The ACNC has extended its previously announced regulatory relief for charities until the end of 2020. See: https://www.acnc.gov.au/raise-concern/regulating-charities/how-we-ensure-charities-meet-their-obligations/acnc-compliance This relief includes: Governance Standard 5 – A moratorium of ACNC regulatory action for insolvent trading and the removal of the previous condition attaching to this relief of informing members. The conditions attaching to this ACNC relief … Read more

As many are aware the Australian Government has announced cuts to payments under the JobKeeper Scheme but has extended their life spans. The tapering of the payments will occur in the December and March quarters, with the second phase of the JobKeeper Scheme to be rolled out in two tiers. Amongst the various changes that … Read more

In Silver v Amaca Pty Ltd,[1] the defendant applied under s 65A of the Jury Act 1995 for an order that the trial proceed without a jury because it would require a prolonged examination of records. On 28 August 2020, the Supreme Court of Queensland dismissed the defendant’s application because lengthy documents are insufficient per … Read more

In Solomon Woldeyohannes v Zion Church in Melbourne Australia Inc [2020] FWC 4194, a relationship breakdown occurred between the Zion Church in Melbourne (“the church”) and one of its pastors, Solomon Woldeyohannes (“the applicant”). As a result, a claim for unfair dismissal under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (“the Act”) was made. On 11 … Read more

Key issues: An Australian employer was ordered to pay $52,100 compensation to an employee who was pregnant at the time her employment was terminated. On 21 August 2020, the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission (Commission) in Compuworld Pty Ltd v Liu [2020] FWCFB 4250 refused permission to the employer to appeal against the original decision of … Read more

The Corney and Lind Employment Team represented Ms Liu throughout these proceedings. On 22 May 2020, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) found (in Liu v Compuworld Pty Ltd [2020] FWC 2569) that, by dismissing Ms Liu, an unlawful adverse action was taken against her by her employer, Compuworld. The Case Ms Liu worked for Compuworld Pty … Read more

Student’s Poor Performance – Who is to blame? What happens when a school fails to deliver the grades a parent expects, or students’ needs to get in university? With concerns around the ability to teaching during COVID-19, and its effects on students’ performance, the question arises as to whether a school could be held liable … Read more

Unfair Dismissal? – Hooshmand v Cater Care Australia Operations Pty Ltd [2020] FWC 4371 On 27 March 2020, as the risk of a COVID-19 pandemic in Australia became heightened, Mr Hooshmand (‘the employee’) arrived to work for Catering Care Operations Pty Ltd (“Cater Care”). He had been employed with Cater Care for over six years … Read more

Historical Child Sexual Abuse Lawrence v Christian Bros [2020] WADC 27 In February of this year, Chief Justice Herron of the District Court of Western Australia ordered that catholic religious organisation, Christian Brothers, pay $1,329,500.00 in damages to Mr. John Thomas Lawrence. The case concerns systemic and traumatic child sexual abuse against Mr. Lawrence which … Read more

Victorians are currently experiencing a significant economic recession as a result of the new lockdowns restrictions. Businesses have been forced to close doors and Victorians are forced to self-isolate in an attempt to contain the spread of covid-19. In response to this situation, on 7 August 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced the easing … Read more

Messy gym floor Case: Powell v JFIT Holdings Pty Ltd t/as New Dimensions Health and Fitness Centre [2020] NSWDC 264 Date of judgement: 4 June 2020 Background On the 4th February 2016, a fit and healthy 42-year-old Ms Powell attended her usual gym to find weights littered around the gym floor. Ms Powell had to … Read more

Jobkeeper Extended On the 21st of July 2020, the government announced proposed changes to the JobKeeper Scheme in exercising its power under section 20 of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package (Payments and Benefits) Rules 2020. The proposed changes are to extend JobKeeper until 28 March 2021 for businesses and organisations that continue to be affected by … Read more

If you’ve ever entered into a consumer agreement only to find yourself with a product or service that falls utterly short of what was promised, it’s possible that you were misled or deceived into entering into the agreement. By section 18 of Australian Consumer Law (ACL), it is stated that in “trade or commerce”, a … Read more

I am sure you have seen the headlines that appear in the news every few days about a store being robbed, cars being stolen, or homes being broken into. Whilst these offences may overlap or share some common characteristics, stealing, robbery and burglary are different offences under the Queensland Criminal Code. This article explains the … Read more

What is repetitive strain injury? A repetitive strain injury is a term used to describe an injury sustained over a period of time as a result of repetitive overuse. This causes inflammation and damage to soft tissues such as muscles, tendons and nerves overtime. This is most common amongst employments that require repetitive manual labour … Read more

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, many people are now working from home for the first time. This raises the question – what happens if I get injured while working from your home office? Will my injury still be covered under the usual WorkCover claims process? What is a work-related injury? ‘A personal injury arising out … Read more

The Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (the Act) establishes a workers’ compensation scheme for Queensland – providing benefits for workers who sustain an injury in their employment. The Act outlines employers’ obligation to be covered against liability for compensation and damages either under a WorkCover insurance policy or under a licence as a self-insurer.[1] … Read more

Whether your business is struggling to pay its creditors due to the impacts of COVID-19 or for any other reasons, a looming question arises as to whether there are any options that can be undertaken to save your business. One such option worth exploring is a process called Voluntary Administration (“VA”). What is VA? VA … Read more

In litigation, the predominant job of a judge is to interpret legal texts. In fact, interpreting legal texts comprises of an estimated 90% of their work. There are many rules that are applicable to the interpretation of contracts, including: Ejusdem generis: denoting a rule for interpreting statutes and other writings by assuming that a general … Read more

The case of Biondi & Koen [2020] FamCA 201 was urgently listed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] Background The Mother was an international student who arrived in Australia from Brazil in 2015. The parties had a brief and casual sexual relationship in April 2016. The Mother fell pregnant with the parties’ child. The … Read more