NEWS

16 February 2015 The Home Building Act includes a requirement that a Builder comply with Statutory Warranties.  The Statutory Warranty Scheme has been changed to now introduce the concept of “a Major defect” to replace the previous definition of “Structural defect”.  Major defects are covered by the six year Statutory Warranty with all other defectsRead more

26 June 2015 Ban on Breastfeeding Overturned on Appeal – Family Court A Newcastle Federal Circuit Court Judge’s decision to prevent a mother from breastfeeding her 11 month old child has been unanimously overturned on appeal to the Full Bench of the Family Court. The trial judge had placed an injunction on the mother preventingRead more

07 December 2015 Generally Insurers will undertake various investigations in relation to your compensation claim.  This will include obtaining medical records, engaging an investigation, who will ordinarily carry out surveillance filming, as well as monitoring your social media use.  This is predominantly looking at your Facebook posts and an example of monitoring can be foundRead more

31 October 2011 R v Betts [2011] QCA 244 In December 2009, the applicant was playing golf with the complainant and others. His form was poor, and he began swearing and banging his club on the ground when he played a bad shot. At the sixth hole tee, the applicant struck his ball, swore andRead more

21 November 2011 If you have been a victim of crime and have suffered a physical or psychological injury as a result of an assault, sexual assault, or if you have been a victim of domestic violence, you may be able to receive compensation and/or counseling from the Victims Services. An application must be madeRead more

26 March 2012 The High Court in March 2012 overturned a decision of the Court of Appeal who found against an injured plaintiff following a slip and fall in a side walk sales area outside the entrance to a Big W store. The facts of the case were that the Plaintiff, Ms Strong was lookingRead more

01 May 2012 There were mixed fortunes for plaintiffs in the courts this week. Wyong Shire Council succeeded in its appeal against a decision of the NSW District Court in May 2011 that it should pay damages to the relatives of a young girl who was mauled to death in a dog attack. The DistrictRead 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

17 April 2015 A chef who fell and injured his wrist while rescuing a child stuck on a McDonald’s playground was successful in a personal injury claim for damages in NSW Court of Appeal. The Court found it was reasonably forseeable that a child would climb up the outside of the tunnels of the playgroundRead more

15 July 2014 “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 aRead more