The property team at Affinity Lawyers have noticed an increasing number of clients enquiring about, or entering into contracts for the ‘purchase’ of property in retirement villages. While the purchase of a unit in a retirement village may seem like a simple, straight-forward process, in reality it is quite complex. These types of transactions are...
There is a common misconception that caveats are a tool to secure the repayment of a debt. Client’s often state to lawyers, “person A owes me money, I will put a caveat over his property and get my money back”. However, it is important to note that the lodgement of a caveat by a person...
As many of you would be aware, a highly publicised hack occurred recently of private data and details of the users of an online dating website which encourages people to cheat on their spouses. We do not have ‘at-fault’ divorces under the Family Law Act 1975, and thereby, the general position is that any evidence...
In recent times, there has been a large focus in the media of politician’s commitment to increase paid parental leave. However, with the introduction of the newly proposed Fairer Paid Parental Leave Bill 2015 (‘the Bill’), Australian carers may be faced with quite the opposite outcome. What are the current entitlements? The current Paid...
As a result of the sudden drop in temperature on the Gold Coast, you may have noticed that the health of your family has also taken a turn for the worst. Unfortunately, this often means that busy parents need to take time off work in order to care for their sick child. You may find...
The recent decision of Thorne & Kennedy [2015] FCCA 484, involved a 67 year old multimillionaire property developer, who met, (his now former) 36 year old wife over the internet. When they met, the wife lived overseas, had minimal English speaking skills, a previous divorce and no real assets. They fell in love and were...
Another interesting decision regarding Estate matters which was handed down recently is the Western Australian case of Mead –v- Lemon. In this case, the deceased was a very wealthy individual who was survived by four children at his death (three of whom were born as a result of one of his earlier marriages and one...
Section 311 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (‘FWA’) sets out some of the circumstances in which a ‘transfer of business’ can occur, and with it, a transfer of liability in respect of employee entitlements (including redundancy entitlements) from the old employer to the new employer. These factors are important to be aware of if...
Justice Nye Perram of the Federal Court has today handed down a decision in the case of Dallas Buyers Club LLC And Voltage Pictures LLC v iinet Limited, Internode Pty Ltd, Amnet Broadband Pty Ltd, Dodo Services Pty Ltd, Adam Internet Pty Ltd And Wideband Networks Pty Ltd which could have a significant impact on...
A recent decision handed down by the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission has confirmed that comments made on the social networking site ‘Facebook’ can amount to bullying at work, within the meaning prescribed by the Fair Work Act. For the Fair Work Commission to make an order regarding bullying, the applicant must satisfy...
