Articles

Criminal trial pending as High Court rejects immunity claim of ATO whistleblower

By: Georgie Austin, Natasha Chand and Madeleine Wright At a glance The High Court of Australia refused whistleblower Richard Boyle’s request for an extension to file an appeal challenging his criminal charges related to ATO disclosures. The Court found Boyle’s appeal had insufficient prospects of success, upholding a previous decision that denied him statutory immunity […]

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By : Nov 12, 2024 Comments Off on Criminal trial pending as High Court rejects immunity claim of ATO whistleblower
Articles

Sand pit or legal pit? Court confirms a school’s duty of care when supervising sports

By: Meisha Tjiong, William Yeo and Hannah Turl At a glance On 4 and 17 October 2024, the District Court of NSW delivered its decisions in Stanberg v State of New South Wales [2024] NSW DC 462, and entered a judgment for the State with the Plaintiff to pay the State’s party/party costs and partial […]

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By : Nov 11, 2024 Comments Off on Sand pit or legal pit? Court confirms a school’s duty of care when supervising sports
Articles

Damages update: Victorian Court of Appeal reassesses damages in historical abuse case

By: Jonathan Maher and Tushka Sridharan At a glance The Court of Appeal reduced the jury’s $1.1 million award of pain and suffering damages to $550,000, deeming the original amount “manifestly excessive”, aligning it with judge-alone awards in similar cases. The jury’s $1.3 million exemplary damages award was set aside entirely, with the Court of […]

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By : Nov 11, 2024 Comments Off on Damages update: Victorian Court of Appeal reassesses damages in historical abuse case
Articles

Limitation period for statutory building warranty claims

By: Bill Conor and Julian Amato At a glance The court reaffirmed that claims for building defects made pursuant to the statutory warranties under section 32 of the Building Work Contractors Act 1995 (SA) must be filed within a strict 5-year period from practical completion, emphasising the Act’s balance between builder and homeowner interests. The 10-year […]

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By : Nov 5, 2024 Comments Off on Limitation period for statutory building warranty claims
Articles

Federal Court finds Senator Pauline Hanson’s tweet to be racially discriminatory

By: Georgie Austin, Zoe Burchill and Deniz Coskundag At a glance The Federal Court of Australia recently found that Senator Pauline Hanson breached s 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act for a post published on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). In 2022, Senator Mehreen Faruqi posted a tweet about the monarchy, in which Senator […]

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By : Nov 4, 2024 Comments Off on Federal Court finds Senator Pauline Hanson’s tweet to be racially discriminatory
Articles

To care, or not to care: when does a public agency owe a private duty?

By: Patrick Thompson and James Clohesy At a glance The UK Supreme Court has delivered another judgment dealing with when a public authority can owe a private duty of care to members of the public. The decision reaffirms what is becoming a bright line distinction in the UK between cases where the public authority, by […]

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By : Nov 1, 2024 Comments Off on To care, or not to care: when does a public agency owe a private duty?
Articles

Security for costs rejected and enforcement of costs order stayed – analysis of written reasons in Lehrmann decision

By: Georgie Austin, Zoe Burchill and Anthea Dres At a glance On 22 October 2024, Justice Abraham granted Bruce Lehrmann the authority to appeal his defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson. The respondents had sought security in the amount of $200,000 for their costs of the appeal proceeding and this application was subsequently […]

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By : Nov 1, 2024 Comments Off on Security for costs rejected and enforcement of costs order stayed – analysis of written reasons in Lehrmann decision
Articles, Case Alerts

Tort of privacy recognised in Australia

By: Patrick Thompson At a glance In Lynn Waller v Romy Barrett [2024] VCC 962, the plaintiff successfully argued that the defendant breached her confidences and invaded her privacy by disclosing private details from counselling sessions to media outlets, leading to damages awarded. Judge Tran recognised a distinct cause of action for invasion of privacy […]

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By : Oct 30, 2024 Comments Off on Tort of privacy recognised in Australia
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Federal Court allows Bruce Lehrmann to appeal defamation ruling

By: Richard Leder, Georgie Austin, Blake Pappas and Zoe Burchill At a glance Bruce Lehrmann has been allowed to appeal his defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson. The Federal Court dismissed the requirement for him to pay $200,000 in security costs before the appeal. The initial ruling by Justice Michael Lee found that […]

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By : Oct 24, 2024 Comments Off on Federal Court allows Bruce Lehrmann to appeal defamation ruling
Articles

Victorian government announces replacement of the Victorian Building Authority

By: Andrew Brennan, Sarah Metcalfe, Nick Lux and Jordan Bova At a glance The Victorian government will abolish and replace the Victorian Building Authority following an independent review that found significant management and cultural failures. A new regulator, the Building & Plumbing Commission, will be created by merging the Victorian Building Authority with other agencies, […]

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By : Oct 24, 2024 Comments Off on Victorian government announces replacement of the Victorian Building Authority

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