The Supreme Court’s recent decision to refuse leave for the plaintiff to amend its List Statement in an alleged building defects claim has reinforced the fact that the statutory duty of care created under the DBP Act is assessed by the usual principles of negligence and does not require a higher standard be met. W+K’s […]
On 11 October 2021, phase 2 of the Consumer Goods (Quad Bikes) Safety Standard 2019 came into effect. It addresses minimum stability criteria and operator protection devices for quad bikes. In this article, W+K’s Scott Macoun and Trent O’Neill, assisted by Adrian Ballard, look at changes to the national standard and discuss how they may […]
Earlier this month the Australian Federal Court provided helpful guidance to insurers entering into settlement agreements with their insureds. The Full Court in AAI Insurance Limited trading as Vero Insurance v Technology Swiss Pty Ltd considered the doctrine of subrogation, how it applies when entering “full and final” settlement agreements before recovery is commenced, and […]
From 26 October 2021, the COVID-19 Public Health (Vaccination) Order was extended to include workers in the health and disability and education sectors. The lack of time between the announcement, its publication and the requirement to have at least a first dose of vaccination – as well as confusion over who is affected and who […]
The Landel decision is the third Queensland instalment in ‘flood definition’ cases, which arise from the unfortunate events of the 2011 Brisbane floods and the more recent 2019 Townsville floods. In this matter, the insured lodged two claims for damage caused by monsoonal rain events and consequent flooding in and around Townsville. One was accepted […]
A recent decision to uphold a NCAT appeal decision has provided a useful judicial articulation of some of the relevant clauses from the Building Code of Australia regarding cladding compliance. The decision also provides further clarity about the ‘attachment’ exception which, in certain circumstances, permits the use of combustible cladding. W+K’s Marcus Saw looks at […]
On 11 October 2021 the New Zealand Government announced its intention to extend the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021 (vaccination order) to require high risk workers in the health and disability sectors to receive their first vaccination dose by 30 October 2021 and to be fully vaccinated by 1 December 2021. Employers in […]
Tackling ransomware attacks continues to be top of mind for the Australian Government. On 13 October 2021, the Australian Government released its Ransomware Action Plan that proposes, among other things, for certain companies to have mandatory reporting obligations for ransomware attacks. A Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre policy paper on cyber insurance was also released, […]
Until this week, there has been limited legal mandate requiring vaccination of New Zealand employees, other than border workers, via the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021. That changed on 11 October 2021 when the New Zealand Government announced an extended vaccination mandate to include high risk workers in the health and disability sector, […]
Wotton Kearney Construction PI specialists Nick Lux and Robert Finnigan feature in the October issue of NIBA Insurance Adviser magazine to provide an update on Australia’s building and construction industry reforms, including key regulatory and risk developments affecting the sector and their implications for insurance brokers. This includes sweeping state-based legislative reform intended to regain […]
