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If you’re in the Australian construction industry as a self-employed person, there’s good news! If you remember, the Victorian government has attempted a new code of conduct for tenderers that would protect independent contractors. But the construction unions won a case in the Federal Court that seemed to block the code. On Thursday, the Full Bench of the Federal Court knocked off the single judge’s decision saying, in part, that “…conclusions of this kind appear to … reflect value judgments rather than legal conclusions.” Ouch! Here’s the judgment and an excellent summary of the implications by Robert Gottliebsen. Good on the Victorian government for sticking to its guns to protect subbies in construction! The protective codes are now going national. More...

It’s amazing the stories we receive at ICA from self-employed people describing their business ‘woes’. They’re not complaining about the commercial risks of being in business, but rather aghast at the stupidity of many of the regulations and situations they are forced to work with. Below are ten such stories we have received. It’s these practical examples that bring home the truth about the complexities of being in business for yourself. More...