Australia

Prenuptial Agreements Prenuptial Agreements are a form of a Binding Financial Agreement (BFA) covered under section 90B in the Family Law Act. A ‘prenup’ is commonly used by parties wanting to enter into a formal agreement prior to marriage regarding financial arrangements, should separation occur in the future. A prenuptial agreement is a formal document…

The Australian Consumer Law is the principal consumer protection law in Australia. It applies in the same way nationally and in every state and territory. Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), businesses are not to engage in misleading or deceptive conduct or conduct which is likely to mislead or deceive the consumer (Section 18).  A…

Unlawful dismissal, not to be confused with unfair dismissal, occurs when a person is terminated from employment in circumstances which have been expressly made unlawful. Claims for unlawful dismissal are made under the Fair Work Act and are made to the Fair Work Commission by completing this form. Even if you are employed by local…

The #MeToo movement of the last year has spawned a renewed determination among women not to tolerate sexual abuse, indecent assault or sexual harassment. Female celebrities have publicly called out the sexual misconduct of high profile males and millions of women everywhere have used the #MeToo hashtag to draw attention to the prevalence of this…

What are final Parenting Orders? Final Parenting Orders are Family Law Orders that detail the parenting arrangements for a child or children, which remain in force until the child turns 18. Final Orders can be made by a judge after hearing evidence and submissions by the parties, or by consent if all parties are in…

Over the past decade, with the interception of technological advances, the legal profession has faced significant disruption resulting in major shifts in the nature and mode of legal work. Information technology and the internet, non-lawyers competing in the legal marketplace, and costs pressure on lawyers are factors causing a change to both the role of…

Common law plays an important role in the protection of citizen’s democratic rights and freedoms. In Australia, subject to the Constitution the Commonwealth Parliament generally has the power to make laws that encroach on common law rights and freedoms. The courts’ role involves an important application of the rule of law when interpreting legislation that…

Preferential Payments to Creditors Often clients will seek legal assistance following a demand from a liquidator. A liquidator demand seeks repayment of funds received from a company that has been deemed insolvent and the liquidator in question has been appointed to wind up the firm. Where the liquidator has deemed that a payment of money…

Australian Consumer Law and Used Vehicles The application of Schedule 2 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) to the purchase of used vehicles has been the subject of considerable judicial scrutiny, even during the era of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth). The interpretation of “acceptable quality” and “rejection period” has caused some turmoil for consumers…

What is the Department of Home Affairs (DoHA)? On 20 December 2017, the Federal Government formally re-established the Department of Home Affairs to replace the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. The whole-of-government change was announced by the Prime Minister on 20 July 2017. A Ministry of Home Affairs was originally created at Federation (1901)…

What is Parental Responsibility? ‘Parental responsibility’ is presumed to be held equally by both parents of children born to, or legally adopted into, a relationship under section 61C of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) [the ‘Act’]. This means under the Act, each parent of children under 18 years of age has equal parental responsibility for…

Why Prepare for Separation? A failure to prepare for separation and divorce – the dissolution of a relationship – will often cause greatly increased costs to both parties, higher levels of mental stress and worry, time inconvenience, and possibly a large increase in personal conflict and emotional distress. Many couples who have enjoyed a long-term…

Why is the prohibition against making an affray such an important social policy? Public safety and protecting people in the community from violent behaviour is a priority for all Australian governments. There is a number of legal prohibitions in place to deal with violent or threatening anti-social behaviour, including laws against assault, stalking or harassment, sexual offences,…

Demands on Liquidity in Commercial Leasing When entering into a lease agreement, either commercial (retail or industrial) or residential, the ‘lessee’ (the person leasing the premises for use), may be able to provide bank guarantees to meet their financial liabilities to the lessor (‘landlord’). These can include, but is not restricted to, an advance on…

What Is Surrogacy? A “surrogate” is a person who acts to achieve an outcome on behalf of another person, i.e. a ‘surrogate’ is simply a substitute. So, ‘surrogate parenting’ is one person, the surrogate, carrying a foetus on behalf of another person, usually someone who is either incapable or unwilling to bear the child themselves.…

By Alicia Chisholm, GTC Lawyers During an initial consult, a client presented the following scenario: The client had engaged a local small business in Melbourne (Business) to complete a service at their home.  The service was completed to the client’s satisfaction and the Business emailed an invoice to the client for $3,000.00 from the only…