The National Disability Insurance Agency (“NDIA”), the government agency whose function is to implement the National Disability Insurance Scheme (“NDIS”), was criticised in a recent Supreme Court case. Sharp v Home Care Service of NSW [2018] NSWSC 1319 required the Court to make a decision relating to the approval of a settlement payable to Ms Tegan […]
A recent decision of the Workers Compensation Commission in the case of Baldacchino v Pacific National Pty Ltd [2017] NSWWCC 239 is being heralded as a win for injured workers as it has rewritten the previously strict five year limit for ongoing medical expenses under the NSW workers compensation scheme. On 19 June 2012 significant […]
This month, the High Court of Australia in Badenach & Anor v Calvert [2016] HCA 18 rejected earlier decisions of the Tasmanian Courts. A Solicitor had received instructions from a client to prepare a will by which the entirety of his estate – namely, two properties – was to pass to the son of his […]
How many of you can put your hand up 🖐 and say you’ve never used an emoji? Never popped a smiley face 😀 in an email? Never used a wink 😜 in a text message? What about a thumbs up 👍in a social media post? Emojis or emoticons are small digital icons used to […]
A report heralding the savings to Orange residents of the proposed CTP Green Slip reform appeared in the Central Western Daily on 26 November 2017. In truth the report was a word for word cut and paste of a press release issued by the NSW Government. The self congratulatory report is a classic exercise in […]
It never ceases to amaze what people are prepared to argue about; thank goodness I suppose. A recent case in the Supreme Court demonstrates the lengths to which people in dispute will go, and the amount of Court time and legal costs that are spent arguing about what is objectively not important and perhaps […]
In October 2016 I wrote regarding the radically unfair changes the NSW Government was proposing to make to our Compulsory Third Party (Green Slip) insurance scheme. I lobbied Government and Shadow Members of Parliament and attempted to ensure that the proposals were an issue in the Orange State By Election. I record my gratitude to […]
Over the last month, a number of clients – both old and new – have been coming through my doors in a panic. Many have received letters from their workers compensation insurer’s advising their weekly benefits will be cut off. Many of these people have received terrible injuries and are permanently unfit for work. So […]
Last week I touched on employer traps during the festive season, particularly around the office Christmas party. But the peril of Christmas parties is not all one way and there have been examples of employees doing silly things at Christmas parties and having to face the consequences. One such case involves a Police Officer who […]
Christmas brings with it a flurry of social activity. People regard Christmas as a good time to gather together and celebrate the year just gone. The office or work party is very much a tradition of Christmas. So too is the tradition of drinking too much alcohol and behaving badly. What are some employer traps […]