Newsletter Archive

23 March 2020

17 March 2020

February 2020

Anti-Phoenixing Laws are Finally Here; Case Summary – The Cerebral Palsy Association of WA v Papalia; Is Your Default Interest Clause Enforceable, or is it a Penalty? Reminder on the Importance of Careful Drafting; Wage Theft Risk – Modern Award Pay Changes – Effective 1 March 2020;

January 2020

Outfoxed? Workers’ Compensation Appeals; The Consequences of Incorrectly Terminating a Contract; Event Law – Who is my Customer?; Honesty and Good Faith Changes the Strata Title Laws;

September 2019

Work Health & Safety Harmonisation – WA Finally Gets on Board; Service Not Required to Trigger an Entitlement to Leave and the Importance of the Fine Print; Anti-Phoenixing Reforms are Still Circling…; Dignity of risk vs Negligence – What is an Aged Care Provider’s Duty of Care?;

July 2019

Parliament to Consider Class Actions Regime for WA; Inactive Cases in the Magistrates Court of WA – A Frenzy of Inactivity;

May 2019

Crown Land – Is It A Lease Or A Licence Where There Is A Public Access Reservation?; Aiming at an Employee and Shooting Yourself in the Foot – Workplace Investigation Leads to Compensation Claim; FIFO Code of Practice – Battle Against Mental Illness; Small Slips Sink Statutory Demands; Straight from the Horse’s Mouth – Judge Sets Out How Trials Will Now Run in District Court of WA;

April 2019

New Statutory Obligations on Strata – Will it Lead to Fewer Disagreements?; Date Fast Approaching for Incorporated Associations to Update Rules; What is Strata Titled Land and How is it Managed?; Silicosis – a “Nationwide Epidemic”?; Resolving the “Gordian Knot” – Competing Land Use Classifications in WA; What You Need to Know About Divorce in Australia Versus America;

March 2019

Whistleblower Protection Reform Is Finally Here  – This Is What You Need To Know; Adult Child Maintenance for Ongoing Education and Living Expenses; Planning for Incapacity – An Important Part of Your Estate Plan; Giving Evidence Before The State Administrative Tribunal; The Weinstein Clause, What Is It and Is It Destined for Australia’s Shores?;

February 2019

Valentine’s Day Cyber Scams to Watch Out For in 2019; Terminating an enterprise agreement – is the trickle about to stop?; The Fiocco Report: Is the Reform Sub-Contractors have been Waiting for Around the Corner?; The State Administrative Tribunal’s Jurisdiction to Resolve Disputes when a Party Moves Interstate; To Be or Not to Be…a Park Home; The Great Vaccination Debate: What does the Family Court have to say?; Assistance Animals in Caravan Parks;

December 2018

Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety – The Commission Seeks Information; Preparing Your Business for a Merry Holiday Cyber Season; ‘Cleaning Up’ Your Credit History – How It’s Really Done; FWO Report Shows There is Much to be Done; Be Prepared, or be Better Prepared – Insight From Rodgers v Amcor Ltd [2018] WADC 134; Directors’ Liability for Employee Entitlements; The Surprising Cost of a Piercing Noise – Insight From Hooker v Allied Pumps Pty Ltd (No. 2) (2018) WADC 129; What Happens to the Pets After Separation?;

November 2018

Encroachment and Adverse Possession; You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Light! Protecting Your Home’s Solar Access; Aged Care Quality Standards – The Basics; To Occupy or Not to Occupy; Can a Grouped Dwelling Unit be Split Into Two and Rented Separately? No!; The Australian Financial Complaints Authority Rules – What You Need To Know; Short Term Accommodation… Cash Cow or Criminal Conduct?; Mighty River Flows to the High C – High Court Endorses Holding DOCAs;

October 2018

Has The Casual Employee Relationship Gone The Way of the Dinosaur?; 6 Tips to Make Life Easier For Your Executor; Online Vulnerabilities Facing Small Business Today; Is a Guarantor Discharged From Liability When the Principal Contract is Varied?; We’ve Separated, How Long Do We Have to Sort it all Out? Time Limits in Family Court Matters;

September 2018

Caveats Series – Part 2: Can I Lodge a Caveat?; What is the Australian Financial Complaints Authority?; How to Get In – Powers of Entry Under The Public Health Act; The Requirement for Certainty and Specificity in Building Orders and Direction Notices; Drug Testing in Family Court Proceedings; Thou Shalt Not Pass…Even Though Conditional Development Approval Says You Can!; No Duty of Care Owed….This Time;

