News and resources

The suspension, in August 2026, of several players from the Sydney Swans AFL side, and a following police investigation, has sparked debate about the presumption of innocence in sport, and what the management of sporting clubs can do to manage the attendant risks without infringing on that presumption. Quite a few legal expressions have found […]

Importance of acting early on a DPN debt If the ATO has commenced court proceedings to recover a director penalty notice (DPN) debt against you, the most important thing to do is to take action now. Your situation can only get worse if you ignore it. You need to understand the claim against you and […]

In the past the subject of a photo or video was able to see that someone was recording them, providing them with at least a flimsy layer of protection. Smart glasses remove that protection. Their live-streaming capability means instant distribution, without any possibility of preventing this. Recent changes in law intended to strengthen protection of […]

“Lemon law” principles under Australian Consumer Law protect you if you buy a new vehicle which isn’t of acceptable quality – safe, fit for driving consistently and free from material defects. The law gives rights to repairs, a refund or replacement, and pathways for resolving disputes through Fair Trading or NCAT. Buying a defective vehicle […]

So you are a director of a company and you’ve received a Director Penalty Notice (DPN). Here’s a rundown on what that means and what you should do next. What is a Director Penalty Notice? A DPN is a notice issued by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) that can make you, as a company director, […]

Deadlines are fast approaching for businesses to take steps to comply with changes under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act). AML/CTF Act reforms expand scope of existing laws The new legislative amendments broaden the reach of laws fighting money laundering and covert financing of terrorism. (Please see Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism […]

“What is a woman” has become the catchcry of anti-trans activists who argue there are only two genders – male and female. But Australia’s Federal Court has battled with the question of gender identity for three years in the discrimination case Tickle v Giggle, involving a transgender woman. Transgender woman removed from a women-only app […]

Prevalence of AI use in the workplace With the exponential growth in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) at work, a question which arises is, who is responsible for AI mistakes? More than a third of Australians say they use AI at work several times a week – eight per cent use it many times […]

We hear a lot about legal cases being argued in court and judgments being handed down. But why does a person appear in one court and not another? What do the various courts in NSW actually do? Structure of courts in NSW The court structure in Australia is shaped like a pyramid. At the base […]

Directors are often unaware that a winding up order does not need to be the end of the road for their company. We recently acted successfully for a director seeking that the winding up of his company be terminated under section 482 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), returning control of the company to the director and allowing the company’s business to […]

Recovering business debt by chasing unpaid invoices is possibly the greatest curse of doing business. No matter how many reminders you send, your bills are ignored. It goes down the line – they say they can’t pay you as they are owed money, or they dispute the work done, and you can’t pay your own […]

We’ve got a spare bedroom in our home and are considering renting it out to a single person like a nurse, teacher or uni student who is looking for a place to live. But what does the law say on boarding or lodging in a family home? Renting out spare bedroom a legal grey area […]

The Commonwealth Privacy Act has been amended to create a statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy (a tort is a non-criminal act of wrongdoing). The amendment postdated the 2024 Victorian County Court case of Waller v Barrett. It remains to be seen how higher courts will treat the case precedent, and more generally what […]

A recent landmark judgment by the Dust Diseases Tribunal has awarded a Sydney tunnel worker $2.4 million compensation after he contracted silicosis and fibrosis from damaging airborne hazards. Silicosis diagnosis after 27 years of working in tunnels The award is the highest ever received in Australia for a dust-related injury – $860,000 in general damages, […]

Falling from a height is the leading cause of traumatic injuries and fatalities in the NSW construction industry, closely followed by construction site accidents involving electricity. Alarming rate of construction site accidents Safe Work Australia statistics are disturbing: in the year 2022-23 there were 36 fatalities in the construction industry. Construction accidents led to 16,647 […]

One of the items on our website – Can your boss force you to work weekends? – continues to attract enquiries, despite being published in 2012. This article is an update. Discussing whether or not employees can be made to work out of hours requires reference to the way in which the “rules” around employment […]

Conveyancing in NSW and Queensland differs significantly, with NSW often seen as more legally structured and buyer friendly. If you are buying or selling over the border for the first time, it is important you are across the differences and the legal requirements, and in particular, the reforms that came into effect on 1 August […]

A Workers Compensation Bill before the NSW Parliament would significantly change workers compensation laws, in particular the way psychological injury in the workplace is assessed and dealt with by authorities. New Workers Compensation Bill aims to keep scheme sustainable The original Workers Compensation Exposure Draft included provisions requiring people who experience sexual harassment or racial […]