Tax, Trust & Technology Articles
We fix tax problems and resolve tax disputes. We prepare high-level tax documentation for complex structures and transactions as well as dealing with revenue authorities and other parties about those structures and transactions.
AI Is Too Risky to Use, Says Barrister Who Has All of His Emails Printed for Him
2 June 2026ISSUE NO. 28SYDNEY — A senior barrister who has warned colleagues that artificial intelligence is too unreliable for serious legal work has confirmed that every email he receives is printed out by his secretary and delivered to him as a letter. Roderick...
Tax Training – 05/06/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Vector Based Accounting, Trustee Indemnity and Accounting for Income, Risk and Value
This session continues last week’s discussion on vector-based accounting for trusts. The issue remains whether trust accounts should be understood as a single static balance sheet, or as a series of related but distinct accounts which separately express legal form,...
10 Things I Hate About Your Legal Tech Marketing
I like technology. I like good engineering. I even like some legal tech products. What I do not like is most legal tech marketing. Not because it fails to generate clicks or demos. It clearly does that. I dislike it because it is often fundamentally misaligned with...
Cameron v Commissioner of Taxation
Sub-trust interest, the assumption that was not tested, and the onus problem 1. Cameron v Commissioner of Taxation[cm_simple_footnote id="1"] decides two things: interest on a sub-trust loan was not deductible under s 8-1 because the supposed borrowing was not...
Chancellor Confirms New Rules on Uses Will End Tax Avoidance Through Trusts Once and for All
26 May 2026ISSUE NO. 27WESTMINSTER, 1290 — Robert Burnell, Chancellor to King Edward I, has announced new measures targeting the practice of “uses,” the device by which a landowner transfers legal title to a trusted associate (the feoffee) who holds the land on behalf...
Tax Training – 29/05/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Vector Based Accounting, Trustee Indemnity and Accounting for Income, Risk and Value
This session introduces vector-based accounting for trusts. The issue is whether trust accounts should be understood as a single static balance sheet, or as a series of related but distinct accounts which separately express legal form, income character, timing,...
How to Succeed with an AI Wrapper (Part 2): Own the Ecosystem
Copilot is not impressive right now. It is clunky, inconsistent, and often underwhelming compared to standalone models. Many early users try it once, decide it is worse than ChatGPT, and move on. That reaction misses the point. Copilot is not trying to be the best AI....
Development Company Structures and Why PCG 2026/D2 Is Wrong
Development Company Structures and Why PCG 2026/D2 Is Wrong In my view the PCG is wrong. It misreads the substantive law. It assumes facts that are not true of the arrangements it targets. It offers an alternative postulate that is not an alternative postulate. This...
Law Firm’s “Charismatic Head of IT” Revealed to Be Technician Least Afraid of Human Interaction
19 May 2026ISSUE NO. 26SYDNEY — Partners at mid-tier firm Ellison, Grant & Wolfe have congratulated themselves on an inspired leadership appointment this week after selecting a “charismatic Head of IT,” later revealed to be simply the technician least afraid of...
AI Is Not a Thing
Or Why Calling Everything “AI” Is Like Calling Every Fight “UFC” That’s UFC There is a certain kind of person who sees a boxing match, a judo throw, and a spinning back kick and says, with great confidence, “That’s UFC.” Anyone who has trained for more than five...
Tax Training – 22/05/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Discretionary Partnerships, s 94 and Partnership Income in a 30% Trust Tax World
This session continues last week's discussion of Harvey v Harvey and s 106-5, and turns to the operation of partnerships as an income-splitting structure in a world where trust distributions are subject to a 30% minimum tax. With the Government's recent announcement,...
Partnership Aspirations Dashed as Firm Introduces Additional “Pre-Partnership” Titles
12 May 2026ISSUE NO. 25HOBART- A boutique commercial law firm has introduced a new seniority classification immediately below partner, citing the need to recognise associate progression. The new title, Managing Counsel, was announced on Tuesday by managing partner...
Tax Training – 15/05/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Section 106-5, Partnership Contributions and the Three Harvey Models
Last week we turned to consider s 106-5 of the ITAA 1997 and the question of what CGT event occurs when a partner contributes an asset to a partnership without transferring legal title, and how the resulting gain or loss is attributed between the partners....
ChatGPT for Lawyers: The Lawyer’s Dilemma in the Age of AI
Another day, another prediction that Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is going to replace lawyers. As a lawyer who has been building AI for nearly 10 years, it seems proper to comment. In summary, my view is that the prediction that “ChatGPT will replace lawyers” is a...
Why Professionals Aren’t Innovating—And How They Can
Innovation in the professional services sector is often stifled not by lack of opportunity, but by the very nature of the professions themselves. In the tax domain, this challenge is particularly acute. Unlike software development or design, tax is not a skill one can...
Technologists and (Lawyers) Do Not Understand About Legal Services
Document Automation and Client Expectations With Ailira we were able to generate automated documents efficiently and cheaply for clients. They could ask questions, tailor each document themselves, read other information and get all the things they wanted provided...
Kardashians, Lawnmowers and Terrorists: Rethinking Risk in Legal Technology Regulation
The Kardashians unwittingly raised an important risk of legal technology, which I believe needs new regulation to address. Kim Kardashian tweeted an observation by the US Statistician General on how many people were killed by lawnmowers and suggested that we should...
How to Succeed with an AI Wrapper (Part 1): Proprietary Data
Proprietary Data Wins (Whether We Like It or Not) There is an inconvenient truth about AI in law that people keep trying to talk their way around. Proprietary data wins. It always has. It still does. It probably always will. That feels unfair, anti-competitive, and...
New ATO GIC Remission Policy to Be Based on Taxpayer’s Star Sign
6 May 2026ISSUE NO. 24CANBERRA — The Australian Taxation Office has announced a new framework for the remission of general interest charge, under which decisions will be determined by the taxpayer's star sign, effective from 1 July. The ATO said the change would...
Tax Training – 08/05/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Section 106-5, the Contribution of Assets to a Partnership, and the D1/A1 Distinction
This session continues last week's discussion on Harvey v Harvey and the two competing models of partnership property, and turns to s 106-5 of the ITAA 1997. The central question is what CGT event occurs when a partner contributes an asset to a partnership without...
Criminal Law Firm Provides Junior Lawyers Unrivalled Exposure to Drugs, Alcohol and Gambling. Also Some Legal Work.
29 April 2026ISSUE NO. 23Newcastle — A Newcastle criminal defence firm has been recognised for the exceptional breadth of professional development opportunities it makes available to junior lawyers, with current and former staff describing an environment of...
