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Employers have the right to ask employees if they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to try to maintain a workplace safe from infection. This does not mean that vaccinations can be mandated by an employer, noting that the Prime Minister has repeatedly confirmed that “the vaccination program in Australia is free and not mandatory”. In practice where employers are aware of the vaccination [...]
What does the most recent round of NSW and Commonwealth Regulations mean for me and my business? With almost daily changes to restrictions, rapidly introduced legislation, increases to police powers and an adapting workplace environment staying on top of your obligations to both clients and your employees can be difficult. To provide a calm and safe environment and avoid the significant penalties which can be [...]
On the 14th of July the New South Wales Government published the Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2021. The primary objective of these new regulations is to restrict the rights of landlords under retail and other commercial leases to take action for a breach of lease by the tenant if the tenant has been 'impacted' by COVID-19. A tenant is "impacted" if they qualify [...]
Since 2010, the Australian Consumer Lawhas provided protection for consumers and small businesses against unfair contract terms (UCTs) contained in standard form contracts. In November 2020, following consultation with the public, legislators announced a further strengthening of the UCT protections. The UCT protections will continue to apply only to standard form contracts issued to consumers and small businesses. What are unfair contracts? A term contained [...]
The Family Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia have established a priority list to deal with urgent family law matters. The list was originally set to run for a number of months during the height of the pandemic but has been expanded to help address urgent cases continuing to arise that are directly affected or escalated by issues related to the [...]
Introduction The NSW Government has recently passed 2 pieces of legislation with the objective to increase confidence of the community in the construction industry. DBP Act The Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) (“DBP Act”) was enacted on 10 June 2020 and it introduces a statutory duty of care to benefit owners of land and provides for methods to regulate design and building work, [...]
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been a number of measures taken nationwide to ensure that documents such as Wills, Enduring Guardians, Powers of Attorney, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations are witnessed correctly. These measures give individuals the ability to have their documents witnessed remotely via audio visual link (“AVL”) to reduce the need for face-to-face interactions. The following outlines the current stance of [...]
Recently, we have become aware that lenders are undertaking repeat employment checks on borrowers prior to advancing the funds for a property settlement. These status checks are now being carried out up to the date of settlement. There are significant changes being experienced by people all over the world due to the current pandemic, and one of the most significant of these can relate to [...]
Online platforms can play a major role in how businesses are viewed by the general public. Reviews and statements posted on these online platforms can have an important role in shaping the views and opinions of both current and prospective customers. Businesses can take a huge hit if poor reviews or defamatory statements are being posted online regarding its services or products. Because of the [...]
Further to our previous updates on the commercial leasing measures which the NSW Government has been implementing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSW Government has now provided further relief in the form of a $440 million package to relieve the land tax obligations for both residential and commercial properties. In summary, the package allows landlords to claim a 25% reduction in land tax [...]
