the corporation’s name; or
• the business is run by a partnership and the name consists of all of the partners’ names.

There are a few other rare exceptions (e.g. statutory corporations and government organisations).

Carrying on a business under an unregistered name can result in a fine of up to $5,400.

For FOI requests made under Commonwealth law (i.e. to a federal government agency), there is no cost of making the request. However, you will probably be charged for access to the information. This access charge will depend on how long it takes to compile the information and make a decision about whether to grant access. You will be given an estimate before being required to pay. You can request that the fees be waived or reduced (in particular if there is a public interest reason or the charge would cause you financial hardship) but the agency does not have to waive the fee. More information is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

For requests made under NSW law (i.e. to a state government agency), there is a $30 application fee and you will also be charged processing fees. The processing fee may depend on how long it takes to compilethe information and make a decision about whether to grant access. You will be given an estimate before being required to pay. You can apply to have the application fee and/or processing fees waived or reduced. More information is available from the Information and Privacy Commission of New South Wales.

The situation is different in each state and territory.

An ABN (Australian Business Number) is a unique identifying number issued to businesses in Australia. You can obtain an ABN if you are "carrying on an enterprise" in Australia.

If you send someone an invoice but do not supply an ABN then they are usually required to withhold tax from the payment to you. The amount they withhold is normally about half of the invoice amount.

The tax office provides a good overview of what constitutes carrying on an enterprisefor the purpose of getting an ABN. Normally if you are carrying on an enterprise you should get an ABN.

Your ABN is published together with your legal name and postcode on the Australian Business Register. You need an ABN:

• in order to register a business name;
• to register for GST (which you are normally required to do if you have a turnover exceeding $75,000 a year); and
• in order to have invoices paid without tax being withheld by the payer.

Your ABN should be placed on most business documents, for example contracts, invoices and receipts.

As a starting point, the decision of a sporting club is only reviewable by the courts if the person seeking review can establish one of the following things:

1. some interference with their property rights or interests,
2. some breach of contract, or
3. some threat to their livelihood or reputation.

In many cases the constitution of the club will be considered a contract, but that does not necessarily mean that any decision made improperly will be a potential breach of contract.

Many sporting clubs will have internal review policies or dispute resolution mechanisms in their constitutions. In Victoria, incorporated associations are required to have such a grievance procedure in their constitution. Members of a company limited by guarantee may have rights under the Corporations Act 2001.

Many clubs participate in a larger network, for example by being part of a national body. These national bodies often have dispute resolution policies which can be accessed by club members. Some clubs might also implement such policies in order to obtain government funding.