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The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and Safe Work Australia (SWA) are telling employers and employees that by and large: employers will be unable to require vaccination by their employees. employees will be unable to refuse to work because a colleague is unvaccinated. Peter McNamara says: “Employers should still be aware of public health orders could […]
Employers should be alert to current worker entitlements: Unfair Dismissal High Income Threshold; Compensation Cap for Unfair Dismissal; Redundancy Tax Free Amount; Employment Termination Payments (ETP) Lower Tax Rate Cap; Superannuation Maximum Contribution Base; and Civil Penalties for Breaches of the Fair Work Act. Unfair Dismissal High Income Threshold From 1 July 2020, the High […]
The NSW Government has given property investors and their neighbours a special Christmas present. From 18 December 2020 a new Code of Conduct applies in NSW to all short term letting. Media attention has been on the tighter rules for unruly guests with “two strikes and you’re out” rules. However, this benefit for landlords and […]
Parents can contribute funds to help their children buy a home or investment. But what happens, years down the track, when the child leaves a marriage or de facto relationship? Peter McNamara wrote previously about the case where the courts found that a daughter held a one third beneficial interest in her unit on trust for her […]
From 1 August 2020, first-home buyers in NSW will save stamp duty of up to $31,355 for purchases of new homes up to $800,000 (up from $650K), with the saving phasing out at $1 million and for vacant land up to $400,000 (up from $350K), phasing out at $500,000. You can read the announcement here. […]
Although Israel Folau recently reached a confidential settlement with Rugby Australia, the termination of Folau’s contract reinvigorated debate about religious freedom for employees and their contracts. Intuitively, perhaps, employers should only be able to restrict employees’ conduct within the workplace, whether that be an office or a rugby pitch. However, this simply is not the case! The rise of social […]
Your Intellectual Property rights were less protected from 13 September 2019! Australian corporations might once have entered intellectual property license agreements and registered trademarks without being overly concerned with competition compliance. This relaxed attitude was supported by the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the CCA) that provided a “safe haven” for such transactions, at least […]
“She’ll Be Sweet” Says Queensland Sugar – As Long As It Serves The Interests Of The Members As A Whole Private companies are occasionally caught up in “oppression” proceedings, where a shareholder alleges unfair conduct, and seeks court orders to remedy the unfairness. Charities and Not for Profits can also be caught up in oppression […]
Employers can now subscribe to industry specific COVID-19 Safety Updates at the link here. Employers should direct those responsible to subscribe to the updates for their industry sector. The initiative arises from the National Cabinet decision to develop nationally-consistent, industry-specific work health and safety (WHS) guidance on COVID-19 through Safe Work Australia, who will have […]
The COVID-19 Public Health Orders have seen many solicitors and Justices of the Peace working remotely. In response, the NSW Government has implemented the Electronic Transactions Amendment (COVID-19 Witnessing of Documents) Regulation 2020 (NSW) which came into effect on 22 April 2020 and is expected to terminate on 22 October 2020. The Regulation can be […]