NEWS

The Claimant was involved in a motor vehicle accident on 1 December 2012 during the course of a motor car rally in the Coopernook State Forest. The Claimant was a passenger in a vehicle driven by his son which had an unregistered vehicle permit. In accordance with that permit, a third party insurance policy underRead more

“Workplace” Clarified by Sexual Harassment Case In a recent decision, the Federal Court held that the term “a workplace” is broad and may include a range of venues and locations, depending upon the surrounding circumstances and the conduct of workplace participants. A recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia is a reminder to employeesRead more

Very interesting statistics from the Sydney Morning Herald today – article below. This change was introduced by the current NSW Liberal Government and has had severe implications for injured workers. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/thousands-lose-workers-compensation-benefits-with-new-scheme-report-20150305-13vmho.htmlRead more

The Fair work commission recently upheld BHP’s decision to sack a worker for failing to shave his goatee. The worker said having his facial hair was a right. BHP said a clean shave was necessary for the proper operation of respiratory equipment. Read more here:Read more

Have you recently been dismissed from your employment after providing 5 years or more of service? Have you been with your current employer for more than 5 years? You may have certain entitlements to long service leave payments. There is a common misconception that Long Service Leave entitlements only become payable if you have beenRead more

The NSW Supreme Court was asked by worker to consider whether a decision by the Workers’s Compensation Commission approved medical specialists appeal panel was afflicted by jurisdictional error. The decision regarded a worker’s degree of permanent impairment. The worker , Mr El Masri sought to quash their decision and remit that decision to the RegistrarRead more

08 July 2014 Changes in the law expand the areas of possible sex discrimination. Now discrimination on the basis of sexual preference, gender identity or intersex status is outlawed. Previously, federal law only examined discrimination on the basis of “sexual preference” in the area of employment or occupation. The definition of gender identity has beenRead more

01 July 2015 Next time you drink at your office Christmas party, you may find there are some consequences for behaving badly. Read the SMH Link here:Read more

07 October 2014 Who owns assets purchased in a partner’s name has recently been considered Higashida v Sarto (2014) NSWSC 1291 in that case the Plaintiff, Mr Higashida and the Defendant Ms Sarto had been in relationship from about 2010 to the end of 2013.  The Plaintiff had separated from his wife but not yetRead more

06 November 2014 The case of Lind and SDSS (2014) AATA 680 demonstrates the difficulty an applicant faces when trying to establish the existence of ‘special circumstances’ to obtain relief from a preclusion period preventing access to social welfare benefits. While the policy direction of Part 3.14 of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) may be a sensible one, i.e. to prevent doubleRead more