The Legal Shop

The Legal Shop We are a modern Australian law firm specialising in businesses, online shops and IT platforms.
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The Legal Shop is a modern Australian law firm that specialises in providing legal services to businesses, online shops and IT platforms. Our expert lawyers have worked with businesses large and small, from international ASX-listed Australian brands to growing start ups. Whether you need help with setting up your new business, drafting contracts, protecting your branding, or day to day legal revie

w and advice, we are here to help. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and take the first step towards protecting and growing your business.

Social media plays a crucial role in many small businesses’ advertising, so it’s important to get it right. Swipe for a ...
03/06/2026

Social media plays a crucial role in many small businesses’ advertising, so it’s important to get it right. Swipe for a few helpful tips! ➡️➡️

🟢 Misleading information can be subtle! Make sure any photos and statement don’t accidentally give false claims about what your product does or is suitable for.

🟢 You can be liable for misleading reviews in your comments section. Make sure you read all reviews carefully, and if you’re sure a review is fake, you can take action by contacting the platform provider to remove it or reply to the review to clear up misunderstandings.

🟢 Some influencer ads look incredibly realistic, but can also be misleading. Be sure that the influencers you engage fully disclose that their posts are sponsored, and that these statements are accessible for audiences.

📞✉️ For assistance in drafting or reviewing your influencer contracts or marketing policy, contact us for a free, no-obligation chat.

27/05/2026

Did you know? Your small business’ employment, tech, and social media policy don’t just set the tone for your business. They can also help your business to demonstrate compliance, manage disputes and protect you from liability!

An Employee Code of Conduct can:

✳️ Set the tone and culture of your business; and
✳️ Allow you to point to a particular policy or standard of behaviour should you need to terminate employment based on one of the standards set out in the Code of Conduct.

Depending on the nature of work, you can also implement employment policies such as:
✳️ Employee Benefits Policy
✳️ Laptop and Equipment Policy
✳️ Work from Home Policy
✳️ Internet and Social Media Policy.

A lawyer can tailor detailed policies that will protect you from liability and foster a work culture that reflects your values.

For help with your employment contracts and employment policies, contact us for a free, no-obligation chat.

This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. We do not make any representations as to the accuracy or currency of the information. The information provided does not take into account your specific situation. If you would like advice for your circumstances, please contact us.

When you’re starting a product-based small business, it is essential to adhere to product safety responsibilities. Howev...
20/05/2026

When you’re starting a product-based small business, it is essential to adhere to product safety responsibilities. However, what does it mean for your product to be safe, and what are the ways that small businesses can ensure that their products are safe? Here are a few starting tips 👉

✅ Mandatory standards and bans may apply to your product. Mandatory standards are legal requirements for product safety and can differ between products. Check the ACCC’s list of mandatory standards and banned items to check whether they apply to you.

✅ If a customer buys a product that doesn’t meet the generally expected level of safety, they may seek a refund, repair or replacement per their consumer rights and guarantees.

✅ If you discover a safety issue with a product, including that it may cause injury to someone, or it does not comply with the mandatory safety standards or bans, you should recall it.

✅ Abiding by your product safety responsibilities is easiest when you have clear procedures to follow when developing and selling your product. A few steps to take may include:
- Checking mandatory standards and banned products.
- Routine quality and product testing
- Keeping up to date about product safety news and recalls
- Getting your products tested against safety criteria by the National Association of Testing Authorities

‼️ Failure to comply could result in legal liability to customers, increased costs associated with providing replacements, refunds and compensation to customers, redesign costs, fines, or even imprisonment.

For help with your product safety responsibilities, contact us for a free, no-obligation chat.

Starting a company with others is an exciting venture, but before any operations start, it is essential to have a corpor...
11/05/2026

Starting a company with others is an exciting venture, but before any operations start, it is essential to have a corporate constitution. This document outlines the internal management of your company, meaning that the corporate constitution can look different for every company.

Here are a few starting tips 👉

✅ The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) has a ‘default constitution’ in the form of the Replaceable Rules. While it’s tempting to just use these for your constitution, these may not be appropriate for your business’ unique situation.

