Legal & Insurance
Find the guide for the decision in front of you: signing a lease, choosing insurance, taking customer orders or handling information. Use it to identify what to check and what to take to your adviser.
Protect the business and check the premises
Read the policy or lease against how the business actually operates. The details worth checking often sit beyond the headline price.
Selected starting pointsSmall Business Insurance Australia: What You Need and Costs
Which business insurance is compulsory in Australia, which covers suit your type of business, what they cost in 2026, Victoria's duty cut and broker vs direct.
17 min readYour First Commercial Lease: What to Negotiate Before You Sign
What to check and negotiate in a commercial lease before you sign: term, rent reviews, outgoings, fit-out, make good, guarantees and your state's rules.
10 min read
Deal fairly with customers and contracts
Put clear terms around the sale, then understand how refunds and contract rules interact with those terms.
Selected starting pointsRefunds and Consumer Guarantees: What Small Businesses Must Do
When you must give a refund under Australian Consumer Law, when you don't have to, why 'no refunds' signs are illegal, and how to handle a refund request.
12 min readUnfair Contract Terms: The Law for Small Business
Unfair terms in standard-form small business contracts are illegal in Australia. What counts as unfair, the penalties, and how to fix your own T&Cs.
9 min readWebsite Terms and Conditions: What Your Small Business Needs
What website terms and conditions your small business needs in Australia, how they differ from a privacy or refund policy, and what the ACL lets you say.
12 min read
Look after information, ideas and access
Work through the information you collect and the business assets you want to protect. Bring specific questions and examples to any professional review.
Selected starting pointsDo You Need a Privacy Policy? Privacy Act Rules for Small Business
Do you need a privacy policy in Australia? The $3 million small business exemption, who's covered anyway, the 2026 reform status and what to include.
9 min readIntellectual Property Basics: Trademarks, Copyright and Designs
Copyright is automatic in Australia. Trade marks, designs and patents aren't. What each protects, who owns work your contractors create, and what it costs.
9 min readScams Targeting Small Businesses: How to Spot and Stop Them
Payment redirection, fake ATO letters and phishing hit Australian small businesses hardest. How to spot each scam, stop it, and what to do if you've paid.
9 min read
Prepare for interrupted work
Set recovery priorities, write a short plan and prepare controlled fallbacks for online information or a critical supplier.
Selected starting pointsIdentify which business activities must recover first after a disruption
Work out which business activities need to recover first. Compare outage impacts, dependencies and minimum service with a practical small-business example.
3 min readWrite a one-page business interruption plan
Create a one-page business interruption plan with triggers, decision owners, fallback work and a test date. Includes a printable example and response card.
4 min readDecide what can continue when the internet or a core cloud service is unavailable
Plan a controlled fallback for appointments, work orders and instructions during an internet or cloud outage, then reconcile changes when service returns.
3 min read
More practical guides
More help with the decisions and jobs that come with running your business.
Selected starting pointsPublic Liability Insurance for Cleaners: Cost and Cover
What public liability covers for cleaners, the $10m and $20m limits clients demand, the key and care-custody gaps, and published 2026 costs from $455 a year.
17 min readPublic Liability Insurance for Personal Trainers (2026)
Personal trainer insurance in 2026: AUSactive's rules, council park permits needing $20m, why PI matters as much as public liability, and published costs from $190.
14 min readPublic Liability Insurance for Tradies: Rules and Costs
Which state licences require public liability, the $10m and $20m limits head contractors demand, tools and contract works cover, and published 2026 tradie premiums.
18 min read
Legal & Insurance library
Showing 1 to 18 of 22. Newest articles first.
Public Liability Insurance for Cleaners: Cost and Cover
What public liability covers for cleaners, the $10m and $20m limits clients demand, the key and care-custody gaps, and published 2026 costs from $455 a year.
17 min readPublic Liability Insurance for Personal Trainers (2026)
Personal trainer insurance in 2026: AUSactive's rules, council park permits needing $20m, why PI matters as much as public liability, and published costs from $190.
14 min readPublic Liability Insurance for Tradies: Rules and Costs
Which state licences require public liability, the $10m and $20m limits head contractors demand, tools and contract works cover, and published 2026 tradie premiums.
18 min readCyber Insurance for Small Business: Cover, Cost and Rules
What cyber insurance covers and excludes, what insurers ask before quoting, the $3m ransomware reporting rule and NDB duties, plus buying and incident checklists.
19 min readProduct Liability Insurance: Who Needs It, Recalls, Cost
Product liability insurance for makers, importers, retailers and online sellers: the ACL importer rule, recall cover, 2-day injury reports and 2026 cost data.
17 min readProfessional Indemnity Insurance: Rules, Cost and PL vs PI
Where PI insurance is compulsory in Australia, with the minimum cover and rule source for 20-plus roles, plus 2025 cost data, run-off cover and a PL vs PI table.
20 min readPublic Liability Insurance: Cover, Limits and Who Needs It
What public liability covers and excludes, when licences, councils and contracts require it, $5m vs $10m vs $20m, certificates of currency and a buying checklist.
21 min readHow Much Is Public Liability Insurance? Costs in 2026
Published public liability prices from BizCover, upcover and Trade Risk by occupation, state and cover level, plus 2026 stamp duty rates and a worked GST example.
24 min readSole Trader Insurance: Self-Employed Covers and Costs
Which insurance sole traders and self-employed people need by type of work, why workers comp won't cover you, income protection vs accident cover, and 2026 costs.
17 min readWorkers Compensation Insurance: State-by-State Guide 2026
Who must insure, 2026–27 premium rates, penalties, claim deadlines and contractor rules for every state and territory plus Comcare, with an employer checklist.
21 min readIdentify which business activities must recover first after a disruption
Work out which business activities need to recover first. Compare outage impacts, dependencies and minimum service with a practical small-business example.
3 min readPrepare for a critical supplier suddenly stopping supply
Respond to a critical supplier interruption by calculating operating cover, setting service-reduction triggers and activating an assessed fallback in time.
3 min readDecide what can continue when the internet or a core cloud service is unavailable
Plan a controlled fallback for appointments, work orders and instructions during an internet or cloud outage, then reconcile changes when service returns.
3 min readWrite a one-page business interruption plan
Create a one-page business interruption plan with triggers, decision owners, fallback work and a test date. Includes a printable example and response card.
4 min readScams Targeting Small Businesses: How to Spot and Stop Them
Payment redirection, fake ATO letters and phishing hit Australian small businesses hardest. How to spot each scam, stop it, and what to do if you've paid.
9 min readYour First Commercial Lease: What to Negotiate Before You Sign
What to check and negotiate in a commercial lease before you sign: term, rent reviews, outgoings, fit-out, make good, guarantees and your state's rules.
10 min readIntellectual Property Basics: Trademarks, Copyright and Designs
Copyright is automatic in Australia. Trade marks, designs and patents aren't. What each protects, who owns work your contractors create, and what it costs.
9 min readUnfair Contract Terms: The Law for Small Business
Unfair terms in standard-form small business contracts are illegal in Australia. What counts as unfair, the penalties, and how to fix your own T&Cs.
9 min read
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