News and resources

“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 […]

All areas of the law evolve under the stimulus of societal change, and few areas evolve more quickly than that of employment law. The pace of change in the field of employment law can make it hard to keep up with what’s happening, and this is made harder by the complex tapestry of legal sources […]

Jumping castle an attraction at school event Although more than three years have passed since the Tasmanian jumping castle accident, the tragedy is still fresh in our minds. On 16 December 2021 there was an event, the “Big Day In” at Hillcrest Public School in Devonport, on the north coast of Tasmania. The weather was […]

NSW firefighters face a higher cancer risk than the general population and they need to be aware there are special avenues for them to claim workers compensation entitlements. Cancer risk for firefighters significantly higher than for general population A study by Monash University found the overall cancer rates for full-time firefighters were significantly higher than […]

Unforeseen level of interest in legal aspects of photography A dozen years ago, an item was published on our website about the legal aspects of photography, When photos break the law – your rights when taking photos. It attracted an unforeseen level of interest, such that in 2019 a revised and updated version was published, […]

The NSW government has foreshadowed changes to workers compensation legislation that will tighten access for psychological injuries. Massive upsurge in claims The state government has warned the NSW workers compensation system is “unsustainable” unless it cuts back on victims’ eligibility for payments for workplace psychological injuries. These can include PTSD, anxiety and depression. Treasurer Daniel […]

Mortgagee sales increasingly common In our offices, we are suddenly seeing an unfortunate rise in mortgagee sales. A mortgagee sale occurs if a property owner can no longer meet their mortgage repayment obligations, and their lender or bank forces the property to be sold. Disadvantages of distressed property sales There are significant downsides for a […]