✅ Your shareholders are the owners of the company. If you have a vision for the company, you might like to limit the ways that people can become shareholders, so that your direction remains uniform.

✅ If you’re sole director and shareholder, a different set of mandatory rules apply to you, not the Replaceable Rules!

Read more in our blog post (link in bio) or contact us for a free, no obligation quote.

This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. We do not make any representations as to the accuracy or currency of the information. The information provided does not take into account your specific situation. If you would like advice for your circumstances, please contact us.

With some retailers in hot water from the ACCC about their advertised prices, we’ve gotten more questions about what mak...
04/05/2026

With some retailers in hot water from the ACCC about their advertised prices, we’ve gotten more questions about what makes a sale or discount genuine and substantiated. Advertising a sale is an effective sales tactic, but it comes with its own rules! Adhering to the Australian Consumer Law not only avoids fines, but also protects your business’ reputation.

Use these tips below to avoid breaching the ACL:

When writing your sale’s price displays:
✅ The advertised sale price cannot actually be the normal price.

✅ The original price displayed must have been charged for all goods/services of that type for a “reasonable” amount of time.

There are no loopholes to this rule! The ACL prevents businesses from marking up a product for a few days in order to present a ‘discount’. This also includes charging a higher price for a handful of units before discounting. The original price must reflect what you genuinely charged for a reasonable time across all goods or services of that type.

✅RRP comparisons must be accurate.

Even if other businesses sell at the RRP, you must have sold the product at that price for a reasonable period before using it as a comparison. Otherwise, referencing the RRP could mislead consumers and breach the ACL.

✅ Make sure the displayed ‘original price’ is the correct one.

Double-check that the price you’re comparing against is accurate and reflects your actual pricing history. Misstating the original price can be considered deceptive, even when done by accident!

✅ The sale must be for a limited period of time.

To advertise a sale, it must be for a specified limited period of time. If it’s actually marked down for an extended period of time, it may be considered a new selling price. This would be misleading if promoted as a temporary sale.

For help with the legal compliance of your advertisements, contact us for a free, no-obligation chat.

Running a digital product store, such as an Etsy or Shopify store as a side hustle can be a great way to make extra mone...
27/04/2026

Running a digital product store, such as an Etsy or Shopify store as a side hustle can be a great way to make extra money in addition to your primary job. Though these platforms can help you to easily set up your side hustle – remember, it is a business! Swipe for some tips 👉

‼️ Avoid intellectual property infringement—check that your digital products don’t infringe on copyrights, trademarks, or patents.

‼️Protect your customers’ data! Comply with Australian privacy laws: safeguard any customer data collected and clearly communicate your privacy practices through a privacy policy.

‼️Ensure your terms of use and disclaimers are sufficient and suited for Australian law, especially if the platform you use provides default T’s and C’s for you!

For help with your small business’ contracts, contact us for a free, no-obligation chat.

This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. We do not make any representations as to the accuracy or currency of the information. The information provided does not take into account your specific situation. If you would like advice for your circumstances, please contact us.

20/04/2026

Drafting or selecting terms and conditions can be extremely intimidating for small business owners. However, using an online template without consulting a lawyer to tailor it for your business’ specific risks can lead to confusion, disputes or liabilities later on.

Your terms and conditions are a contract that lay out the rights and obligations of both you and your clients or customers. Depending on the type of business you have, they can govern how everything in your business operates including:
👉 who owns intellectual property in your website
👉 how online shopping on your website works
👉 how your clients pay you
👉 how cancellation or termination works
👉 Your policies, including privacy policy or refund policy.

By using an online template, you don’t get to choose these key terms. It’s like letting a stranger decide how your business works without any knowledge of it! Imagine having no say in when your client is supposed to pay, or having no way to get out of an unfavourable contract.

Even if you are careful in terms of the commercial details in the template, there are often complex legal concepts that should be considered in drafting, including:

❗How different laws interact with each other and apply to your circumstances (e.g. when does the Australian Consumer Law and state-based Goods Act apply?)
❗How overarching laws such as unfair contract term laws and the Australian Consumer Law might apply to your drafting
❗Understanding the “legalese” in liability, indemnity and intellectual property clauses

As a small business owner, you want to work in a way that suits you, so tailoring your terms and conditions to your business’ specific needs is essential. It’s best to consult a lawyer who can help guide you through customising your terms and conditions for your business.

