The crisis we are facing needs no explanation and it raises so many questions for employers. This guide reflects our thoughts at this point in the cycle of this unprecedented global event. 

Discrimination law is founded upon the notion of inherent dignity and inalienable rights. Perhaps the watchwords which summarise the principles protected under anti-discrimination legislation are equality, inclusionand opportunity.

In response to recent bushfires, on 20 January 2020 the Attorney-General made the Privacy (Australian Bushfires Disaster) Emergency Declaration (No. 1) 2020 (“Declaration”).   This Declaration was made under section 80J of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (“Privacy Act”). This section allows the Australian government to make a declaration when an emergency or a disaster of national significance affecting Australians has occurred.  

2020 signals the start of a new decade; a fresh start for all. But, for many employers it means the beginning of a new, potentially complicated payroll regime, and a new era in award compliance.  

It is not uncommon for secured creditors to rely on a contractual right to enter a premises for the purposes of seizing collateral, including under a retention of title clause. However, the Supreme Court’s decision is a reminder for secured creditors to consider whether their contractual rights are in compliance with section 123 of the PPS Act and adequately protect them against any grantors’ claims in trespass.

Unit entitlements are the allocated share of the rights and responsibilities of a strata scheme. They impact an owner’s contributions to the expenses of the strata scheme, rights over common property and voting rights.

The High Court in Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts Australia Pty Ltd v The Commonwealth [2019] HCA 20 has clarified and confirmed that in the winding up of an insolvent corporate trustee, trust assets to which the company is entitled (via its right of indemnity) are property of the company, and the statutory priority regime under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) applies in terms of the distribution of the trust assets.  

In the current global environment, it could be argued that there is a broad and accelerating trend towards “holding the powerful to account”, seen through social movements such as #TimesUp and #MeToo. Though largely initially confined to the entertainment industry, these movements have ended any number of high-profile careers and the ramifications are spreading geographically and across industries.

The Department of Home Affairs has recently introduced very welcome changes to the migration program, expanding the definition of “Regional Australia” and creating two new visas for employers and visa applicants outside the major cities.

On 3 September 2019, Basten J of the NSW Supreme Court delivered appeal Judgments in three cases heard concurrently and (for the time being) confirmed the correct approach for assessing damages in claims for hire vehicle costs following an accident.  

Pursuant to section 96(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act), permanent employees are entitled to 10 days paid personal/carer’s leave each year. For a standard 38 hour working week, this equates to 10 days of personal/carer’s leave at 7.6 hours per day.    

Facebook, Microsoft, Google and Amazon have admitted to eavesdropping. It was recently revealed the industry giants paid hundreds of contractors to manually transcribe users’ conversations in an attempt to improve speech recognition technology and artificial intelligence algorithms. This revelation has left many users reeling.  

The High Court of Australia recently allowed an appeal from the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. The decision confirmed that normally costs follow the event and held that impecuniosity of the unsuccessful party is not a basis to change that.  

In 2010, the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) launched the “not-for-profit governance and performance study” (originally called the “directors social impact study”). The study focused on key trends in the not for profit (NFP) sector and issues affecting NFP directors at that time. Ten years on, the AICD published its most recent findings in the latest edition of the study titled “the 2019 not-for-profit governance and performance study: 10 years on”. The report provides valuable insight into current challenges faced by the sector and its director counterparts.