On 5 April 2017, in Stealth Enterprises Pty Ltd t/as The Gentlemen’s Club v Calliden Insurance Limited [2017] NSWCA 71, the New South Wales Court of Appeal handed down an important decision on the topic of the insured’s duty of disclosure and the insurer’s remedies.

On 1 December 2015, the most significant changes to Australia’s foreign investment framework in over 40 years were introduced. The reforms provided for stronger enforcement of the rules, a better resourced system and clearer rules for foreign investors.

The kinds of injustices that may occur in the context of the work of an administrative decision-maker are numerous. Most of them are unforeseen. And some administrative decisions have not yet happened. In recent time, it appears (aggrieved) parties are getting on the front foot prematurely bringing merits reviews applications against an administrator in anticipation of there being a decision made which may have a legal consequence to them in the future. How do you avoid being subject of a merits review?

After a long wait, the Australian Government has passed a Bill that will require organisations to notify individuals if an unauthorised person or group has had access to their personal information in a way that could cause serious harm.

In this recent NSW Court of Appeal decision, an employer escaped liability for an injury allegedly suffered by a worker in the course of his employment as a trade’s assistant. The worker allegedly suffered a severe aggravation of a pre-existing injury when, while holding a beam that was being cut, the beam fell unexpectedly towards him.

Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kubushiki Karsha (“NYK”) has pleaded guilty to charges of criminal cartel conduct in the Federal Court of Australia.  

Gonzales & Barrett v The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd [2016] NSWLC 9

On 27 July 2016, the High Court handed down its decision Paciocco v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, concluding a six year long legal dispute concerning the legitimacy of late payment fees of up to $35 charged by ANZ Bank.

Hicksons has recently successfully opposed a number of applications by borrowers of different lenders to set aside a default judgment obtained many months earlier on the basis of a alleged illegality on the part of the lender.

Only recently Airbnb has hit and begun spreading on Australian soil, following other sharing economy platforms such as the likes of Uber and Lyft. The growing popularity of Airbnb represents the beginning of a significant shift in the way that the lodging market may develop in the years to come, but how compatible is current mortgage enforcement law with this new way of lodging?

An Australian logistics company has issued a safety alert to all its sites warning its employees not to play the new Pokémon Go game at work due to the risks it poses to health and safety.

A treating practitioner’s clinical notes can be imperative to a proper contest of liability, but in 2016 amendments to the relevant Rules has meant the Workers Compensation Commission has become reluctant to issue Directions for Production that would compel doctors to supply their notes.

On 25 February 2016, the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Payment Surcharges) Act 2016 commenced. This Act will form part of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA).  Its purpose is to ban excessive payment surcharges.

From 1 April 2016, there will be changes to the way in which whole person impairment (WPI) is assessed, as the NSW Workers Compensation Guidelines for the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 4th edition take effect.