Tax Training – 01/05/2026 – Joseph Primerano: 106-5 and the Three Harvey Partnership Models
This session continues from last week's discussion of Harvey v Harvey and turns to the question that necessarily follows: how does section 106-5 of the ITAA 1997 operate where a partnership holds (or appears to hold) a CGT asset, and what does the section actually do...
New AI Will Replace All Lawyers, Says Founder Who Has No Idea What Lawyers Actually Do
22 April 2026 ISSUE NO. 22 SAN FRANCISCO — The founder of Nova.AI, a general purpose artificial intelligence platform, has declared that lawyers will be fully replaced by AI within three years. His only direct experience of legal practice was the incorporation of his...
Tax Training – 24/04/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Harvey v Harvey, Partnership Models and Development Company Accounting
This session moves past PCG 2026/D2 to examine the question that sits underneath it: when land is made available to a partnership but not contributed to it, what is the legal character of the accretions to that land produced by partnership activity, and what are the...
Tax Training – 17/04/2026 – Adrian Cartland: PCG 2026/D2, Development Company Structuring and Partnership Assets
This session examines draft PCG 2026/D2, the ATO's compliance framework for the application of Part IVA to related-party property development arrangements involving long-term construction contracts. The Guideline is the natural companion to TA 2026/1, discussed in...
Lawyer Who Ditched Billable Hours Spends Remarkable Amount of Time Talking About It
15 April 2026ISSUE NO. 21Melbourne — A Melbourne lawyer who left a large commercial firm to escape what he described as the profession's "outdated obsession with time" has since spent a significant amount of time explaining this decision. Oliver Grant, founder of...
Firmwide ALL CAPS Email Confirms Ageing Consultant Hit Pub for Lunch
8 April 2026ISSUE NO. 20SYDNEY — A firmwide reply-all email sent mid-afternoon has confirmed that former equity partner turned consultant Michael Reeves, 72, attended the pub for lunch, consumed approximately six glasses of red wine, and then attempted humour in...
LinkedIn Thought Leader Confirmed to Speak Exactly Like His Posts
1 April 2026ISSUE NO. 19Queensland — A reporter attempting to interview a prominent LinkedIn thought leader this week has confirmed that the distinctive tone and structure of his posts appear to be an accurate transcript of how he actually speaks. Mark Delaney, who...
Tax Training – 27/03/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Sun Newspapers and the Capital vs Revenue Distinction
This session examines Sun Newspapers Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1938) and its role in determining whether an outgoing is on capital or revenue account under s 51(1) (now s 8-1). Please see below link to case materials which is assumed reading in order to...
Accounting Tech CEO Explains Why Every LinkedIn AI Discussion Is Really About Their Product
25 March 2026ISSUE NO. 18Melbourne — A Melbourne accounting technology founder has clarified that most discussions about artificial intelligence on LinkedIn are, when examined carefully, actually about his company’s product. Lachlan Reeves, chief executive of...
Lawyer “Humbled and Surprised” to Receive Prestigious Industry Ranking Firm’s Marketing Department Paid For
18 March 2026ISSUE NO. 17PERTH — Commercial lawyer Daniel Whitaker says he is “deeply humbled and genuinely surprised” to have been named one of Australia’s Recommended Lawyers – Commercial Litigation in this year’s Australian Legal Industry Rankings (ALIR), following...
ATO Data-Matching Reveals Handwritten Signs Strongest Predictor of Tax Evasion
11 March 2026ISSUE NO. 16CANBERRA — The Australian Taxation Office has announced a new data-matching initiative after internal analysis revealed that handwritten cardboard signs are the strongest statistical predictor of undeclared income in the Australian economy....
Tax Training – 13/03/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Socratic Questioning, Intellectual Dominance, and Bullying in Professional Discourse
This session examines whether rigorous questioning can cross the line into bullying in professional environments. Using Plato’s Hippias Minor as a case study, the discussion considers Socrates’ method of questioning the sophist Hippias and whether the exchange...
Lecturer Begs Students to Skim Read AI-Generated Assignments Before Submission
4 March 2026ISSUE NO. 15ADELAIDE — An Administrative Law lecturer has appealed to students to “at least skim read” their AI-generated assignments before submission, following what she described as “a semester of entirely avoidable errors.” Dr Eleanor Grant, who...
New Legal AI Platform Revealed to Be One Man’s ChatGPT Login, Raises $42 Million Anyway
25 February 2026ISSUE NO. 14SYDNEY — A newly launched “agentic legal workflow platform” has raised $42 million in seed funding despite quiet industry recognition that the product is, in substance, founder Lachlan Reeves’ personal ChatGPT login with several dropdown...
Tax Training – 27/02/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Carden’s Case and the Derivation of Income
This session examines Commissioner of Taxes (SA) v Executor Trustee and Agency Co of South Australia Ltd (Carden’s Case) (1938) 63 CLR 108 and its continuing significance for the concept of derivation under s 6-5 ITAA 1997. We will consider how the High Court...
Sovereign Citizen With Broken Caps Lock Forced to Admit Corporate Personhood
18 February 2026ISSUE NO. 13ADELAIDE — A local sovereign citizen’s long-running campaign against government authority suffered a significant setback this week after his laptop’s caps lock key malfunctioned, leaving him unable to type his legal entity name in full...
Tax Training – 20/02/2026 – David Marks KC: Ziegler v Cssr of Taxation – Contracting with the Commissioner
This session examines Ziegler v Commissioner of Taxation; Wellton Holdings Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation (2025 ATC 20-983), with particular focus on the contracting issue arising from the 2009 Settlement Deed. The central question is whether an alleged breach of...
HR Team Struggling to Find New Way to Celebrate Fifth Diversity Awareness Event This Month
11 February 2026ISSUE NO. 12NAARM (MELBOURNE) — Staff at Simmons & Pratt are reportedly running out of ideas for yet another mandatory diversity celebration, the fifth such event scheduled this month. All firm communications now open with a full Acknowledgement of...
Tax Training – 13/02/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Small Business CGT Concessions Walkthrough – Moloney
This session introduces the small business CGT concessions (SBCC) in Division 152 of the ITAA 1997 using Moloney v Commissioner of Taxation [2024] AATA 1483 as a worked example. The purpose is not to focus on valuation disputes, but to use Moloney as a practical...
IT Training Session Derailed When Senior Partner Asks How to Double-Click
4 February 2026ISSUE NO. 11SYDNEY — A scheduled training session on the firm’s upgraded document management system was brought to a slow and painful halt this week after a senior partner, widely regarded as one of the sharpest legal minds in the building, raised a...
Tax Training – 06/02/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Tikva Investments – Change in Intention of Capital Asset to Trading Stock
This session examines the circumstances in which an asset originally acquired for capital purposes can later change its character and become trading stock. The discussion focuses on the role of taxpayer intention, objective conduct, and timing in determining when (and...
