Our News
Guarantee Disputes
One of the most contentious areas of finance law is that of guarantees. This typically involves the guarantee by one person of a loan made by a financial institution to another person who is often in a family relationship with the guarantor (for example, the...
Is The QBCC Merits Review A Sham?
In 2014, we reported that proposed amendments to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 (“QBCC Act”) represented a dramatic shift in the powers of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (“QBCC”) against building licence holders. In...
Lost Wills
You may think that if a will is lost, that it no longer exists and cannot be used to distribute the estate of a loved one who has died. This is not correct. Provided certain conditions are met, the court will admit to probate a will that has been reconstructed from...
Variation Of Parenting Orders
So, you have obtained formal parenting orders but you want to make a change to them. Easy right? Not so fast. Orders are essentially a structured arrangement outlining the manner in which children shall live and spend time with their parents. Orders can be made by...
Mandatory Sentencing & Limiting Judicial Discretion
In recent years, Queensland parliament has introduced numerous new mandatory sentencing regimes which effectively limit the discretion of the judiciary to impose a sentence that is fair and just in the circumstances. In particular, the following mandatory sentencing...
Real Life Q&A: Wills
One of our staff members saw the following posted in an online forum: “Wills. How do they work?? Is it magnets? Apparently the post office Will Kits are no good.And I hear “Get a proper one with a lawyer.” Since this is not America, and we don’t have “a lawyer,” I’d...
“A Verbal Contract Is Not Worth the Paper It Is Written On”: Or Is It?
Contracts may be written, oral, or contain a combination of written AND oral terms. There is often considerable difficulty proving terms which are agreed orally, especially if a dispute ends up in a court or tribunal hearing where the existence of oral terms can often...
Redkite Releases Moving Awareness Campaign
You may not have heard of Redkite yet, but after viewing their newly released awareness campaign – you won’t just want to know who they are, you will want to know how you can help them. Redkite, formerly the Malcolm Sargent Cancer Fund for Children in Australia, was...
One Punch Laws: Tough On Crime & Tough On Rights
On 26 August 2014, the Safe Night Out Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 (“the Bill“) was passed by the Queensland Parliament which is part of the Queensland Government’s “Safe Night Out” strategy, with the objective to reduce alcohol and drug-related violence in...