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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 [...]
The NSW Government has now passed the Regulation necessary to give legal effect to the Commercial Leasing Code of Conduct which was announced by the Federal Government in early April. New South Wales is the first state to enact the required legislative framework. The new Regulation applies to both retail and commercial Leases in NSW and, as foreshadowed, only applies to those tenants who are [...]
Tenants and landlords across the country are now negotiating the relevant changes to their arrangements following the release of the Commercial Leasing Code of Conduct. However, there is still some confusion about how the Code should be applied. Once a business is eligible for the JobKeeper program, the Code will apply and both parties will be required to negotiate a temporary rent reduction arrangement in [...]
To address the extraordinary circumstances faced by the Covid-19 pandemic, the NSW Government has introduced temporary measures to allow the witnessing of legal documents remotely. Video conferencing technology like Skype, WhatsApp, FaceTime and Zoom can now be used in the witnessing of important legal documents like wills, powers of attorney and statutory declarations under a new regulation made this morning by the Governor. Attorney General [...]
In a bid to ease the pressures being faced by residential Landlords and Tenants in the unfolding COVID-19 crisis, the NSW Government has passed a number of measures. For residential tenants in NSW, perhaps the most significant measure is a new amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act introducing the concept of a '6-month moratorium' for residential tenancies. For a period of 60 days, commencing 15 [...]