August 2018

Vendor Warranties in Business Sales – Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep; Useful Tools for Navigating Co-Parenting; Why Councillors View Compliance Sections as an Important Pillar of the Council; Caveats Series – Part 1: What is a caveat?; Social Media and Family Law – What to Post and What Not to Post When Going Through a Divorce; Contesting Wills – Insight from Power v Smart (2018) WASC 168; Judicial Interpretation of Policies of Insurance – Not as Dull as it Sounds;

July 2018

Cyber Liability Insurance – Insuring the Intangible; Don’t Delay If You Think You Have a Claim Against a Deceased’s Estate; Yet Another Man Behaving Badly – Sending Inappropriate Emails and Text Messages; When it Comes to Workers Compensation, When is a Travelling Expense Not a Travelling Expense? Battle of the Clauses; Providing a Villa for One’s Own Benefit is Not ‘Land Used for a Charitable Purpose’ ; WA Supreme Court Doubles Down on What Constitutes ‘Reasonable Restriction’ When Examining Restraint Clauses in Employment Contracts; SAT Determines Validity of Developer Contribution; Superannuation and the Age Pension where Injury Causes Reduced Life Expectancy – Compensable Loss?; Arbitrator’s Decision WorkCover WA – Preference of One Medical Opinion Over Another; Employer Attendance at Medical Consultations – the Rules;

June 2018

Sexual Harassment and Bullying – an Ongoing Challenge for the Modern Workplace; Mortgagees Need a Vesting Order; Landlords and Tenants Beware, Know Your Occupier Liability Rights and Obligations and Ensure You Insure; SAT – Costs Application in Review Proceedings Dismissed; Involved with Planning Approvals in WA? There May be Changes Ahead…; The Family Law System Review: What You Need To Know;

April 2018

Twitter Cost Me My Job – The Risks of Discussing Employment Online; The Stage of Development is Important When Applying the Deemed Planning Provisions; Interaction between Section 60 and Section 61 in the WA Workers Compensation Scheme – Appeal to District Court and then to Court of Appeal, WA Supreme Court; New GST Withholding Regime on “New” Residential Property; Businesses Take Note – Whistleblower Protection Reform is Imminent; What is Considered Property in Family Law and When Can I Get Rid of His or Her Stuff?;

March 2018

Documents Provided to an Expert – Have You Waived Privilege?; Superannuation Splitting and Family Law – WA De Facto Couples; Hold On Don’t Enforce the Judgment, I’ve Lodged an Appeal; Work Related or Not Work Related? Tragic South Australian Fatality in the Headlines; Workers on Visas – Can They Claim Workers’ Compensation?;

February 2018

Worrying Wildlife at Work in WA?; Awarding Compensation for Permanent Impairment Sustained Minutes Before Death – Could It Happen Here?; Appeals from WorkCover WA to District Court of WA – What is a Question of Law?;

January 2018

5 Common Family Law Myths, Misconceptions and Inaccuracies; Did You Renew the Last ‘Maximum Term Contract’ – If Not, Be Prepared to Fight an Unfair Dismissal Action;

December 2017

Moving with Children: The Law on Relocation and Recovery; Assessing Damages for Injuries Sustained as a 7-Year Old 14 Years Later; The R-Codes and the Deemed Provisions; WA Worker Attends Work Out of Usual Work Hours Not to Undertake Normal Duties but to Complete a Form and is Injured – is the Injury Compensable? Appeal to WA District Court; But What About the Cows? The Importance of a Clearly Drafted Will; The Defendant’s Application to Dismiss the Plaintiff Due to an Invalid Election Considered by the District Court;

November 2017

The Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Amendment Bill 2017 (WA) – What You Need to Know; WA Bushfires Planning and Building Regulations – Designed to Increase the Chances of Survival in a Bushfire; Supreme Court of South Australia Increases Exemplary Damages Award; Marriage of 14 Year Old Held Invalid by Family Court of Western Australia; Impending Insurance Indemnity Ruled Not Enough to Set Aside a Statutory Demand; Promised the Family Property but the Promise Has Been Broken – Insight from Currie v Currie [No 2] [2017] WASC 312; Rule of Forfeiture Extended: Supreme Court Upholds American Authority That You Cannot Indirectly Benefit from a Criminal Act;

October 2017

Full Court Upholds Controversial Sunday Penalty Rates Decision; Unsent Text Message Valid as a Will; WA Industrial Relations System Review – a Waste of Time?; Child Support and Adult Child Maintenance – What Am I Obligated to Pay?; WA Workers’ Compensation – Connection between Reasonable Treatment and a Compensable Injury; The Limits on Non-conforming Use Exemptions; Forging New Law in Insolvency – Cases and Developments Coming Out of the Collapse of the Forge Group;

