It is important to remember that families come in many different shapes and sizes, and while Christmas should be a happy time where a family spends quality time with each other, where parents are separated or have recently separated, it could be a time of disappointment, confusion and loneliness. As adults, it is the parent’s...
A Binding Financial Agreement (‘BFA’) can be used by parties to reflect their agreement in respect of the division of property and assets in the event of a future separation. There are strict requirements laid out in the Family Law Act 1975 (‘FLA’) which must be met for the BFA to comply with the Act...
When purchasing property in Queensland, unless you are eligible to obtain a first home concession (and the purchase price of the property is less than $550,000.00 for an existing property or $400,000.00 for vacant land) there will be Stamp Duty payable on the purchase of the property. Often, purchasers can overlook the inclusion of their...
A recent decision by the Fair Work Commission has reinforced the oft-repeated warning – that private use of social media can adversely affect your employment. In this case, the Applicant had been employed by a company on a full-time basis, but was operating his own company on the side. The Applicant sent a mass email...
The applicant filed an application with the Court, which amongst other things, sought a declaration of the existence of a ‘de facto’ relationship with the respondent between September 1992 and 18 February 2010. The respondent denied that a defacto relationship existed, and if in fact it was found that it had existed, he argued that the relationship...
On the 6th of December 2012 the Workplace Gender Equality Act received royal assent, and will be phased in over the coming two years. Gender equality reporting requirements will undergo significant changes as a result of the Act for large private sector employers who have over 100 employees. The requirement for employer’s to develop equal...
Last week the Queensland Court of Appeal confirmed that a contract was able to be terminated on the grounds that a covering letter sent by the seller’s solicitor did not properly direct the buyer’s attention to the 30C Warning Statement, Contract of Sale and Information Statement. Following execution of the contract, the seller’s solicitor returned...
Mother –v- Non-Parent Interestingly, in the recent decision in the case of Withall, Richardson and Powles, where the matter at hand was determining with whom the children should live, Walters J ordered that the children live with Ms Powles, the father’s former de facto partner, instead of their mother. His Honour discussed the weight that...
Parental Leave From 29 December 2013, parents will be entitled to take concurrent parental leave of 8 weeks, a large increase from the previous entitlement of 3 weeks. Furthermore, any employee’s entitlement to unpaid parental leave will not be reduced by any amount of unpaid special maternity leave taken by an eligible employee. Flexible Working...