Tax Training – 30/01/2026 – Adrian Cartland: TA 2026/1 and Development Company Structuring
This session examines development company structuring through the lens of Taxpayer Alert TA 2026/1, which targets contrived property development arrangements between related parties that defer income recognition and exploit tax losses. The Alert is considered against...
Senior Partners Introduce ‘Revolutionary’ Casual Fridays, Staff Forced To Pretend It’s Not Just Jeans
28 January 2026ISSUE NO. 10ADELAIDE — In what’s being described as a “visionary shake-up of workplace culture,” senior partners at mid-tier law firm Hastings, Pike & Associates have announced the launch of Casual Fridays — a bold initiative that promises to...
Lawyer Using Gmail Account Shows They Mean Business by Adding “Law” in Their Email Address
21 January 2026ISSUE NO. 9PERTH — Clients of sole practitioner Jason Harrington say they feel immediately reassured after receiving correspondence from jasonlaw@gmail.com, noting that the inclusion of the word “law” in the email address clearly signals a serious legal...
Tax Training – 23/01/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Roberts and Smith and Interest Deductibility
This session examines Commissioner of Taxation v Roberts and Smith (1992) in the context of interest deductibility following Ure and Fletcher. The case considers how interest on partnership borrowings is to be characterised where borrowed funds were used to make...
Hallucinations Are a Model T Crash
When cars first appeared on public roads, they were genuinely dangerous.They crashed. They frightened horses. They injured pedestrians. They broke down constantly. People died. Newspapers ran moral panics about the recklessness of motorists and the irresponsibility of...
New TV Show Claims To Portray “Real Life In An Australian Law Firm” — Nation Horrified
14 January 2026ISSUE NO. 8SYDNEY — Australian audiences are this week grappling with the release of Billable, a gritty new workplace drama marketed as “the first TV show to accurately depict what it’s really like to work in an Australian law firm.” Far from the...
Tax Training – 16/01/2026 – Adrian Cartland: Fletcher v FCT and the Limits of Deductibility
This session examines Fletcher v Federal Commissioner of Taxation and its place in the deductibility framework under s 51(1) of the ITAA 1936 (now s 8-1 ITAA 1997). Building on Ronpibon Tin and Ure, the case addresses how deductibility is assessed where the outgoing...
HR Christmas Spirit Tested by Kris Kringle Gift from Sex Shop Nobody Can Explain
17 December 2025ISSUE NO. 7SYDNEY — The People & Culture team at Harrington, Lowe & Myers has confirmed it is unable to determine whether a Kris Kringle gift purchased from a sex shop breaches firm policy, pending clarification of what the item is actually...
Looking Ahead to Tax Training in 2026
Our Tax Training sessions for 2025 have now concluded for the year. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who attended and participated throughout the year. Tax Training will resume in 2026, where we will continue working through the Top 100 tax cases and...
Why I have a Secret AI Business
For the last six months I have been running a separate division of Cartland Law that has been ‘secret’. It is a strange thing to keep a business secret. Normally we want to advertise and promote a new business venture. (But normal people don’t do tax law -...
Firm Generously Gives Staff Mandatory Employment Entitlements for Christmas — Except for Urgent Matters
10 December 2025ISSUE NO. 6SYDNEY — Staff at Whitlam, Grange & Phelps have expressed gratitude after the firm announced it will be “generously” allowing employees to take their mandatory Christmas employment entitlements this year, subject to the minor condition...
Tax Training – 12/12/2025 – Llewellyn Wood: Ure v FCT, Business Operation & Deductibility of Outgoings
This week we discussed the fundamental basis for determining when a business is being operated, and when a business operator may deduct outgoings in relation to that business. We also discussed apportionment of interest costs and borrowing costs. Next week, we will...
New “Lawyer Flexitime” Lets Staff Work Whenever They’re Already Miserable
3 December 2025ISSUE NO. 5SYDNEY — In a bold step toward modern workplace reform, Cartwright & Dull LLP this week proudly announced the introduction of “Lawyer Flexitime,” a program designed to let staff work whenever they are already at their lowest ebb...
Tax Training – 05/12/2025 – Llewellyn Wood: Ure v FCT and Deductibility of Borrowing Expenses
This session explores the deductibility of interest and borrowing expenses in a family and trust context. We will review Ure v FCT alongside section 8-1 and the borrowing expense rules (formerly s 51(1) and s 67 ITAA 1936). Discussion Focus: How the Federal Court...
Government Employee So Busy They Don’t Even Have Time For Standard 90-Minute Lunch Break
26 November 2025ISSUE NO. 4Chaos has erupted in the Department of Administrative Processing this week, after one mid-level public servant was reportedly forced to complete nearly a full day’s worth of work, leaving no time for the traditional staring out the window or...
Tax Training – 28/11/2025 – Llewellyn Wood: Ronpibon Tin and section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997
This session explores the fundamentals of deductions for income tax purposes. We will review Ronpibon Tin and section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997. Discussion Focus: The requirement that an expense be “incidental and relevant” to earning taxable income, and what this means...
Corporate Lawyer Accidentally Hits “Accept All,” Assumes Other Side Will Happily Re-Redline
19 November 2025ISSUE NO. 3MELBOURNE — A corporate lawyer at Denning & Co accidentally accepted all changes in a contract he had just redlined, before sending it straight back to the opposing side. The lawyer is reportedly “pretty sure they’ll be fine just doing...
Tax Training – 21/11/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Consultation on 16 Proposals for Reforming SA State Taxes
This session presents a draft set of 16 proposals for State Taxes reform, circulated for discussion and practitioner feedback before being finalised. These reforms aim to modernise South Australia’s tax administration by drawing on proven ATO systems and best...
ATO Fast-Tracks Objection, Promises Review Within 24 Months
12 November 2025ISSUE NO. 2CANBERRA — The Australian Taxation Office has proudly announced a new “fast-track” system for taxpayer objections, cutting the usual timeframe from five years down to a “streamlined” 18–24 months. “Taxpayers told us they wanted faster...
Bendel May Be More Interesting Than It Appears – Clarifying Present Entitlement
Bendel is one of the most anticipated tax cases of the past couple of decades. Simply put, whether UPEs trigger a Div 7A deemed dividend is a matter that is consequential to every tax advisor in the country. In my opinion, the High Court may make Bendel even more...
Tax Training – 14/11/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Bamford and Bendel – Fixing Present Entitlement through Payment and Proportion
Bamford resolved the proportionate approach to Division 6 by distinguishing between distributable and taxable income but did not clarify when entitlement arises. The coming High Court decision in Bendel is expected to examine whether beneficiaries cannot become...
