Articles

You can now serve notices (i.e. Payment Claims, Payment Schedules, Statutory Notices, Adjudication Applications etc) by way of email and the ability to serve any such notices by facsimile has been removed except where your contract provides for service by facsimile. These changes were brought about by the Electronic Transactions Legislation Amendment (Government Transactions) Act … Continued

A recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has confirmed an employer’s right to direct employees to attend medical appointments. Grant v BHP Coal Pty Ltd was an appeal against a decision of a single member of the court that affirmed that the Fair Work Commission had not incorrectly dismissed Mr … Continued

The Federal Circuit Court has determined that although a fly in fly out (FIFO) worker was a casual employee under the enterprise agreement that covered his employment with a labour hire company, he was “other than a casual” for the purposes of the Fair Work Act 2009 and was therefore entitled to payment of accrued … Continued

On 3 November 2016, Justice Bromberg of the Federal Court dismissed an application for a declaration and penalties made by Fair Work Building and Construction (FWBC) against an organiser employed by the CFMEU. The organiser, who did not have a right of entry permit issued under the Fair Work Act (FW Act) and was therefore … Continued

The Fair Work Act 2009 allows a union official to enter premises to hold discussions with members and employees eligible to be members “during mealtimes or other breaks.”  The official must give the occupier of the premises between 24 hours and 14 days written notice of his or her intention to enter the premises. In … Continued

An ex employee of Toll holdings who submitted a falsified drug test result in support of his unfair dismissal application has been ordered to pay his former employer’s costs of more than $18,000.00 In making the order that the ex-employee pay all of Toll’s legal costs and witness expenses, Deputy President Gostencnik found that the … Continued

A 60 year old Aircraft Engineer has won his job back after Jetstar terminated him for breaching ‘Cardinal Safety Rules’ at Avalon Airport in Victoria. The dismissed employee, Mr Gill had worked as a Licensed  Aircraft Maintenance Engineer for 30 years, the last four and half of which were for Jetstar. He had an exemplary employment … Continued

An employee who threatened and threw a senior engineer into a swimming pool, and fought with his supervisor at his employer’s Christmas party has failed in his unfair dismissal application. The employee, a project Co-Ordinator, had been employed by Future Engineering and Communication (FEC) since 2008. At the Christmas party held at FECs premises on … Continued

A number of amendments to the Fair Work Act came into effect on 27 November 2015. These amendments are those from the Federal Government’s Fair Work Amendment Bill that was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives. Following passage of the Bill, employers will be able to take proposed Greenfields Enterprise Agreements to the … Continued

The Home Building Amendment Act 2014 comprised of various amendments to the Home Building Act 1989. These changes commenced on 15 January 2015. There is no longer a distinction between structural and non-structural defects. There is now the two different categories of general defects and major defects. Under the Act, major defects will attract a … Continued

It is common for disputes to take place when you are in the process of building or renovating your home. These disputes may be minor or major. Major disputes often require the intervention of specialised building disputes lawyers in order for a resolution to be reached. Often the cause of these disputes are building defects … Continued

In most Australian states there is a dedicated Act of Parliament that regulates all domestic building contracts. In New South Wales the Act is the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW). Further, these Acts generally refer the resolution of any building disputes to the relevant tribunal in that state. In New South Wales, most disputes with … Continued