September 2017

Whistleblower Protection Reform takes a step forward, with rewards for Whistleblowers on the Table; Lost in Cyber Space – “Danger, Will Robinson!”; Stress Claim on Appeal in the District Court of WA – Section 5 of the WA Act and Meaning of “Discipline”, “Wholly or Predominantly” and “Unreasonable and Harsh”; He Either had Nic Naitanui-like Skills or the Boundary Line was too Close to the Fence; Being a FIFO Parent after a Divorce or Separation; When is a DOCA not “the” DOCA?;

August 2017

Labour Hire Lessons for WA: a Pain in the Neck?; Sour Grapes: Supermarket Liability in Causal Act of Negligence; A Mighty Relief for Insolvency Practitioners: Holding DOCAs upheld by WA Court of Appeal; Am I in a Defacto Relationship?; The Bunnings ABN Scam and the Contractor v Employee Debate; My Will and the Effect of Marriage, Separation and Divorce; There is no such Thing as Retrospective Planning Approval: Supreme Court Confirms; Don’t Ask Me: Properly Proofing Your Client To Give Evidence;

July 2017

Forging New Law in Insolvency – the Collapse of the Forge Group; Driving into Danger – Breach of Duty of Care; 404 error: Cyber Security for Business; A Long Saga Ends With Dismissal of Appeal in Relation to Claimed Psychiatric Injury; WA Court of Appeal Dismisses Appeal by Freeway Truck Driver;

June 2017

The FWC Decision to Phase in Changes to Penalty Rates – Key Dates; Injury on a Work Trial and the Question of Incapacity; Increased Compensation for Workplace Fatalities in WA on the Cards; Estate Planning and Capacity: the Importance of Planning for the Future Early; A Slip, but not a Banana Skin – Supermarket Damages Claim Denied;

May 2017

Changes to Threshold and Rate for Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding Payments (May 2017); Whistleblower Protections in Corporate Australia: Issues, Developments and Best Practices; Dolphins, Boats, Tickets, Waves and Waivers; A Timely Refresher on Director Penalties for Unpaid Super – is your company Superbad?; WA CTP Motor Vehicle Crash Claim – Liability apportioned 70% – 30% in favour of defendant;

April 2017

Stress claim at WorkCover WA on appeal to District Court of Western Australia; Mobile Phones and Cancer – the Next Asbestos?; Griffin Coal – The end of the Never Never, is it the death knell for traditional union approaches to bargaining?; Self-Represented Plaintiff Fails to Prove Negligence in his Claim for Common Law Damages in the WA District Court;

March 2017

The High Court Clarifies that Subsequent Owners May Not Claim for Injurious Affection; Injury at Work and Again While Being Rehabilitated, Injury or Not? Reasonableness of Treatment; Insolvency Practitioners have a Win on Fees and Holding DOCAs, for now; Australian Privacy Principles and Data Breach – New Measures Planned; Employees, Subcontractors and Contractors – a Detailed Examination of Liability and Apportionment Principles; Court Declines to Make Statutory Will;

February 2017

Section 60 – when a genuine dispute is not enough; Guilty Company? Directors and Officers May Have to Prove Their Own Innocence; What is the meaning of “error of law” and “a question of law is involved” in a workers’ compensation context?; Interpretation of Delay and Material Prejudice in the WA CTP Scheme; Employees on Social Media – the Importance of Context;

January 2017

Is Your Transfer of Farming Property between Family Members Eligible for the Duty Exemption?; The Unavoidable Accident – Causation in the WA CTP Motor Vehicle Scheme; Is Your Llama Registered?; Damages Awarded for Unacceptable Delay in Diagnosis and Treatment of Medical Condition;

December 2016

Aged Care Accommodation Need Not Be Subsidised to be ‘Charitable’; What Can Enable a Local Government to Withhold/Not Issue a Building Permit?; A Two Motorcycle Crash in the WA ICWA CTP Scheme; What Does the Family Court Take Into Account When Determining Property Entitlements?; Costs Order Made Against a Worker by an Arbitrator at WorkCover WA Upheld by WA District Court Judge;

November 2016

The New Associations Incorporations Act 2015 (WA) – Powers of the Commissioner; Be Aware – Unfair Contract Terms Extended to Protect Small Business; Retrospective Approval – “A Misnomer”; What is an Advanced Health Directive (Living Will) and should I have one?;