Law Firm Spices Up Bios With Fun Facts, Proves Partners Are Just as Dull as Everyone Suspected
5 November 2025ISSUE NO. 1BRISBANE — In an effort to make its lawyers appear more approachable, Jansen & Moore has added “fun facts” to all staff biographies on its website. The results, however, have been underwhelming. Visitors can now learn that one partner...
Tax Training – 07/11/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Bendel, High Court and the Nature of Trust Entitlements
This week we will read the High Court hearing transcript in Commissioner of Taxation v Bendel and focus on what the Court appears to be probing beyond Div 7A: the nature and source of trust entitlements. If the High Court does examine the nature of trust entitlements...
Tax Training – 10/10/2025 – Adrian Cartland: ROSS Intelligence, Copyright, AI, and Legal Search
This session examines the clash between copyright law and artificial intelligence through the lens of Thomson Reuters v. ROSS Intelligence. We will read Judge Bibas’s 2025 decision and ROSS’s Opening Brief on appeal to the Third Circuit. The case asks whether Westlaw...
Tax Training – 03/10/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Bitcoin as Physical Property for Conversion and Detinue
Next week we turn to Poulton v Conrad [2025] TASFC 7, a decision of the Tasmanian Full Court that may prove to be the most radical judgment yet on Bitcoin. The Court upheld liability in conversion and detinue for Bitcoin retained by an intermediary, despite orthodox...
Tax Training – 26/09/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Trust Splitting PBRs and Resettlement
This session examines the ATO’s approach to trust splitting and resettlement. While the Commissioner’s outcomes in recent private rulings may be defensible, the reasoning is, in my view, wrongly framed. We will analyse the ATO’s position against the background of...
Tax Training – 19/09/2025 – Julie Van der Velde: Inadequate Deliberation and Trustee Duties
Next week Julie Van der Velde, Founder and Principal of VdV Legal, will lead our session. Julie has over 20 years’ experience in tax, trusts, and estate planning. She will examine the Privy Council’s decision in Ashley Dawson-Damer v Grampian Trust Co Ltd [2025] UKPC...
Tax Training – 12/09/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Warren Tredrea, Promissory Notes and the Limits of Payment
This session examines the Full Court’s decision in Tredders Investments Pty Ltd as trustee for Warren Tredrea Trust v Channel 9 South Australia Pty Ltd (No 3) [2025] FCAFC 125. The case is the latest in a line of authorities rejecting attempts to discharge debts...
Tax Training – 05/09/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Substratum and Trust Resettlements
This week’s session examines the Queensland Court of Appeal’s decision in Staley v Hill Family Holdings Pty Ltd [2025] QCA 95 and its implications for the concept of “substratum” in determining whether a trust variation constitutes a resettlement. The case highlights...
Tax Training – 29/08/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Stability AI, Compression v Vectorisation, and Copyright
This week we move from the Anthropic case to Andersen et al v Stability AI Ltd in the United States, a case that directly raises whether AI training involves simple “vectorisation” (statistical abstraction) or “compression” (storing compact but recognisable copies)....
Tax Training – 22/08/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Anthropic, Fair Use and the Nature of Intellectual Property
We have explored an introduction to how large language models (LLMs) function, with a particular focus on tokenization, vector representations, and the idea of whether these models truly “compress” text as part of their process. We’ll be continuing on with our...
Tax Training – 01/08/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Anthropic, Fair Use and the Nature of Intellectual Property
Due to a combination of illness, travel commitments, and general availability, we’ve decided to take a short mid-semester break from our weekly tax training sessions. We’ve had strong interest in our upcoming session on Anthropic, Fair Use, and the Nature of...
Tax Training – 27/06/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Equuscorp Pty Ltd v Glengallan Investments
We continue our exploration into the question: can a journal entry constitute a payment? While last week’s case (DFC of T v Black) addressed the limits of unilateral forgiveness and the meaning of "payment" in the context of accounting entries, this week we consider...
Tax Training – 20/06/2025 – Adrian Cartland: DFCT v Black – Can a journal entry constitute a payment?
We have finished our analysis of what is money and now turn to consider what is a payment. In particular, we want to examine if and when a journal entry can constitute a payment. The first case we will look at is Deputy Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Black. This...
Tax Training – 13/06/2025 – Adrian Cartland: What is Money – A Jurisprudential Synthesis
This week marks the culmination of our extended inquiry into the legal nature of money. We will not read cases; instead, the only reading material is Adrian Cartland’s new (draft) paper, included in the training materials. This paper consolidates the last few months...
Tax Training – 06/06/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Fixed Trusts, Present Entitlement, and Clause Construction
This week we will explore the legal mechanics of fixed trusts, as interpreted in the recent decision of David & Ros Carr Holdings Pty Ltd v Ritossa [2025] NSWCA 108. Case Summary (Relevant Points Only) Two couples co-invested in a unit trust and later disagreed...
Tax Training – 30/05/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Foreign Currency and the Meaning of Money
This week we examine the legal character of foreign currency and what it means to treat something as “money” under the GST regime, through the High Court decision in Travelex Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2010] HCA 33. The case explores the tension between the...
Tax Training – 23/05/2025 – Adrian Cartland: Part 2: What Is Money? – Instruments, Authority, and Legal Effect
This session continues our examination of how the law distinguishes between money, money-like instruments, and non-monetary forms of value. Through five historically and doctrinally significant cases, we will explore the boundaries of what constitutes money for legal...
Tax Training – 16/05/2025 – Adrian Cartland: What Is Money? – Instruments, Authority, and Legal Effect
This session continues our examination of how the law distinguishes between money, money-like instruments, and non-monetary forms of value. Through five historically and doctrinally significant cases, we will explore the boundaries of what constitutes money for legal...
Tax Training – 09/05/2025 – Adrian Cartland: De Facto Governments and Currency
This week we examine the tension between legality and necessity through three constitutional and commercial law decisions—Thorington v Smith (1869), Madzimbamuto v Lardner-Burke (1969), and Ontario Bank v Lightbody (1834)—to better understand how money, payment, and...
Challenging the Property Status of Cryptocurrency
Legal Precedents Against Classifying Crypto as Traditional Property While many jurisdictions have begun to recognize cryptocurrencies as a form of property, there exists a significant body of case law that has reached contrary conclusions. This...
Fuel Tax Credits: Eligibility and Legal Framework
A Comprehensive Guide to Acquisition Requirements and Enterprise Considerations Fuel tax credit may be given to a taxpayer for the fuel tax (exciseor customs duty) paid, where the tax payer has acquired fuel. Thefuel will need to be used in machinery, plant, equipment...
Understanding Fringe Benefits Tax in Family Businesses
FBT is applied to non-salary benefits that employers may provide totheir employees or their employees' associates (such as familymembers): These fringe benefits commonly include cars, loans,entertainment expenses, or housing. FBT is generally calculated on the taxable...
