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Resources
Protection Works
If your neighbour is undertaking building works close to the boundary of your property, the Building Act 1993 (Vic)(Building Act) may require them to carry out ‘protection works’ to ensure ...
When does the clock start running? Service of payment claims via a cloud-based information system
In BCS Infrastructure Support Pty Ltd v Jones Lang Lasalle (NSW) Pty Ltd [2020] VSC 739, Stynes J considered the service of payment claims via a cloud network, and when ...
Security of payment claims and service by couriers
In Method Constructions Australia Pty Ltd v ABI Investment Holdings (Melbourne) Pty Ltd [2020] VCC 1797, Judicial Registrar Burchell considered whether a payment claim delivered by a courier was a ...
Biosecurity Act or Public Health and Wellbeing Act? Full Court considers the operation of an exclusion clause in an insurance policy
The consideration by the courts of exclusion clauses in insurance policies relating to pandemics is continuing. In this most recent decision, business losses caused by a state lockdown were held ...
New South Wales Court of Appeal finds for policy holders over insurers
In a decision that is anticipated to have wide ramifications, the New South Wales Court of Appeal handed down a decision on 18 November 2020 in the case of HDI ...
Government set to impose financial penalties on parties for ‘unfair contract terms’
It’s no secret that the Australian Consumer Law protects consumers and small businesses from unfair terms in contracts. For example, earlier this year, Uber Eats was forced to remove standard ...
Warming to freezing orders – the protection of employment related intellectual property
A freezing order, or Mareva injunction, is a mechanism that can be imposed by a court to freeze another party’s assets. A party may apply for a freezing order prior ...
The ultimate alibi? Probation periods and termination rights
Starting a new job can be a stressful experience. What can add to stress levels is how few rights a new employee has during a probationary period. Fortunately, a probation ...
Stand down ordered by private school ruled invalid by Fair Work Commission
The facts During May 2020, Peninsula Grammar in Mt Eliza moved to stand down dozens of its staff, telling them it could no longer afford to employ many of them ...
Grenfell Tower Inquiry – What you may not know
On 14 June 2017, a fire started on the fourth floor of the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, West London killing 72 people. The Grenfell Tower ...
Combustible Cladding – Progress notwithstanding a global pandemic
Combustible cladding has been at the forefront of the media and the building and legal industries since the Lacrosse tower fire in November 2014, Grenfell Tower inferno in June 2017 ...
The High Court and the potential cost of knowing assistance
A third party who assists in a dishonest or fraudulent scheme involving a breach of trust or a breach of duty is liable to find themselves on the receiving end ...
A fundamental problem: dishonesty in legal practice
When a dispute gets heated, litigants often want a ferocious advocate. Blood. Vengeance. Victory! And they pick their champion solicitors armed to the teeth with nothing more than a photocopier and ...
Claimants serving early payment claims be aware!
On 24 September 2019, Justice Digby of the Supreme Court of Victoria handed down his decision in MKA Bowen Investments Pty Ltd v Carelli Constructions Pty Ltd [2019] VSC 436. ...
Recruitment in the age of Facebook
At its very essence, Facebook’s mission is to connect people. While it may have started as a social tool, it has now become a powerful part of the recruitment process ...
Some thoughts on Covid-19 for you and your employees
You’re probably thinking “Is there anything left to say?” on this topic. Well, based on the phone and email traffic our firm has received in recent days, it appears that there is, ...
The problem with modern hot-desking and working from home arrangements
Recent office trends, such as hot-desking and working from home arrangements, are proving to be more problematic than productive. The practice of hot-desking involves the removal of individually allocated workspaces ...