Dying intestate in Australia is generally a bad idea, both from the point of having no control over the distribution of your estate and because there is no Federal legislation governing intestacy; how it is handled will vary state to state. It’s important for people of all ages to create a will so they can dictate what happens to their assets and make it simpler for their families to navigate and handle their estate.

Recently, there was a fascinating case of alleged workplace bullying heard by the Fair Work Commission. The case concerned Mr Wang, a guest service agent at a Hilton Hotel in Darwin and his superior, Ms Lin, the Guest Relations Manager. Mr Wang alleged that Ms Lin had bullied him while at work and through social media outside of work. He decided to take legal action against Darwin International Hotels Pty Ltd after the Hilton Darwin HR Manager, Ms Jackson, dismissed his concerns that Ms Lin had bullied him and when he was subsequently passed over for a promotion.

When hiring someone, employers might hesitate to ask questions about someone’s medical history due to privacy concerns or the risk of a discrimination claim. What if the condition effects their ability to perform the role? Does the employee have a duty of disclosure, and if so, to what extent?

Earlier this week the Attorney General released a draft of the Family Law Amendment Bill 2023. The Bill is an ambitious overhaul of several key sections of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021 (Cth), that aims to improve the current Family Law System

Testamentary trusts are one of the more obscure branches of estate planning and, at first glance, appear to be very complex and only appropriate for niche situations. In truth, testamentary trusts are far less daunting than they first appear and offer a multitude of benefits for your beneficiaries, while also allowing you more control over your estate than a run of the mill will would allow. 

What does this mean for your workplace?

When dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace, the onus has largely been on victims to make a complaint. The process is often traumatising and many victims either decide to withdraw the complaint or not make the complaint at all. The recent incidents in our own Federal Parliament can testify to the private and public anguish it can cause.

Many workers seek flexible working arrangements so that they can achieve work/life balance and juggle their other responsibilities outside workplace. However, what happens when such a request clashes with the operational needs of the business? What if it impacts business productivity?

The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Coercive Control) Bill 2022 (NSW) passed parliament on Wed 16 Nov 2022. It creates a dedicated offence for coercive control under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).

In today’s modern age of smartphones, smartwatches and other electronic devices, recording audio and video in real-time is ever easier. The cost of installing recording devices in the home and business premises has also gone down. Given the prominence of such devices in our daily lives, questions about privacy and limitation of their use comes into question. For example, can we record private conversations? Can we use them as evidence in a dispute?

In April 2022, the High Court heard a case concerning the mental health of an employee and the employer’s duty to their employee. In Kozarov v State of Victoria, Ms Kozarov suffered post-traumatic stress disorder because of the type of cases she dealt with as part of the Victorian Office of Public Prosecution’s Specialist Sexual Offences Unit. She sued the Office of Public Prosecution (OPP) because they had failed their duty of care and the case ended up before the High Court.

In May 2022, the FWC completed their four yearly review of the modern awards, including consideration of whether modern awards should be varied to include paid FDV leave. As part of its review the FWC made significant findings in relation to FDV:

When you think of domestic violence, the first thing that comes to mind is most likely physical or verbal abuse. However, domestic violence includes a wide variety of acts and behaviours, many of which you may not be aware of. One example of this is coercive control.

Matters involving relocation are often considered some of the toughest family law disputes for the parties and for judges to decide. The outcome of these cases usually means there is a clear “winner” and “loser.” The process can be lengthy, expensive and carry a significant emotional toll for everyone.

Each year the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) announces the areas they will be focusing on.

The FWO has announced their priorities for 2022-23. Their key focus remains protecting small business employers and employees and vulnerable workers.

Generally, a de facto relationship boils down to you and your partner having a relationship, living as a couple for two years but not being married. However, when a de facto relationship ends has always been somewhat unclear.

Since 2018 the National Employment Standards (“NES”) have made a provision for 5 days unpaid domestic violence leave as a minimum entitlement for all federal system employees, which is most people.

Domestic violence leave allows employees to take leave if they need to deal with family violence and/or domestic violence and it is not practical for them to do so outside of their ordinary hours of work. The employee could take the leave to go to court, communicate with the police or take steps to ensure their safety or the safety of their family.

The concept of the employee’s duty of fidelity to their employer is an implied obligation central to all employment contracts. The implied obligation is that the employee has a duty to serve their employer faithfully. Employees must also avoid situations where their interests and those of their employer conflict.

A large proportion of family law matters deal with children after the breakdown of a relationship. This leads many parents to ask: ‘What are my rights are as a parent?’

What is a Power of Attorney?

There are two main types of power of attorney:

• a general power of attorney ends when you lose the capacity to make your own decisions

• an enduring power of attorney continues even after you lose the capacity to make your own decisions.

A brief run down of what we will be covering in each seminar.