Lewis Holdway News
UPDATE | COVID-19 and Parenting Orders
We understand from our conversation with clients, that many parents have concerns about the safety of their children in this unprecedented time in the world dealing with the COVID-19 virus and their ability to comply with their current Orders and how the Court may view the current situation. These issues include but are not limited…
UPDATE: COVID-19
Despite the current state of the world and the concerns about the COVID-19 Pandemic, Lewis Holdway Lawyers remains open for business and will continue assisting clients in their legal needs. We have full access to all systems and we are available to clients as per usual. It is ‘business as usual’ in these unusual circumstances.…
Dance like no one’s watching…. But text like a Judge will read it!
We’ve all heard the caution ‘anything you say or do may be used against you in the Court of Law’, but what most people don’t realise is that this warning also extends to text messages and emails! In the era of smartphones, text messages, emails, WhatsApp and Facebook, communication apps have become a helpful form…
Domestic Violence: 4 simple strategies to protect your family in a relationship breakdown
Unfortunately, statistics tell us that one woman in Australia dies each week at the hands of her abusive partner or ex-partner. In the past couple of days Australians have responded in horror to the family of five in Queensland suspected to have died in a murder/suicide involving a broken relationship in a very public and…
Trusts – Are your assets really protected?
Lots of families have Discretionary Trusts (often simply known as “the family trust”) which they run their business through, or which hold investments for them. They are often intended to assist in protecting assets from civil liability or to allow for tax planning. Another objective which people sometimes have is to limit their exposure to…
Intervention Orders: Common Traps
Intervention Orders are quite common in high-conflict situations like relationship breakdowns, and so they are something we deal with frequently in our family law practice. Despite how often they come up, people often misunderstand how they work. This is a real problem because there are serious, criminal consequences for breaches of Intervention Orders. Some of…
Parenting and Separation: How to avoid the Nightmare Before Christmas
The festive season can be a wonderfully exciting time for families, but it can also be an overwhelming and stressful time, especially when a family is going through a separation. Uncertainty and confusion about arrangements for what time the children will spend with each parent over Christmas is very common and can be one of…
“Don’t Delay! Payment Claim!” – Top 5 Common Misconceptions of the Security of Payment Regime
The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act Regime (SOP Act) has proven to be an effective way for sub-contractors and contractors in the construction industry to be paid on time for their services. The SOP Act operates unlike any other piece of legislation. It was enacted to address: protracted and unjustified delays in…
Changes to Modern Award annualised salary from March 2020
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has recently handed down a decision which will impact employers paying annualised salaries to employees covered by a Modern Award with an annualised salary clause. The new changes will take effect from 1 March 2020. The FWC decision finalises the terms of 3 new standard ‘annualised salary arrangement’ clauses, which…
The External Conduct Standards are here – are you complying with them?
The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (“ACNC”) External Conduct Standards have now taken effect. The standards apply to all registered ACNC charities that operate overseas or work with a third party that operates overseas. Are your directors and responsible persons aware of how these standards may apply to your charity? On 23 July 2019, the…
Crackdown on Underpayment of Wages
Federal Parliament is foreshadowing strong new penalties for employers who underpay their workers, including the introduction of criminal penalties. Recent Cases Underpayment has hit the headlines recently as George Calombaris has been ordered to pay a fine of $200,000 for the underpayment of $7.8 million. The penalty of $200,000 has been labelled as inadequate by…
Employers Beware: The Privacy Act and Employee Data
By Micaela Manning Did you know that the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) could apply to personal information that you collect from your employees? At the start of their employment, you collect lots of information from your employees: contact details, their previous employment history, academic record, medical information, superannuation details and bank account details. Once they…