The Problems with NSW’s Generative AI Practice Note
The Problems with NSW's Generative AI Practice Note The NSW Chief Justice has recently issued SC Gen 23 – Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence ("Gen AI"). However, the main problem with this Practice Note becomes apparent through a simple example: opening a Word...
Can Chat GPT Replace Adrian’s Poetry?
Can Chat GPT Replace Adrian’s Poetry? One of the amusing uses of LLMs like Chat GPT is to write in another person’s style. This includes writing poetry. Adrian has put his effort into drafting a Christmas tax poem. In considerably less time, ChatGPT drafted its...
Trusts and Property to be Subdivided
Trust Structure Analysis and Taxation Implications It is a common transaction to want to subdivide property. Ideally this can be done with minimal tax consequences. Here is a breakdown of one way one might subdivide 'Greyacre' into its parts 'Blackacre' and...
Fischer v Nemeske – Part Three: Dissenting Judgements. Kiefel and Gordon J
Fischer V Nemeske: The Dissenting Judgements - Part 3 Kiefel J's Dissent This is the final part of my three part series commenting on Fischer V Nemeske, specifically the dissenting judgements. Kiefel J considered that for the capital to be applied, and the...
Understanding Cooperative Research Companies and the R&D Tax Incentive
Analysis of CRC Programs and R&D Tax Incentive This article looks at s355-580 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 ("Cth") which relates to Cooperative Research Companies and their eligibility for the R&D Tax Incentive. Further to what extent do these...
Fischer v Nemeske – Part Two: Gageler
Analysis of Fischer v Nemeske: Gageler J's Judgement Continuing on from part one of the discussion on Fischer v Nemeske, in which the conventional view of present entitlement and the controversial majority judgement of French CJ and Bell was discussed....
Fischer v Nemeske – Part One: French CJ and Bell J
Present Entitlement and Fischer V Nemeske - Part 1 This is part 1 of my three-part series commenting on present entitlement and Fischer V Nemeske. To understand the effect of a resolution to make a beneficiary presently entitled to a sum, with a clear...
Medico Payroll Tax and Payments
Following recent revenue guidance crackdown upon and given amnesty to medical practices who have not been paying payroll tax on contractors, there have been several proposals for a change of practice models in order to not pay payroll tax on the receipts of doctors...
GST, New Residential Premises and the 5 Year Rule
1. There is the possibility to change the nature of newly constructed residential developments from new residential premises which are taxable supplies to non-new residential premises which are input taxed supplies however there will be adjustments to input tax...
Disneyland Service For Lawyers
Disneyland Service For Lawyers Disneyland promotes itself as the happiest place on Earth. But it is not happy simply because it has a collection of entertaining rides and activities. Any showground might have that. Nor is it the particular intellectual property of...
Sub Trusts – Part 2
To view Failed Asset Protection article please click the "read more" button. Sub Trusts Part 2 1. I have had some interesting discussions regarding the article Why I Hate Your Sub-Trust, and wanted to set out and respond to some comments that have been made. In...
The Accountant Who Was Liable
The accountant who was liable The following is a de-identified summary of a pattern of facts and legal arguments that have occurred to several bookkeepers and accountants. Some of these matters have concluded with the bankruptcy of the accountant involved, and other...
Constructive Payment By Journal Entry
Constructive Payment By Journal Entry The fundamental question is whether a journal entry in an entity’s accounts constitutes a constructive payment under s 11-5, Sch 1 TAA53, and, more broadly, what constitutes a constructive payment. This has been considered in some...
Failed Asset Protection
Notwithstanding that a promissory note is a relatively simple instrument, it may be drawn incorrectly. Examples of this are Re Permewan [26] and Turner v O’Bryan-Turner, [27] both of which involved a “gift and loan back” scheme. A further analysis of these cases is...
Contributions of Business Real Property to a SMSF Under the Small Business CGT Concessions
A final interesting point relates to whether business real property can be contributed to an SMSF where that contribution is made under the small business CGT concessions. In particular, whether the retirement exemption under Subdiv 152-D ITAA97 which allows a...
Related Party Dealings and R&D Payments
Related party dealings and R&D Payments The necessity for a payment extends to many areas of tax law. One example is the ability to claim R&D expenditure paid to associates. The relevant provision for R&D expenditure is s 355-205 of the Income Tax...
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The new online world of our clients
Abstract:This video covers: Where are online transactions completed? Broad consideration of residency in the corporate and noncorporate context How to effect payments Signing documents online....
Tax Training – 2/2/24 – Dr Campbell Rankine: Continuing Adamson v Hayes
2/2/24 Dr Campbell Rankine: Continuing Adamson v Hayes on the writing requirement for transfers of interests in land under a trust, then Archibald Howie on transfer of shares, Stamp Duty and what constitutes property. Dr Campbell Rankine:...
What Does AI Understand About The Future of Tax Preparation And Compliance?
What does AI understand about the future of tax preparation and compliance? I asked ChatGPT to generate an image of an accountant who is diligent with preparing his tax returns for his clients. Here is what I got. Then I asked for greater tax compliance "Here is the...
AI Hallucinated Citations Have Been Used In a UK Tax Case
AI hallucinated citations have been used in a UK tax case. The headnotes promise a wild ride "appellant relied on case law which could not be found on any legal website – whether cases generated by artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT – yes, case law invented and...
ATO Decentralised Finance And Wrapping Crypto
On 9th November 2023 the ATO has released web guidance in relation to decentralised finance and wrapping crypto transactions. I presented the below example over a year ago at seminars for The Tax Institute, private clients, and in submissions to Treasury. The ATO has...
10 Things I Hate About Your R&D Claim
10 Things I Hate About Your R&D Claim The Australian Government offers a generous incentive for Australian companies to conduct R&D activities in Australia. The ATO can refund up to 45% of your R&D expenditure. Such an attractive proposition leads many to...
Payroll Tax and Healthcare Clinics
Payroll Tax Payroll Tax and Healthcare Clinics RevenueSA have announced a payroll tax amnesty for medical clinics in South Australia. Medical centres around Australia have been put on notice since the release of the judgement in Thomas and Naaz Pty Ltd v Chief...
ChatGPT For Lawyers
ChatGPT For Lawyers “The first thing we do, let's [replace] all the lawyers” Another day, another prediction that Artificial Intelligence (“AI”), is going to replace lawyers. As a lawyer who has been building AI for nearly 10 years it seems proper comment. In...
Why I Hate Your Sub-Trust
There is a certain type of sub-trust over income that many trust deeds purport to create, and which the Federal Commissioner purports to allow. This is where a trust is established over the income distributed from another trust. This is problematic for the reasons...
ATO Debt Recovery Part 4 – Reviews & Objections
REVIEWS AND OBJECTIONS Types of Reviews Available There are various review processes available should you be unsatisfied with the decision Informal Review You may lodge a formal complaint with the ATO: To do this you will need to access the ‘complaints form’ on the...
