Australia

It is a principle of administrative law that government decision-makers should be required to fulfill the legitimate expectations that they have created. Where a decision-maker has failed to satisfy a legitimate expectation in the process of arriving at the decison, the decision may be challenged. The doctrine of legitimate expectation came to prominence in 1994.…

A letter of demand is usually sent when a person is owed money and has tried unsuccessfully to get payment. It is usually the last step taken before commencing legal proceedings. A letter of demand states the amount owed, what it is owed for and when the amount needs to be paid. It often includes…

Estoppel is a judicial doctrine that exists in various common law jurisdictions. Its purpose is to achieve equity in contractual matters by preventing (estopping) a person from going back on their word. Estoppel can be argued where one party has relied on a promise or representation made by another party and suffered a detriment as…

An injunction is an order of the court which prevents a person from doing a certain act or thing or requires a person to do a certain act or thing. In family law cases, a party may apply for an injunction either in relation to a parenting matter or a financial matter. Parenting matters  In…

An issue that frequently arises during property settlement proceedings is how to treat legal fees that have been paid by parties. Most commonly, this occurs in the context of one party arguing that paid legal fees should be notionally added back into the asset pool. This increases the size of the asset pool available for…

Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week announced that the government will convene a Joint Parliamentary Committee of both the House and Senate to conduct an enquiry into the family law system. The family law system has already been subject to two extensive reviews in the last two years. The Terms of Reference that have been…

Under international law, workers have a right to take industrial action. The United Nations has called the right to strike “one of the principal means by which workers and their associations may legitimately promote and defend their economic and social interests”. It has been accepted as an industrial right since the early days after World…

Whilst Australia has legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race and disability, it does not currently have anti-discrimination laws protecting religious freedom. In recent weeks, liberal MPs have been calling for a Religious Discrimination Act to be passed, following the same model as existing anti-discrimination legislation, which forbids discrimination in employment and…

Under the Evidence Act 1995, everyone is presumed to be competent to give evidence and any competent witness can be compelled to give evidence. However, the presumption of competence can be rebutted if a party can demonstrate that the person lacks capacity. The act also sets up exceptions to this rule. When is a person…

The Migration Act 1958 empowers the Immigration Minister to intervene in a case in certain circumstances. The minister can substitute a decision that has been made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), with a more favourable decision. Ministerial intervention is discretionary. The minister is not obliged to intervene in any case. What powers does the minister have?…

A person charged with a criminal offence is not guilty if they can show that they committed the acts because of a sudden or extraordinary emergency that would have caused any person with ordinary powers of self-control to act the same. Onus of proof When an accused raises the defence of sudden or extraordinary emergency,…

In family law proceedings each party will normally be expected to bear his or her own legal costs. However, a court has a discretion to order one party to pay the costs of another party in some circumstances. It is important to consider whether such circumstances apply before applying for costs orders. When can courts…

There is a long history of Australian states and territories criminalising public drunkenness. In various forms, laws have existed making it an offence to be intoxicated in public for the last 200 years. The laws have long been criticised for being unevenly enforced, with a disproportionate number of Aboriginal people being arrested for behaviour that…

Hundreds of people yesterday protested outside the Sydney office of Home Affairs against the continuing use of Temporary Protection Visas for people found to be genuine refugees. Temporary Protection Visas, which have been used since the 1990s, have long been criticised for the uncertainty they bring to refugees who have been through trauma and want…

In May 2019, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia decided an application to exclude video recordings made in secret from evidence in a parenting matter. The secret recordings had been made by the mother in the matter when the father was attending her home for hand overs of the children. There were also two audio…

In March 2019, the Full Court of the Family Court decided an application in the parenting matter of Mahoney v Dieter. The mother in the matter sought the variation of orders made by the Family Court Division of the District Court of New Zealand on the basis that there had been a change of circumstances…