Civil Law

A tenancy agreement does not necessarily end when the property is sold. A purchaser buys a property subject to any lease agreement that is in place prior to the purchase. If a tenanted property is to be sold while the tenant continues to lease it, the landlord must take steps to ensure that the tenant’s…

Disputes can occur between neighbours for a range of reasons such as shared fences, trees noise and animals. When a neighbourhood dispute arises it is always best to try to resolve it directly with the neighbour. If this is not possible, it may be appropriate to seek the assistance of a mediation service. If the…

Acclaimed author Fiona Wright was last week refused entry onto a Qantas flight From Sydney to Alice Springs, resulting in her missing the NT Writers’ Festival. Wright claims the decision was ‘out and out discrimination’ against her as a person who suffers from a mental illness and requires the help of an assistance dog. She…

Neighbourhood disputes can arise over many everyday matters, such as pets, trees, dividing fences or noise. In many cases, neighbourhood disputes can be resolved informally, by talking about the situation and listening to each other’s point of view. Where this does not solve the problem, mediation can be used to arrive at a mutually acceptable…

The 1959 High Court decision of Jones v Dunkel established an important principle of evidence law, which has become known as the Jones v Dunkel rule. The case concerned an action in negligence where the defendant failed to give evidence in circumstances where he could reasonably be expected to have done so. The court considered…

In December 2018, the Copyright Act 1968 was amended to make it harder for Australians to engage in digital piracy by downloading music, films and other digital content for free using sites like Pirate Bay. The amendment introduced a provision allowing copyright holders to obtain injunctions requiring search engine providers to block access to sites…

The idea that the sexes should be treated equally under the law has become so widely accepted that it is easy to forget that sex discrimination laws were introduced relatively recently. The US passed laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in the 1970s. Australia followed, with the federal Sex Discrimination Act being passed…

On 30 April 2019, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) delivered a decision in the challenges brought by South African sprinter Caster Semenya and by Athletics South Africa (ASA). The champion runner and the ASA had challenged the validity of the IAAF’s eligibility requirements for competing in the female category. The CAS dismissed the…

Early this month the federal government committed to conducting a Royal Commission into the violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disabilities. The commitment came after many years of campaigning by disability advocates for such an inquiry to take place and after serious allegations of physical and sexual abuse, neglect and exploitation in the…

Disability discrimination occurs when a person who has a disability or is perceived to have a disability is treated less favourably than a person without a disability in the same circumstances. Disability discrimination can be direct or indirect. At a federal level, Disability discrimination is governed by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. What is the…

On 11 April 2019, the Federal Court of Australia handed down its decision in the matter of Rush v Nationwide News Pty Ltd. The court found that publications made by the defendant about Australian actor Geoffrey Rush contained defamatory imputations and that the defence of justification did not succeed. It awarded  Rush damages for non-economic…

Tasmania this week became the first Australian jurisdiction to make the listing of babies’ apparent sex on birth certificates optional. The Tasmanian Senate this week passed the Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage Amendment) Bill, despite the opposition of the Liberal government. Under the new legislation, Tasmanians aged over 16 will also be able to change…

Throughout the English-speaking legal world, natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis are referred to as acts of God. Acts of God are circumstances that are outside of anyone’s control and that could not be foreseen or guarded against. Acts of God may provide a defence or an exception to liability, for example, in a…

On 13 March 2019 the High Court handed down its decision in a native title compensation matter where it considered the entitlements of the Ngaliwurru and Nungali peoples to compensation for the extinguishment of their native title rights and interests. The decision marks the first time the High Court has considered a native title compensation…

For a contract to be valid, all parties must have contractual capacity. Certain classes of people do not have the capacity to contract. For example, a person who has a mental disorder that means they are unable to understand the nature of the contract, lacks contractual capacity. Persons under the age of 18 have a…

Today primary and secondary school students around the world walked out of school to demand action on climate change. Inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old who organised the first student strike over climate change in August 2018, the students striking in Australia made three specific demands to the Morrison government: Stop the Adani…