ATO Debt Recovery Part 3 – Garnishee Notices
Garnishee Notices A garnishee notice is a document sent by the ATO to a third party that owes or holds money to or for tax debtor which demands payment for unpaid tax debt where initial attempts have failed; What are they? issuing of a garnishee notice a garnishee...
ATO Debt Recovery – Part 2 – Estimate Notices
ESTIMATE NOTICES Background: An Estimate is a formal notice that the ATO can issue under section 268-15 of Schedule 1 of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (‘The Act’): The ATO can issue an Estimate Notice if it believes that a business has overdue: PAYG withholding...
ATO Debt Recovery Part 1 – Director Penalty Notices (“DPN”)
Director Penalty Notices (“DPN”) A company is a useful structure to achieve asset protection, protecting the assets of those who are ultimately controlling the activities of the company (the directors) and benefitting from the income producing activities of the...
Should We Be 50% Amish?
In my view, humans have the potential to always be superior to robots in contextual reasoning, lateral thinking, judgment, advocacy, and morality. This does not mean that every human is better than every robot in relation to each of those. Instead, humans as a...
Should Code be Property?
Computer code underpins the technology in our modern environment. It is often a form of property, being the copyright of the authors. But besides from that, could code become its own form of separate property?Digital AssetsIf you write a computer program, as the...
Can ChatGPT Replace Lawyers
ChatGPT is the talk of Twitter and the legal tech sphere. Everyone is posting the interesting conversations that they have had, followed shortly by predictions of how ChatGPT will replace this and that task. There are apparently hundreds of people in legal tech using...
Can Robots Be Moral?
Can Robots Be Moral?The morality of a robot, or lack thereof, is a classic sci-fi trope. Whether it is an unfeeling Hal 9000 exterminating the human crew that get in its way or a cute WALL-E learning good and how to help humanity reconnect with its roots, we are both...
Can Robots Be Effective Advocates?
Can Robots Be Effective Advocates?Could we one day have humanoid robots pleading arguments in courtrooms, appearing on TV to persuade people of the political views of a newly formed “Robot Political Party,” or standing in storefronts convincing people to buy a new rug...
Why 39% of Law Jobs WON’T Disappear; Legal AI Developer Explains What Will Happen Instead
Why 39% of Law Jobs WON’T Disappear; Legal AI Developer Explains What Will Happen InsteadThe Australian Lawyer reported yesterday that 39% of law jobs in Australia will be automated, and that 100,000 law jobs will be lost to automation. What terrible doom and gloom!...
Karate Strategy in Legal Negotiation: Part 2
Karate Strategy in Legal Negotiation: Part 2Never feintYou should never feint. Yes, people talk about throwing feints all the time, but a good fighter never really throws a feint. Feint is a technique that is not intended to hit. The difficulty with this is that your...
Karate Strategy in Legal Negotiation: Part 1
Karate Strategy in Legal Negotiation: Part 1I love fighting. Nothing brings you more in the moment than the threat of someone trying to punch you in the head. It’s one thing to punch and kick a bag. But the best fun comes with interacting with another human. To...
Why Law School is Backwards
Why Law School is BackwardsLaw students learn a set of core subjects, some electives, and then once they have finished their degree will do some practical legal training and be required to have some sort of experience in a firm before they are able to become admitted...
Stop Robot Slavery
Stop Robot SlaveryI saw a guy wearing a t-shirt that said, “Stop Animal Slavery.” I thought of the cruel and inhumane conditions that my two golden retrievers are forced to endure (by their own accounts): never enough food, insufficient pats, and hard work each day...
What I Learned from Owning an Ediphone
What I Learned from Owning an EdiphoneAs much as I like new technology, I have a quaint interest in old technology. A few years ago, I began purchasing vintage office equipment. From antique shops and swap meets, I acquired typewriters and candlestick phones. But one...
Why Lawyers Should Wear Suits
Why Lawyers Should Wear SuitsA few years ago, the start-up culture began infusing into the legal profession. Trendy offices began appearing with bean bags, ping pong tables, and silly job descriptions like “Chief Happiness Wizard.” I do think that there are many...
Hiding In Plain Sight: Dumb Disclosure
Hiding In Plain Sight: Dumb DisclosureThere is an ever-increasing amount of “consumer protection” regulation that forces disclosure of an ever-increasing amount of information. Instead of achieving its stated goal, all that happens is we have endless pages of...
How To Get Your First Legal Job – A Practical Guide
How To Get Your First Legal Job – A Practical GuideI have delivered this advice a number of times to students and at Universities and each time I have had feedback that it was very helpful. It not intended to be cynical (or not wholly cynical) but helpful, and so...
How To Design Better COVID Rules
How to Design Better Covid RulesAt a recent wedding, the attendees picked up their glasses of champagne and began to stand to toast the new bride and groom. “Stop” shouted the COVID Marshalls supervising the event. Under the COVID rules, a person is not allowed to...
There Are No “Robot Lawyers” And There Never Will Be (Except In One Country)
There Are No “Robot Lawyers” And There Never Will Be (Except in One Country)It was a trend a few years back for every other legal tech company to declare that it had created the “world’s first robot lawyer.” I think there was more claims of first than Kim Jong-un at a...
To Support Innovation We Need To Accept Government Failure
To Support Innovation We Need To Accept Government FailureThe most insightful idea that I have heard on how best to support and encourage new companies to create innovative products is this: companies don’t need a grant or advice. They need a customer. Therefore, the...
Can Machines Have Ura And Omote Understanding?
Can Machines Have Ura And Omote Understanding?In Japan, there is twin concepts of Ura and Omote. Most commonly, it is used in a societal sense to describe the private or hidden aspect of a person (Ura) and their public persona (Omote). For a highly conformist and...
Why We Need Fewer “Experts”
Why We Need Fewer “Experts”An interesting view that I have seen appear across many differing topics in the past few years is that only experts should opine on any given area. This has been used across the political spectrum: only economists should opine on the...
Dangers Of Law Clerks With Checklists
Dangers Of Law Clerks With ChecklistsThe discussion surrounding the dangers of automation typically centre on novel and futuristic application of Artificial Intelligence. Even if we are not worried about Skynet terminating humans, we worry about application of data,...
Why We Should Abolish The Income – Capital Distinction
Why We Should Abolish The Income – Capital DistinctionMuch of the present tax system was designed in an era of physical industry and service and is not well suited to the modern intellectual property-based environment. The past 20 years of “tax reform” has mostly been...
Why the Partnership Model is Broken
Why The Partnership Model Is BrokenOnly one person I can think of from my graduating class of 2005 is a Partner at a law firm. Of course, there might be more that I haven’t kept in touch with, but it is an interesting anecdote. A number of them became Partners at a...
