We are delighted to announce Andrew O'Sullivan-Newbold, Associate, is now a Law Institute of Victoria Accredited Specialist in Family Law. We congratulate Andrew on his fantastic achievement, especially with the challenges that this year has brought. Well done Andrew, what a great way to finish the year. Read More
Hicks Oakley Chessell Williams is excited to announce that Deborah Kliger, Senior Associate, has been named as a finalist in the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards 2021 for Senior Associate of the Year – SME Law and Mentor of the Year. The Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards is the benchmark for excellence, recognising the outstanding women influencing the legal profession in Australia displaying key leadership qualities and providing a role model for future female leaders in law to aspire to. Read More
Wills and Estates law encompasses a complex range of legal issues. But as the lawyers working in the area know, the main challenges and rewards can often come from the broader circumstances of each dispute – the family relationships involved, the last wishes of a loved one about the property they owned and cared about. The ABC programme ‘Fisk’ has made popular some of the more ‘quirky’ aspects of this area of practice. Given the array of issues that can arise, there is great value in the knowledge of senior members of the profession who have ‘seen it all’ (or nearly). HOCW’s Wills and Estates team works closely with experienced barristers to ensure clients are well advised in estate litigation matters. Mr Stewart McNab has practised in the area of Wills and Estates for over 50 years. Stewart was generous enough to share his insights about Wills and Estates law with Natalie Talia, Senior Associate. Read More
Twenty-two years after splitting family law jurisdiction between two Courts, the government has passed legislation which merge the Federal Circuit Court and the Family Court back into one Court. The second development is that a new National Contravention List has been created to tackle family law non-compliance with court orders that are made in family law proceedings. And the third is that expanded powers have been delegated to Judicial Registrars and Registrars in the Family Law Courts to ease the burden of an increasing caseload on Judges. Read More
The State Government announced this year that it will be introducing a new “windfall gains tax” from 1 July 2022. Developers and landowners will face a windfall gains tax of up to 50% applied to planning decisions to rezone land. This tax is likely to affect landowners who intend to rezone land for property development, as the land value will significantly increase once it has been rezoned for property development purposes. Read More
Now that COVID-19 vaccines are available to a wider range of the workforce, employers are now grappling with whether or not they ought to require their staff to be vaccinated before coming back to the office. This article considers the legal ability of employers to direct their staff to be vaccinated, considering the contract of employment, occupational health and safety obligations, commercial considerations, and other, potentially less heavy-handed approaches to encouraging vaccination in staff. Read More