For help with drafting your terms and conditions, contact us for a free, no-obligation chat.

For small businesses, the more you grow, the more contracts you have to read and sign. Sometimes agreements are arranged...
13/04/2026

For small businesses, the more you grow, the more contracts you have to read and sign. Sometimes agreements are arranged verbally, by email, or through instant messaging, and may not have a formal contract.

However, as lawyers, we always recommend you have proper legal contracts in place. Relying on handshake deals or verbal contracts can mean that your suppliers, clients, or employees aren’t bound to continue working with you, or work with you in the way that your agreement intended.

So what can you do with an unsigned contract? Can you still enforce it?
Unfortunately, the answer is: it depends.

Generally, a contract needs:
- Agreement. One party ‘offers’ to enter an agreement, and the other party ‘accepts’. A signature is concrete evidence of acceptance, which is why it is so important for enforcing a contract - a verbal or handshake arrangement blurs this line.

- Consideration. This is an exchange between the parties when making a contract. What are you doing for/giving to the other party in exchange for them giving/doing something for you?

- Intention. The parties must have an intention to be legally bound by the contract. Compare this to a promise to buy a friend a coffee, which does not have this intention. A signature is also evidence of intention.

Also consider:
- Have you and the other party been acting as if there is a signed contract?
- Are conversations between you and the other party clear enough that an objective third party could say that there was an intention to enter a contract?
- If you sign a contract later, is there an entire agreement clause? This prevents any previous actions or conversations from being considered as part of the contract.

Best practice is to always have a signed contract reviewed by a lawyer before carrying out the agreement to reduce risk of dispute about existence of a contract in the first place.

For help with your business contracts, contact us for a free, no-obligation chat.

Managing missing payments on top of your regular operations can be extremely tough and confusing. By setting up clear pr...
06/04/2026

Managing missing payments on top of your regular operations can be extremely tough and confusing. By setting up clear procedures for payment and record-keeping, you can minimise missing payments and keep debt recovery simple.

Note that different legislation may apply depending on your circumstances. Considering this, it’s best to get legal advice to minimise missing payments and avoid breaching debt collection laws under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and in some circumstances, the National Credit Code (NCC).

For help with payment terms and pursuing missing payments, contact us for a free, no-obligation chat.

We often see clients come to us having used AI for their legal documents. It’s understandable; drafting or selecting ter...
30/03/2026

We often see clients come to us having used AI for their legal documents. It’s understandable; drafting or selecting terms and conditions can be extremely intimidating for small business owners.

However, purely using AI for your legal documents can lead to issues, disputes or liabilities later on, even if it looks polished on the surface. Why is this?

It’s common knowledge that AI legal documents are based on existing legal documents. This means that your legal documents aren’t going to be tailored towards your specific situation. There are often complex (or even basic!) legal concepts that AI can omit or draft incorrectly, including:

💻 Whether the document uses laws from the correct jurisdiction. Laws can differ both interstate and internationally, so it’s crucial that your documents are cohesive.

💻 Whether the materials that trained the AI are up to date. Out of date documents can both leave you underprotected or in breach of current law.

💻 How overarching laws such as unfair contract term laws might apply to your drafting

💻 Whether it hallucinates laws!

And because AI can look so polished, you might miss errors that an experienced lawyer will pick up on instantly.

Your legal documents lay out your rights and obligations so that your business is protected. That's why tailoring your terms and conditions to your business’ specific needs is essential. It’s best to consult a lawyer who can help guide you through customising your terms and conditions for your business.

For help with drafting your legal documents, contact us for a free, no-obligation chat.

This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. We do not make any representations as to the accuracy or currency of the information. The information provided does not take into account your specific situation. If you would like advice for your circumstances, please contact us.

Address

PO Box 622
Nunawading, VIC
3131

Opening Hours

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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+61493712885

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