by Sara Burnheim | Apr 28, 2012 | Family
When orders have been made by the Court in relation to the welfare of children and it is time to hand the children over to the other parent, what do you do when the child says “I don’t want to go”. Do you put the child back in the car or do you encourage the child to go?
This was addressed in the recent case of Raider and Raider [2011] by Justice Forrest. The facts of this case were the mother lived in Sydney with the two children, aged 13 and 11, and the father lived in Surfers Paradise, Queensland. The children were to spend time with the father during the school holidays and the mother was to give the father 28 days notice of when that was to occur.… Read More
by Terry Robinson | Apr 21, 2012 | Business
At present, business name registrations have been handled on a state by state basis by differing departments in each state. For example Fair Trading in NSW and Consumer Affairs in Victoria.
As and from 28 May 2012 the registration and renewal of business names will be managed by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) on a national level. Accordingly ASIC will oversee a national business names database and will handle all Australian business name applications and renewals.
This means that if you have the same name registered in multiple states, you will no longer need to renew them in multiple locations.… Read More
by Clint Coles | Apr 7, 2012 | Uncategorised
The Criminal Procedure Acts sets strict time limits in which a person must be charged for a summary offence.
Summary offences are those crimes of lesser severity which must be finalized in a local court by a magistrate. Summary offences have a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment or less.
If a person is accused of a summary offence, the police must commence their proceedings against the accused person within six months of the date that the offence was said to have been committed. There are however exceptions to this general rule.
This means that two dates become critical. The first is the time of the alleged offence and the second is the time that the proceedings are commenced.… Read More
by Jennifer Blissett | Mar 31, 2012 | Family
Not only are parents morally obligated to support their children we should be aware that there is also an obligation for parents to maintain their children in a financial sense. Human nature being what it is, some parents, will not comply with their obligations to support their children. Indeed, failure of a parent to pay maintenance towards a child has been a ongoing social problem. Various Acts of Parliament have been enacted in an attempt to enforce maintenance payments with only a limited amount of success.
It is believed that arrears have become more readily recoverable since the creation of the Government instrumentality, the Child Support Agency (“CSA”).… Read More
by Rebecca Greenland | Mar 24, 2012 | Employment
The use of the internet and iphones by workers is increasing, and with social media becoming more and more popular, so too is the use of these devices by employees during work hours.
Whilst some employers may encourage their staff to actively promote the business via social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, many a boss is lamenting the rise of the thumb-twitching, seemingly constant, updating of employees’ status between nine and five.
The most obvious impact of an employee using work time for personal communications is decreased productivity. But having the employee’s mind more focused on who “liked” what and what they had for breakfast could be the least of the employer’s worries.… Read More
by Jessica Simmonds | Mar 17, 2012 | Employment
The Government-funded Paid Parental Leave scheme (PPL scheme) commenced on 1 January 2011. From 1 July 2011, employers have been required to facilitate the payment of paid parental leave (PPL) through their payroll.
Who is eligible?
Employers are not responsible for determining whether a person is eligible; the assessment is completed by the Family Assistance Office (FAO)
In order to be eligible the employee must meet certain criteria, including a carer test and work related tests.
How does it work?
The scheme provides eligible working mothers and initial primary carers of children born or adopted on or after 1 January 2011 with PPL for the duration they are not working, to a maximum of 18 weeks at the national minimum wage.… Read More
by Mark Grady | Mar 10, 2012 | Property
Since 1 November 2011, a mortgagee (financial institution) has a higher duty to the mortgagor (property owner) when selling their property as a result of the property owner having defaulted on their loan repayments.
Section 111A of the Conveyancing Act 1998 (NSW) replaces a duty to ‘act in good faith’ with a negligence style duty of care.
Financial institutions already owe this duty to corporations but not to individuals.
Prior to these amendments, the law only required the financial institution to act in good faith. This meant that the financial institution should not act willfully and recklessly and sacrifice the property owner’s interests. … Read More
by Mark Johnson | Mar 3, 2012 | Uncategorised
The strictness of the law relating to the sale of real estate in NSW can have devastating consequences for a successful purchaser at an auction.
It is possible for a purchaser to be the highest bidder after the reserve has been reached or the auctioneer announces that the property is on the market, have it knocked down to him or her and then end up with nothing. It is terrible because the purchaser will have gone to great trouble and spent money on preparing for the auction but, more than this, it is terrible because the joy of being the winning bidder is snatched away so quickly.… Read More
by Sara Burnheim | Feb 25, 2012 | Uncategorised
In every family law property case there must be full and frank disclosure of all financial information.
The matter of disclosure and making informed decisions was raised in the recent case of Nyles & Nyles [2011] FamCA 565 whereby the husband sought to set aside Orders on the basis of the wife failing to disclose pertinent financial information.
The facts of the case were that the wife was a director and shareholder in a company which was possibly going to be placed on the public market. If this was to occur, the wife stood to receive significant financial gain. Despite this, the husband and wife entered into consent orders prior to the information relating to the public float being available.… Read More
by Terry Robinson | Feb 18, 2012 | Uncategorised
All those involved in the design of structures such as architects, engineers and building designers are now required to practice “safe design” under the new work health and safety laws.
The concept of “safe design” requires a designer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable that the plan, substance or structure is designed to be without risks to the health and safety of persons.
Designers will have a duty to provide a safety report and risk assessment to their clients for all design projects including residential housing.
A study in 2007 estimated that up to two thirds of the deaths in the construction industry was linked to poor design and planning.… Read More
