While there have been several changes made to employment legislation over the last six months, in this article we focus on two updates that were introduced in the Fair Work Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 which came into force on 7 December 2022. These changes relate to pay secrecy and fixed term contracts. Read More
HOCW congratulates Andrew O'Sullivan-Newbold, Associate Family Lawyer, on successfully completing an Interdisciplinary Collaborative Practice Training course. Andrew joins Emmalaura Messer, Principal Family Lawyer, as a collaboratively trained family law lawyer. Collaborative Law is a progressive family law process that assists parties to resolve their matter in an amicable and future-focused way. The starting point of Collaborative Law process is to “opt out” of court proceedings. Read More
Many people assume that two people are only in a de facto relationship if they have lived together for a certain period of time. However, the legislation is actually far more complex. As a result, is not uncommon for people to be unsure as to when a relationship is legally considered to be de facto and what may happen if it breaks down; will they each walk away with their separate assets, debts and superannuation or can the other person seek orders under the Family Law Act 1975 which might include a division of those separate assets, debts and superannuation and even spousal maintenance? Read More
Negotiation is one of the most important skills for success in business and in life. But it's a skill we are rarely taught. For many of us, we develop our skills purely through trial and error. We see what works, discard what doesn't and if we're lucky, we'll have a few good mentors along the way. In a series of podcasts, Nicole Davidson speaks with guests from a range of backgrounds to hear about their experience. Read More
A registered trade mark in Australia is a legally protected symbol, word, or phrase that identifies and distinguishes the goods or services of one company from those of others. A trade mark is an important tool for building and protecting the goodwill that a business builds up over time. Here we outline some of the benefits of a registered trade mark. Read More
The single biggest issue faced by Landlords when dealing with recalcitrant Tenants who aren’t keeping up their end of the bargain is, how do we get rid of them? The most common factor which damages relationships between Landlords and their Tenants is a failure on the Tenant’s part to keep up to date with the rent and outgoings payable to the Landlord under the terms of the lease. While Landlords are often patient because they wish to avoid the time and expense of re-leasing premises there comes a point where all Landlords have to say enough is enough. Read More