Report reveals rise in sexual harassment – support pack for businesses

Last week, The Australian Human Rights Commission released its fourth survey on the prevalence, nature and reporting of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces and the community. The results were not good, with one in three of the 10,000 Australians surveyed saying they had been sexually harassed at work. New data from the AHRC also shows […]

A win for the cleaners – practice doesn’t require perfection

Last week the NSW Court of Appeal found in favour of a cleaning contractor in Argo Managing Agency Pty Ltd v Al Kammessy [2018] NSWCA 176. The Court reiterated that the duty of care owed by a cleaner is to exercise reasonable care to identify and remove potential hazards, not to guarantee that all hazards […]

Lost Years: The High Court rules on whether future pension entitlements are recoverable

On 13 June 2018, the High Court held that loss of future superannuation pension payments may be compensated as loss of earning capacity, but that the loss of future aged pension payments are not. In this update, our Melbourne team of Allison Hunt (Special Counsel), Andrew Seiter (Partner) and Jackson Pannam (Associate) explore the circumstances […]

Competing Class Actions – the Court considers how best to address the problem

With the increasing number of litigation funders and plaintiff class action law firms, the threat of multiple competing class actions in respect of the same issues and the associated increased costs are an ever increasing risk for both insurers and insureds alike.  The recent Federal Court decision of Justice Lee in Perera v GetSwift Ltd […]

GDPR: How One Website Advertisement Could Cost You Millions from May 25, 2018

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) affects businesses across the globe, despite originating in the European Union (EU) and comes into force today. It is not too late to consider the impact as an Australian or New Zealand business owner. What makes this new regulation unique is the obligations imposed on businesses worldwide to comply […]

Balancing contractual intention and legislative rights: The case of the peripatetic pilots

As published in the November 2017 issue of Law Talk, the official magazine of the New Zealand Law Society. Wotton Kearney’s Auckland Partner Rebecca Scott and Solicitor Ines Shennan review the Supreme Court of New Zealand’s decision involving the termination of employment of two pilots on the grounds of retirement age in Brown & Anor […]

No duty of care to subsequent home owners. Consultants in the clear?

Ku-ring-gai Council v Chan [2017] NSWCA 226 What you need to know The New South Wales Court of Appeal has delivered a decision that creates significant difficulties for subsequent purchasers of domestic properties who seek recovery from building consultants for defective works when recourse against the builder under statutory home warranty schemes is available. This […]

Shippers to ensure air carriers informed of special handling requirements for sensitive cargo

Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd v Principle International Pty Ltd [2017] NSWCA 216 What you need to know Shippers/exporters must exercise care to comply with their regulatory requirements for cargo handling and ensure the air carrier is informed of any known special carrying conditions or instructions – such as positioning of cargo in the hold. […]

Tripping up on section 45 of the Civil Liability Act

Holland v City of Botany Bay Council [2017] NSWSC 1120 What you need to know This Supreme Court judgment will be of interest to state and council road authorities, and their insurers. The decision provides clarification on when a roads authority (as opposed to “the” roads authority) can engage the special non-feasance protection under s45 […]

Kennecott: One of the Biggest Mining Claims Globally in Recent History

ABOUT The Bingham Canyon Mine (also referred to as Kennecott Copper Mine), is an open-pit mining operation extracting a large copper deposit in Utah, in the United States. The mine has been in production since 1906, and has resulted in the creation of a pit over 0.6 miles (970 m) deep, 2.5 miles (4 km) […]