2025 WKLMA FinPro Travelling Scholarship: Applications Open

Applications for the WKLMA FinPro Travelling Scholarship for 2025 are now open! In partnership with the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA), this annual scholarship awards £5,000 to support one rising star in claims to attend the 2025 Australasian Professional Indemnity Group (APIG) National Conference and Gala Dinner in Sydney, Australia this September. The winner will also […]

Successful ‘declassing’ application in Waller Legal class action: Implications for institutional defendants?

By: Amanda Beattie, Zoe Jones and Nick Salagaras At a glance The Supreme Court of Victoria has granted an application made by a defendant (Waller Legal) for a claim to no longer proceed as a group proceeding. The claim made by the lead plaintiff, Jane Jones (a pseudonym) alleged that Waller Legal breached its duty […]

Pafburn: High Court ruling reshapes liability for developers and builders under the DBP Act

By: Charu Stevenson, James Clohesy and Chris Knight Pafburn Pty Limited v The Owners – Strata Plan No 84674 [2024] HCA 49 At a glance The High Court ruled that developers and builders cannot rely on proportionate liability defences for breaches of the DBP Act duty of care due to its non-delegable nature. The decision […]

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 […]

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, […]

2024 W+K APIG Scholarship – Australian applications now open

We’re pleased to continue our partnership with the APIG National Committee to bring you the 2024 W+K APIG Scholarship, supporting the career development of young APIG members practicing in financial lines insurance in Australia. For nine years, the annual scholarship has recognised emerging talent in the financial lines industry and connected the winner with a […]

New duty of care: is Pafburn a knockout blow for proportionate liability defences?

By: Charu Stevenson and Hamshini Sathiyamoorthy The Owners – Strata Plan No 84674 v Pafburn Pty Ltd [2023] NSWCA 301 At a glance From June 2020, section 37 of the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) (DBP Act) introduced a new duty of care on those who carried out “construction work”. This article considers […]

New considerations for permanent stays of proceedings in a post-GLJ world

GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore [2023] HCA 32 At a glance On 1 November 2023, the High Court of Australia delivered its decision in GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore [2023] HCA 32, which we covered here. The […]

Get to know Thomas Cavanagh, new partner and financial services specialist

What made you decide to become a lawyer? Other than the usual desire to argue a point with everyone and shows like Boston Legal (aged very poorly, I know), I like the fact that the law is not actually made up of rigid principles but rather can be moulded to suit particular circumstances, and that’s […]

High Court appeal provides guidance on the application of law in historic child abuse cases

GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore [2023] HCA 32 At a glance The High Court of Australia has today delivered judgment in GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore [2023] HCA 32 and, by majority, has allowed an appeal from […]