October 2016

The New Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) – Administration and Winding Up; Recent WA CTP District Court Decisions – Self Represented Plaintiffs; Stand-Down Not Unreasonable and Harsh – Makes Sense; What You Need to Know About Children and Separation – Who Decides?;

September 2016

The New Associations Incorporations Act 2015 (WA) – Statutory Management; Recent WA and NSW CTP decisions relating to assessment of liability and contributory negligence; Confirming the Scope of Section 61 Applications in the WA WorkCover Jurisdiction; Protecting a Party’s Position by Injunction to Prevent Irreparable Harm;

August 2016 for ICWA

WA CTP Assessment of Damages in Motor Crash Litigation; The New Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) – Reviews and Audits; ATO and Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding Tax – Changes Every Person Needs to Know when Selling or Buying Property in Australia; WA Supreme Court Rules on Jurisdiction in International Arbitrations; Seven Years Too Long: Time Limits for Making a Claim on an Estate;

August 2016

The New Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) – Reviews and Audits; ATO and Foreign Resident Capital Gains Withholding Tax – Changes Every Person Needs to Know when Selling or Buying Property in Australia; WA Supreme Court Rules on Jurisdiction in International Arbitrations; WA CTP Assessment of Damages in Motor Crash Litigation; Seven Years Too Long: Time Limits for Making a Claim on an Estate;

July 2016

The New Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) – Financial Reporting and Accountability; Sometimes Minesite Banter Isn’t a Joke – You Could Lose Your Job for It; Sale of Land Amendment Bill 2016; The Hidden Value of Written Facts in the Magistrates Court; Promised the Farm but No Succession Plan – What are my rights?; Disclosure Obligation and Consequences of Non-Disclosure;

June 2016

The New Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) – The Duties of Officers; Anshun Estoppel – The Risks Of Waiting, 25 Years On; District Court Assessment of Damages in the Western Australian CTP scheme;

May 2016

Section 61 Notices and the WA Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act; Recent Changes to the Building Regulations 2012 that Affect Barriers to Private Swimming Pools; The New Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) – The Management; How Not To Get Singed By The New Building Bush Fire Regulations; When is an Executor Entitled to be Paid?;

April 2016

The New Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) – The Rules; Getting Your Notices Right – When Near Enough is Not Good Enough; District Court Jurisdiction – WorkCover Appeal Filed Out Of Time?; What is Constructive Dismissal?; WA Worker Accepts Offer To Settle Claim Before Passing – The Consequences Of No Settlement Documents Being Signed; An Overview of Unreasonable Director Related Transactions; Be Careful When Choosing Furniture For Your Patrons; The Law Of Confidential Information – Leave The Customer List Behind; Court Of Appeal Does The Hard Yards On Factual Analysis;

March 2016

The New Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) – The Key Reforms; Metro Central Joint Development Assessment Panel Decision Set Aside; A Timely Reminder about Time – the Consequences of Missing a Common Law Limitation Date in the WA Workers Compensation and Common Law Scheme; Court Directions for Trustees, Executors and Administrators; Calculation of Weekly Earning – We Thought This Was Being Fixed?; Why You Should Immediately Consult a Lawyer on Your Family Provision Act (WA) Claim;

February 2016

Recent Judgment of Fair Work Commission Potentially Exposes Employers to Increased Notice Payments; Executor Told To Stop Dithering; Recent Example of What Constitutes Disentitling Conduct in Family Provision Cases; Councillors in Western Australia to Disclose Gifts and Contributions to Travel within 10 Days and Online; A Policy is Not Enough – Company Held Vicariously Liable for Discrimination by Employee;

January 2016

Two New Supreme Court Decisions Affecting Local Government Prosecutions; Workers Compensation – State of Connection Revisited; Workplace Accident – Do You Need a Lawyer?; Within the Limitation Period but Abusing the Process – A Cautionary Tale; Go Ahead Given to Amend Strata Titles Act – Overview of Proposed Changes;

December 2015

5 Things You Need To Know – New Planning Requirements For Bushfire Prone Areas; Workers’ Compensation WA – Getting Your Fair Share; Family Provision Act Claims – When Executors are left “Holding The Baby”; Occupational Safety and Health – Getting Burned Twice;

November 2015

Bullying In The Workplace – An Update; Partial Capacity Entitlement – Not Something for Another Day; Specific Performance or Rectification; What Happens If I Die Without a Will?; Private: Multiple Stress Claims, Section 5(4) Exclusions in WA Workers Compensation Scheme;

October 2015

Speedy and Fair Conduct of WorkCover WA Proceedings; Top 10 Risks in Shareholders Agreements; Role of the Superintendent in Construction Projects; Employers’ Indemnity Insurance – Recovery Claim “Shunned”; Risk Management for Event Organisers from a Legal Perspective; Making a Will for a Person Lacking Capacity;