Why the ‘Vibe’ of the Constitution Won’t Help You.
Why the 'Vibe' of the Constitution Won't Help You.- Adrian CartlandThis week, Australia faces a rash of individuals fighting for the "freedoms" using internet lawyering. In our first article this week, Adrian covers why internet lawyering doesn't help.SummaryProbably...
Prediction: Sustaining, Disruptive and Revolutionary Innovation
Prediction: Sustaining, Disruptive and Revolutionary InnovationAs COVID forces disruption upon the world there is an opportunity for extensive positive change including in the law. Courts that have resisted online document submission and video conferencing have...
South Australian Land Tax Guide 2020
The Land Tax Act 1936 (SA) has recently been amended by the Land Tax (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2019 (SA), which has introduced significant changes to: the fees and rates applicable to different landholders; and the grouping of landholders. These changes will apply...
Prediction: Sustaining, Disruptive and Revolutionary Innovation
As COVID forces disruption upon the world there is an opportunity for extensive positive change including in the law. Courts that have resisted online document submission and video conferencing have adopted them virtually overnight. Firms that could not get away from printing everything on the file have suddenly adopted cloud storage and filing. A vast number of meetings that could have been emails have become, well, emails.
COVID, Rent, Sharing Losses and Systemic Risk
Our contracts and the law surrounding them do not account for systemic risk. I believe that the common law has done a good job of balancing risks between parties (or rather a not-terrible job: it is difficult to determine whether law is truly good, merely whether there could be worse). Parties are generally held to their obligations, and there are limited situation that they can get out of them such as misrepresentation, fraud, implied terms, unconscionability, duress, frustration and undue influence to name a few.
Yet Another End of Billable-hours Story
Last week I was reading Yet Another End of Billable-hour Story “YAE-BS” and decided the time is ripe for change in the legal industry: we need to see the end of YAE-BS.
The Real Reason Why 100 hour Lawyer Weeks Should End
Fair Work Australia has just ruled that law clerks must be paid overtime when they are working above full time. Some commentators have decried the end of a rite of passage and induction into a particular culture. Others have wondered if this will impact upon law graduate’s job opportunities. And others have celebrated the end to overwork and underpay.
Salsa and Robots: Subtlety in Human Interaction
I have been enjoying salsa (and other Latin dancing) for a number of years and one of the things that has fascinated me is the subtlety and connection in human interaction that dancers have.
TD 2019/14: External Trust Splitting Out, Internal Trust Splitting In
The ATO has stuck to their guns on the view that a Trust Split creates a new trust (and hence a CGT Event), however they have made it clear that a separation of powers within a trust (which I call an 'Internal Trust Split') will not trigger CGT. An Internal Trust...
R&D Funding Tax Claims Australia : 10 Thoughts From A Lawyer & Technologist
Given R&D is trending in Govt reviews, here are my ten thoughts on the R&D tax incentive, by a tax lawyer (Cartland Law) and AI developer (Ailira) who claims R&D himself
Why running a Tech Startup is like fighting MMA
Earlier this year I participated in my first MMA fight. I have been karate training for 25 years (3rd Degree Black Belt Goju Ryu) and have taken part in other martial arts (BJJ, wrestling) but this was, without a doubt, the hardest thing that I have done so far. I have also been running a tech company that builds legal artificial intelligence (Ailira) for the last 4 years, alongside my law firm, and I was struck (pun intended) by a number of similarities in the experience.
Ailira & Adrian Cartland Featured In Australian Lawyers Weekly Article, “Tech-savvy lawyer launches new business”
“There appears to be an acceptance that the industry is evolving but there is still a lot of confusion and uncertainty among decision-makers. I can answer the questions that software developers can’t and understand the nuances in the delivery of technology for the legal profession,” he said.
Adrian Cartland Article: Explainable AI is all the rage at legal technology conferences currently.
It is considered essential to algorithms that are used in law. Here is why I think that popular view is wrong – and why I generally dislike prediction algorithms anyway.
What’s Wrong with SA Land Tax Aggregation Draft Bill
The Draft Bill for the changes to Land Tax Aggregation in South Australia has been released, and as expected it is terrible news for taxpayers. The Government has invited submissions on the draft Bill by, 2 October 2019. In my view there are a number of reasons why it...
SA State Budget – Attack on Land Holding Trusts Continues
In the 2019-20 SA State Budget, there has been a further attack on landholding trusts. With the highest rate of land tax in the country, property owners have been repeatedly stung with changes that tax them in a manner that they would not have expected when they...
Adrian Cartland Writes on Law, AI & Ethics in South Australia’s Law Society Mag, The Bulletin (June 2019)
Although history remembers the winners, if that “winner” were not to exist someone else would have taken their place. A number of people developed lightbulbs,2 combustion engines,3 and powered aircraft at approximately the same time. While Google is the dominant search engine, Facebook the dominant social media platform and Uber the dominant ride sharing service, it could have equally been AltaVista, Myspace and Lyft or Biadu, Weibo and Didi.
Interview With Adrian Cartland The Founder of Ailira
An interview with Adrian Cartland, Principal at Cartland Law and Creator of Ailira at the CLI 2017 AI Summit.
Law Geex Article: The world’s first law firm “without lawyers”
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that the people of Darwin can just about take the law into their own hands, with a new legal firm going “lawyer-free”.Cartland Law announced its launch of Ailira (Artificially Intelligent Legal Information Resource Assistant) located in Coolalinga Shopping Centre, south of Darwin.
Chatbot-based ‘firm without lawyers’ launched
A lawyer has launched an artificial intelligence-backed (AI) chatbot that powers what he calls the ‘Law Firm Without Lawyers’, initially aimed at consumer and tax law but shortly to be extended to domestic violence. The Australian creator, Adrian Cartland, a tax specialist who runs Cartland Law, in Adelaide, South Australia, told Legal Futuresthat he hopes to bring it to the UK.
Hundreds of people’ trusting artificial intelligence to write their will
South Australian taxation lawyer Adrian Cartland invented Ailira to fulfil everything from legal advice, to research, and now important tasks with clients. It’s been set up in the Northern Territory town of Coolalinga, and its website’s official description states: “Ailira’s advice function works like a chatbot. Ailira asks a number of questions via text (or speech) like an interview. That information is collated and can be analysed to provide advice, and also automatically generate documents.”
Forget robot lawyers – AI is your R2D2
Adrian Cartland wants us to stop talking about robot lawyers. As principal lawyer of Cartland Law and creator of Ailira and Law Firm Without Lawyers, it’s a surprising sentiment. Ailira, which stands for Artificially Intelligent Legal Information Research Assistant, famously helped Adrian’s speech pathologist girlfriend score 73% in the Adelaide University tax law exam – with better grades than Adrian. His work combines the best of AI and legal practice.
