Opinion
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Lawyers speak out about AI in recent studies
25th Jul 2024Legal Practice Intelligence provides a snapshot of results from three reports into AI in legal practice, highlighting the pros and cons.
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Dealing with WorkCover for work injuries: Closing the gap between injury and returning to work
18th Jul 2024Employers can play a crucial role in speeding up the recovery time following an employee’s work injury by implementing effective early intervention programs. Australia, however, has a long way to go in terms of uniformity and ensuring injured workers are treated fairly across all industries as they navigate their compensation claims. Compensation Lawyer Yasmine Chalvatzis explains.
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Vampire in charge of the blood bank – a CTP insurer tale
4th Jul 2024Tim McClymont delivers a spine-chilling account of the high price CTP insurers can extract from vulnerable self-representing claimants.
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How convincing pleadings can change minds
27th Jun 2024A well-constructed statement of claim has the power to establish foreseeability - and guide others to reach the same logical conclusions. Noor Blumer shares the story of how it’s done.
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How an emoji can land you in court
20th Jun 2024Anne-Marie Fahey considers the ambiguity of emojis and explains why it’s a very good idea to think carefully before signing off with a smiley face or any other emoji.
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Review of industrial laws across Australia – are workers who die on worksites better protected?
6th Jun 2024Workplace deaths continue to occur despite most states having industrial manslaughter laws in place. Earlier this year the Victorian Supreme Court convicted a stonemasonry company for engaging in negligent conduct constituting a breach of duty that caused death, fining them $1.3 million. Yasmine Chalvatzis asks if workers are really safer when prosecutions and convictions are so rare?
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Call for Indigenous justice heard on global stage
30th May 2024Emphasising National Reconciliation Week’s theme of ‘Now More Than Ever’, Dr Hannah McGlade makes a powerful call for action from the Commonwealth Government to support the rights of Australia’s Indigenous children and youth consistent with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this sobering statement delivered last month at the UN Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues, she outlines some of the shortfalls and failings that continue to contribute to Australia’s high rates of Indigenous youth incarceration, child removals and suicide.
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Case Summary: Insurance Australia Limited (trading as NRMA) v James Hulse [2024] NSWSC 142
23rd May 2024Someone is seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident, then charged with a serious driving offence which is subsequently dismissed. In this case summary, Tim Concannon examines the implications on motor accident statutory benefits of being charged with a serious driving offence.
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The true toll of Sydney’s tunnel network: A system of silica dust
9th May 2024Noting last year’s completion of WestConnex, Timothy McGinley takes a timely look at the expected human cost of Sydney’s tunnel projects. As the network continues to expand, with more tunnels being planned, he considers what should be put in place now to safeguard future generations of tunnel workers against silicosis and other silica-related diseases.
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Case Summary: Akl v TAC [2024] VCC 242
2nd May 2024In 2011, an eight-year-old boy’s older brother was killed in a traffic accident. Jacinta Richards takes us through how, in 2024, the County Court of Victoria examined this young man’s ‘severe’ psychiatric injury claim, including the consequences of such an injury irrespective of other life influences and lack of treatment.
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Case Summary: Ghorbanzadeh v Western Sydney Local Health District [2023] NSWSC 1330
18th Apr 2024The NSW Supreme Court decision in Ghorbanzadeh v Western Sydney Local Health District [2023] NSWSC 1330 has confirmed that any written material created by a medico-legal expert in the course of providing a preliminary verbal opinion to instructing solicitors may also be required to be disclosed in subsequent court proceedings. Rebecca Tidswell provides a background on the case and explains the Court’s decision.
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Does this mean public servants will be properly compensated for workplace injuries?
11th Apr 2024John Wilson and Kieran Pender examine February’s landmark judgement, Comcare v Friend, revealing how it removes uncertainty where compensation for workplace injuries intersects with the Comcare scheme – and ensures public servants can be properly compensated.
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Contemporary leaders need to measure value - not time, clicks or keystrokes
4th Apr 2024Travis Schultz addresses the ongoing debate around workers being at home, in the office or a mix of both. ‘From a four-day work week to work-from-home, telecommuting and flexibility, opinions are as polarised as the Republicans and Democrats in the race to the White House’. He reminds us to focus on what really matters: creating value, and predicts time, clicks and keystroke measurements will be replaced as contemporary leaders focus on quality and impact.
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Some justice for the people affected by Youpla/ACBF
21st Mar 2024First Nations advocates have worked with the federal government for two years to help thousands of payers left with nothing after the Aboriginal Community Benefit Fund, which masqueraded as an Aboriginal-owned organisation, collapsed. Mark Holden provides a timely update on Close the Gap Day.
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One-stop justice plan breaks down the borders
14th Mar 2024Julie Tongs OAM has written to the ACT Attorney-General and Minister for Corrections to explain why a NSW/ACT cross-border justice scheme is necessary to improve law enforcement and the administration of justice. More importantly, it could reduce reoffending by encouraging increased participation in prison training and education programs.
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Injured motorists in Queensland will be worse off for RACQ's withdrawal
7th Mar 2024One year on from the announcement of Queensland’s CTP scheme review, the withdrawal of major insurer the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) in October 2023 means former customers are unsure of their options. Claims management performance was said to be comparable across Queensland’s CTP insurers. Travis Schultz examines the key metrics to uncover a different story.
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New SA laws threaten rule of law
22nd Feb 2024‘An appalling and the most egregious attack on the rule of law we have seen in some time’ writes Greg Barns SC, in response to last month’s amendments to the State’s sentencing laws.
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Native title is a cultural issue, not just a legal one
13th Feb 2024Navigating the complexities of native title is challenging. Jahmillah Johnson’s cultural identity combined with her Master of Laws research and analytical skills provide some unique insights.
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Archaic immunity from the long face of the law
8th Feb 2024An anachronistic and outdated law continues to unfairly affect road users who collide with livestock in Queensland. Rachel Last sets out the detail and why Queensland should align with other states and territories to ensure a just outcome.
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Unmasking the injustice: Inadequate compensation for road accident acquired brain injuries in Victoria
25th Jan 2024Jeremy King of Robinson Gill Lawyers examines Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission's compensation structure, weighing its shortfalls against the multi-faceted impact of acquired brain injuries on sufferers and their families.
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