September 2015

Procedural Fairness in Dealing with Allegations of Bullying; State of Connection Refined; Commencement Date for PPSA Changes; Conflict and Bias in Dog Attack Case;

August 2015

Principles of OSH Liability in WA Where Principals Engage Specialist Contractors; Local Governments To Ensure Contractors Do Not Exploit Workers; The A – Z of Insolvent Trustees; Do As You Wish, Just Be Clear; How to Manage Workers’ Compensation Claims – Inhouse Counsel; Maximising the Value of Written Legal Advice;

July 2015

High Income Threshold Increases – the Effect on Unfair Dismissal; The Cost of Doing (WorkCover) Business; Is Your Estate Plan Up To Scratch?; Winky Pop and the Quasi-Judicial Role of Council; No Damages for Worker Who Tripped Over Box; Exercising Discretion in Decision Making; Don’t Play with Fire;

June 2015

Occupiers Liable to Rescuers for Personal Injury; Work Health and Safety Harmonisation Status in Western Australia; Powers of Entry for Local Governments; Incident Reports – Obligation or Best Practice?; Strata Titles Act Reform Update; Can the Family Court Force Me Into Equal Shared Care of My Child?;

May 2015

Heavy Fine for Systemic Failures Leading to Road Death; How Can a Landlord Best Protect Their Rights from an Insolvent Tenant; Are Local Governments the Owners of Land Under Management Orders?; Workers’ Compensation and Workplace Bullying; I Won, Now Pay My Costs!; Is Evidence Collected Illegally Always Inadmissible?; Who Decides Who Decides? Delegation in Local Government;

April 2015

PPS eh? Statutory review of the Personal Property Securities Act — the Final Report; Marijuana User Fails in Bid for Reinstatement; Setting Aside Statutory Demands . . . on Conditions; Knowledge and Approval of a Will; Disclosure Obligation and Consequences of Non-Disclosure;

March 2015

Opening the Floodgates: Annual Leave Loading is Payable Upon Termination; Fall from Balcony – Plaintiff Fails on Cause and Negligence; Recognising Parent and Child Relationships – Part 1; Recognising Parent and Child Relationships – Part 2; Liability Alert: How Healthy are Your Employment and Contracting Arrangements?; The Risks of Using a Will Kit;

February 2015

$25 Million is Adequate Provision; Jurisdiction of the SAT Clarified; The Exceptions to the Indefeasibility of Torrens Title; Death and Social Media Account Access; Property Settlement and Inheritance Misconceptions;

January 2015

Major Property Developer Hit for Extra Transfer Duty; Significant Change to ATO Position on Distribution of Marital Property; Damages Awarded for “Revenge Porn”; That’s Not What We Thought It Would Mean!; Injurious Affection for the “New” Owners; New Supreme Court Appeal Case Confirms Mocilac Decision;

December 2014

Surviving the Silly Season; Delegations, Authorisations and Amalgamations; False or Misleading Representations in Property Transactions; Liquidation no Protection Against Occupational Safety and Health Act Prosecution; When do Orders become Final and Binding?;

November 2014

Compensation for Compulsory Acquisition; Lease Dispute Arbitration Award Appeal Denied; Effect of Amalgamation on Local Government Owned Land and Property Leases; On Yer bike?; Liquidators’ Tax Liability; Builder not Liable for Negligence of Contractor; When Is “Late”, “Too Late” to Apply to SAT for a Review?; Sharing the Burden of Catastrophic Injury; Keeping up with New ‘Disability Parking’ Regulations;

October 2014

Amalgamation and Regional Local Governments; Ferry Driver Terminated for Marijuana Use – Compliance With Drug Policy Enforced; Court Authorises The Delay In Vesting A Trust In Order To Defer Tax Liabilities; Privacy and Sporting Organisations; Bullying In The Workplace – An Update; The Ins & Outs of Supervised Contact; Tick Tock, The Clock’s On: Time Limits For Making A Claim On An Estate;

September 2014

No Change to Employer Obligations – Mutual Trust and Confidence Term Struck Down; Statutory Demands – How to Prove an Offsetting Claim; Changes to Laws Affecting Incorporated Associations in Western Australia Update; Forcing Amalgamations – Update 5; Highway Hauliers, Final Roll – High Court Dismisses Appeal; Effect of Amalgamation on Crown Land under Management Orders; The 5Z Protection for Local Government; Is Your Service Charge Invalid?; Family Law and Bankruptcy: Does One Affect the Other?;