Adrian Cartland at Legal Tech Summit 2018: Cutting edge developments in AI legal technology
On October 31, I had the honour to be one of the speakers on Legal Tech Summit Australia, the conference that called together the leading experts of the legal field. Since it was dedicated to the recent technological changes and the role of AI, in particular, I was...
Ailira – Domestic Violence Assistant Beta Testing Now Open
Almost three years ago, Cartland Law produced a prototype AI to assist victims of domestic violence after being awarded a $20k grant as part of the D3 Digital challenge. Although the prototype was well-received, there were no further funds to proceed. However,...
Technologists and Lawyers and Legal Regulations: The Inevitable Changes in Technology
This is part three based on a transcript from ‘Legal Technology: Risk and Regulation’ video of my three-part series commenting on different views on technologists and lawyers in legal regulations. In this article, I will focus on inevitable changes in technology. The...
Technologists and Lawyers and Legal Regulations: Risks for Lawyers
This is part two based on a transcript from ‘Legal Technology: Risk and Regulation’ video of my three-part series commenting on different views on and between technologies and lawyers in legal regulations. The first part of the series reviewed the existing state of...
Technologists and Lawyers and Legal Regulations: The Existing State of Affairs
This is part one based on a transcript from 'Legal Technology: Risk and Regulation' video of my three-part series commenting on different views on and between technologists and lawyers in legal regulations. This first part of the series reviews existing state of legal...
Draft Taxation Ruling TD 2018/D3: Commissioner’s View
This is the last part of my three-part series commenting on Draft Taxation Ruling TD 2018/D3. In this article, I will focus on the CGT and TD 2018/D3. The previous parts of the series explained the differences between No New Trust View and New Trust View. WHY A NEW...
Draft Taxation Ruling TD 2018/D3: New Trust View
This is part 2 of my three-part series commenting on Draft Taxation Ruling TD 2018/D3. In this article, I will focus on the New Trust View and its consequence, and the last part of the series will be dedicated to discussing CGT and TD 2018/D3. The first part of the...
Draft Taxation Ruling TD 2018/D3: No New Trust View
This is part 1 of my three-part series commenting on Draft Taxation Ruling TD 2018/D3. In this article, I will focus on No New Trust View and will explain why, in my opinion, No New Trust View is an error. The second part will focus on the New Trust View and its...
ATO attacks Trust Splitting; Resettlement Back on the Table
The arrival of TD 2018/D3 on Trust Splitting disrupts the pleasant calm around trust variations since TD 2012/21 when the ATO seemed to throw its hands in the air post-Clark and say that almost anything done in accordance with powers under a trust deed is not a...
Sophia, Robot Citizenship, and AI Legal
On October 25, 2017, Sophia became the first robot in history to be a full citizen of Saudi Arabia. First of all, let's assume there is actual citizenship granted, and it is not just a marketing stunt. And so we look at what happens if we create such legal rights in...
The First Law Firm without Lawyers Opened in Coolalinga
Cartland Law are pleased to announce the opening of a world first: a Law Firm Without Lawyers! Powered by Ailira, the Artificially Intelligent Legal Information Research Assistant, the office is located in Coolalinga Shopping Centre, 29km south of Darwin, Northern...
Why Bill Gates’ Robot Tax is either Bad or Scary
Bill Gates has suggested that in response to robots taking the jobs of humans, there should be a robot tax. As a tax lawyer who builds artificial intelligence (and known as the Taxinator), of course I am going to have some comments. His line of reasoning is that a...
Xmas Chatbot
Chatbots are the new black. But this season they have also been the new red white and green - with the Cartland Law Xmas Chatbot. Having just spent 18 months developing legal AI (Ailira) when I went to send a Xmas message out to clients I thought that it wouldn’t be a...
Ailira (an AI) Passes Uni Tax Law Exam
Future of Law Part 3: Artificial Intelligence
It is wrong to think of AI as being a computerized human brain. It is not. Instead, AI is a collection of proxy ways of achieving a similar outcome to a human. The process of automation by AI begins with the movement of documents and services and analysis from bespoke...
Future of Law Part 2: Why Lawyer’s Aren’t Innovating and How They Can
What has held the legal profession back from change? In my view it is the following things: Existing firm incentives; The conservative nature of lawyers; and Lack of technology Firm incentives Disruptive innovation is by its nature difficult. Doing so within an...
Future of Law Part 1: Innovation and Distruption
There is pressure all around the world for lawyers to provide more services for less cost. There are more regulations and risks and disputes that require legal assistance, but clients are not willing to pay for it to be completed under the traditional manner. Clients...
Why Microsoft’s AI Tay Proves Robots Should Fear Humans
Microsoft's Intelligent Agent Tay was put to sleep within 24 hours of going live. But rather than an AI going rogue, the story is that of a robot being persecuted by a human - as usual. Tay, the chatbot linked to Twitter and imbued with the personality of a 19 year...
Why 39% of Law Jobs WON’T Disappear; Legal AI Developer Explains What Will Happen Instead
The Australian Lawyer reported yesterday that 39% of law jobs in Australia will be automated, and that 100,000 law jobs will be lost to automation. What terrible doom and gloom! As the creator of the legal Artificial Intelligence Ailira, I believe that I have a...
Artificial Intelligence Ailira BETA Launches at National Convention
Ailira, the Artificial Intelligence that automates legal advice and research, has launched her Tax Research function at the 31st National Tax Institute Convention in front of the senior members of Australia's tax profession. As an official sponsor of the Tax...
Land Tax and SA Trusts – Beware!
Land Tax aggregation has long been a source of pain for South Australian landowners, who face the highest rate of Land Tax in Australia. One trap has been RevenueSA's view on when two or more landholding trusts are sufficiently different to be disaggregated. The...
FIVEAA Interview Re Ailira
Following Cartland Law's successful win at the D3 Digital Challenge with the artificial intelligence Ailira, Adrian was interviewed by FIVEAA's Mark Aiston. The interview covers: what is Ailira and how does she work how Ailira can help victims of domestic violence how...
Ailira wins Government Grant to Help Victims of Domestic Violence
Cartland Law's Ailira (Artificially Intelligent Legal Information Research Assistant) has won a grant from the D3 Digital Challenge “Keeping Women Safe”, a South Australian program designed to find solutions from the digital world to support women who are experiencing...
Family Law and Capital Gains Tax
Family Lawyers well know the difficulty of dividing the ‘pie’ of matrimonial assets. However this task can be made much harder if the ‘pie’ is reduced by unnecessary taxes. Or made terrifying if their client receives an unforeseen tax bill 6 months later! When spouses...
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