May 2023 - Rosemary Saad INFORMAL WILLS IN NSW A formal Will in New South Wales follows guidelines outlined in the Succession Act 2006. If a Will does not follow these legislative guidelines, all hope is not lost! These Wills are called informal Wills and can still be considered valid by a Court in NSW. Formal or informal Wills? For a Willin NSW to be recognised as legal and binding it must be in writing; executed by
August 2022 | Ashley Lovelock A question frequently asked by clients is whether they can rely on recordings they have taken on their phone of their ex-partner or children and whether such recordings can be put into evidence and considered by a Judge in their final hearing. What does the legislation say? In NSW the recording of a private conversation is prohibited under the Surveillance Devices Act 2007 (NSW)[1]. The Act states that a person must not knowingly install,
February 2022 | Natasha Thomas COVID-19 has highlighted the contemporary need for law reform concerning the legal validity of electronic documents, and virtual company meetings. To learn more about how the law has adapted to COVID-19 see our article here. Responding to these changes and pressures, on 10 February 2022 the Senate passed the Corporations Amendments (Meetings and Documents) Bill 2021, its reforms permanently modernising corporation law. The reforms outlined in this legislation include: allowing companies to hold meetings
January 2022 | Natasha Thomas COVID-19 restrictions presented unique legal challenges for companies, including the ability to hold in-person meetings and validly execute documents. Responding to this, in 2020 the Australian Government amended the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) to allow companies or registered schemes to employ virtual meeting technology. The changes to the law permitted companies or registered schemes to: hold virtual meetings; distribute meeting-related documents in electronic form; and execute documents electronically. With COVID-19 showing limited signs
January 2021 | Jonathan Harris Creating your Will shouldn’t be a stressful task we are here to help. This article provides guidance on how to avoid commonly made mistakes when planning for you and your loved ones futures. Plan! The biggest mistake you could make is not to plan. To ensure your assets are passed onto the intended beneficiaries, it is important that you create a valid Will. Seek legal advice Seeking legal advice when creating your Will can
July 2020 | Jonathan Harris The Full Court of the Federal Court in WorkPac Pty Ltd v Rossato [2020] FCAFC 84 (Rossato) has again confirmed that a ‘casual’ employee who works systematic and regular hours is entitled to the same paid leave entitlements as permanent employees. Facts Between 28 July 2014 and 9 April 2018 Mr. Rossato was a mine-worker employed by recruitment agency WorkPac for companies within the Glencore Group. Between these dates Mr. Rossato was employed under
April 2020 | Scott Freidman The Spanish flu lasted from January 1918 to December 1920. 500 million people were infected and the death toll is estimated to have been anywhere from 17 million to 100 million. Australia was not immune and it is believed to have been carried to our shores through returning WWI soldiers. Australia lost about 15,000 people. How did the NSW government respond to the Spanish flu pandemic? In fact, very quickly! In November of 1918
April 2020 | Scott Freidman Moratorium legislation is typically enacted in periods of civil unrest e.g. wars and recession. However, moratorium legislation can also be effective during periods of pandemic chaos. The word ‘moratorium’ is defined as “a temporary prohibition of an activity”. In a legal context, ‘moratorium legislation’ effects a temporary suspension of certain laws until such time as the suspension becomes unnecessary or issues related to the suspension have been resolved. The Federal Government has announced a
April 2020 | Jonathan Harris In view of the outbreak of COVID-19, more and more office employees are being forced or encouraged to work from home where possible. As such, office employees must not forget to claim the tax deductions hiding in their home offices. On Tuesday, 7 April 2020, the ATO announced that taxpayers working from home could now claim 80 cents per hour for all of their running expenses (Shortcut Method), rather than calculating specific costs under
April 2020 | Kieran Kelly The JobKeeper wage subsidy announced by the Federal Government last week was greeted with open arms by businesses and employees across Australia. Affected businesses will qualify for the subsidy if: they have a turnover less than $1 billion and turnover has decreased by at least 30%; or they have a turnover greater than $1 billion and turnover has decreased by at least 50%. Employees will be eligible if they: were employed by an eligible business
March 2020 | Scott Freidman On Wednesday, 25 March 2020, legislation came into effect giving the NSW Parliament powers to make new laws concerning residential tenancies in NSW to urgently address the unfolding health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The name of this legislation is the COVID-19 Legislation Amendment (Emergency Measures) Act 2020 (COVID-19 Act). The COVID-19 Act is designed to enable the NSW Parliament to pass legislation urgently, as and when needed, to protect the
March 2020 | Kieran Kelly As businesses grind to a halt we have received many enquiries in relation to the rights of commercial landlords and tenants as the payment of rent becomes either difficult or impossible. The unprecedented measures introduced by the government to stem COVID-19 have already had a catastrophic impact on Australian businesses. The most sharply affected are those whose doors have already been ordered shut. They include pubs, restaurants, cafes, cinemas and gyms. As the economy
