From 1 July 2021, the super guarantee rate will rise from 9.5% to 10%. All employers will need to ensure they have updated their payroll systems ready for 1 July to reflect this increase. Employers can be subject to interest and penalties for underpayments of super contributions to th..
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On 22 March, the long-awaited changes to the Fair Work Act (FW Act) in relation to casual employees were passed. Since the recent Federal Court decisions of Workpac Pty Ltd v Skene* and Workpac v Rossato**,employers have been exposed to “double dipping” claims by casuals for permanent entitl..
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Whether you: are buying or selling a house, already own a house that you live in, are building or substantially renovating a house, or own investment properties, you should make sure you are aware of the current and upcoming Smoke Alarm Laws. From 1 January 2017, ..
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Highlighting the breadth of an employer’s responsibility for bullying at work, Allianz has been held liable by a NSW court for the deliberate actions of a senior manager who verbally and physically bullied a claimant for over 14 months, even though the court found that Allianz was not negligent[..
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The Federal Government has announced a new Bill with significant changes to industrial law including: changes to casual employment: a definition of casual employment; criteria for when employers must offer permanent employment; and anti-double dipping provisions by which employers can..
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In a novel general protections dispute the Federal Court has affirmed the rights of workers to have a toilet break! A McDonald’s franchisee, Tantex Holdings Pty Ltd, has been fined $82,000 in total by the Federal Court of Australia for multiple breaches of the Fair Work Act (“the Act”) in fa..
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It’s time again to unwind and thank employees at the long-awaited Christmas Party! But at risk of being the Grinch, a Christmas party is still a work function. Employers still owe a duty of care to their employees and employees can still be expected to behave appropriately to each other. ..
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Recently the Federal Court of Australia awarded damages in the sum of $875,000 against Karen Brewer, a New Zealand based online conspiracy theorist, for publishing a series of defamatory posts and videos on Facebook earlier this year. The posts published by Brewer claimed that the applic..
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Wage theft is now a crime in Queensland after new laws were passed on 9 September, 2020. These new laws could see employers prosecuted, and even face up to 10 years jail time, for deliberately underpaying or withholding entitlements from their workers. Importantly, the new laws also pro..
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Current and prospective blue card holders need to be aware of major changes to the blue card system in Queensland that take effect from 31st August 2020. The new requirements will affect current and future blue card holders. Anyone intending to work in August or September this year in a regu..
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The Queensland Parliament has finally passed the new Regulations impacting on retail and business leases across Queensland during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Retail Shop Leases and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19 Emergency Response) Regulation 2020 (Qld) (the regulation) was passed on 28 May 20..
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Drinking alcohol reduces your ability to drive safely. Alcohol affects your judgement, vision, coordination and reflexes — increasing your risk of having a crash. Queensland has 4 alcohol limits. These limits are used to apply penalties if you’re caught driving with an illegal blood or..
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Central to the new JobKeeper laws are the rights of employers to give “JobKeeper enabling directions”. Importantly the rights only apply for those employers and their employees who qualify for the JobKeeper scheme and where the employees are receiving the JobKeeper payment. Criteri..
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On 22 April the Queensland Government set out measures that each residential Landlord and Tenant will have to abide by during the pandemic period. The laws are being introduced as a way to balance Landlord and Tenants’ rights during these unpredictable and volatile times. During ..
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As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Residential Tenancies Practice Guide COVID-19 has been developed by the Queensland Government in their approach of implementing a moratorium on evictions in residential property. A summary of the Guidelines include: threshold criteria to qualify ..
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The JobKeeper legislation and changes to the Fair Work Act have passed and are in effect. This is part 1 of a series for businesses that qualify for the JobKeeper allowance, explaining the changes to the Fair Work Act and how to implement them in your business. Objectives The objectives ..
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As of 14 April, 2020, the Office of State Revenue has started to process applications for land tax relief. You may be eligible for one or more of the following land tax relief measures: a land tax rebate reducing land tax liabilities by 25% for eligible properties for the 2019-20 assessme..
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Employers are often confused about how to pay their employees who work during the Easter break and whether an employee can refuse to work during this time. In Queensland all of the days during the Easter period are declared as public holidays: Good Friday – Friday 10 April Easter Saturd..
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The PM addressed the nation once again on Tuesday, 7 April, 2020. This time with his focus on Commercial Leases (including Retail, Office and Industrial Leases). The Federal Government has prepared a Code called the “National Cabinet Mandatory Code of Conduct” which comes into effect in all ..
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'The Australian ‘Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Bill 2020’ The Australian Government has announced temporary measures to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on Australian businesses. These measures seek to reduce the risk of otherwise viable businesses from being wound up due t..
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For those who are not aware of what a Modern Award is - A Modern Award is a document which sets out the minimum terms and conditions of employment on top of the National Employment Standards (“NES”).
Modern Awards provide entitlements such as pay, hours of work, rosters, breaks, allowances, penalty rates and overtime. There are more than 100 industry or occupation awards that cover most people who work in Australia.
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For those of you who are landlords, there are new reforms in effect in Queensland. These reforms apply to all residential tenancies and include any house rentals, caravan rentals or rooming accommodation.
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The Albanese Labor Government introduced the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (the “Bill”) to Parliament yesterday afternoon (4 September, 2023). The Bill is the “third tranche” of major changes to core aspects of our workplace relations system which will impact most sectors of the economy.
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The Albanese Government will be introducing a third tranche of IR legislation on Monday afternoon which Workplace Relations Minister, Tony Burke has referred to as the “Closing Loopholes Bill”.
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You may have seen that there have been a number of significant changes happening in the employment and industrial relations law space.
We have been hearing from countless employers that the number of changes have left them feeling overwhelmed and unsure about what they need to be doing to ensure compliance.
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Last article, we discussed what the difference between freehold and leasehold property was.
This issue, we will explore leasehold property further to get a better understanding of it.
For those that hold or lease Leasehold Land (or aspire to), there are general provisions which they need to adhere to, otherwise they risk losing the right to hold or lease the Leasehold Land, which may make up an important part of their farming operations.
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As communication methods change, it is crucial to recognise that any form of communication (even a simple emoji) can potentially establish a binding contract. It is important to be mindful of this fact and be cautious when engaging in any form of written communication.
Whether it is a casual email or a brief text message, it is important to understand that these modern modes of communication hold legal significance and can carry legal implications and consequences.
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Agricultural property can be held by landowners a few different ways. It’s important for those landowners or those wanting to become landowners to know the differences and their rights and obligations.
The occupation of land in Queensland may be defined under two broad tenure headings:-
1. Freehold, and
2. Leasehold.
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Following the Fair Work Commission’s Annual Wage Review 2023:
· the National Minimum Wage will be increased to $882.80 per week or $23.23 per hour; and
· there will be a 5.75% increase to minimum award wages.
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There have been a number of important case developments in the employment law space recently.
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