Expert Advice

Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer and respiratory disease account for 59% of the 56.5 million deaths each year. The World Health Organisation (WHO) have identified poor consumption of fruit and vegetables as a major contributing factor in the development of these diseases, and it is estimated that 2.7 million lives could potentially be saved with adequate intake of fruit and...

Sometimes I meet someone who happily tells me that they have "sorted" their property settlement, "just between us". No paperwork, no orders, no lawyers. Sounds good? A recent decision of the Full Court of the Family Court (Bevan and Bevan 2013) highlights again, the risk in relying upon informal settlements. The facts are interesting. The husband and wife had been...

When a couple separates, superannuation is an important issue to be taken into consideration. Since the introduction of the Superannuation Guarantee in 1992, the amount of money in superannuation is ever increasing. When the superannuation is a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF), another layer of complexity is added. In an SMSF the individuals that \"own\" the fund have the dual...

In many football codes we are seeing rival clubs "approaching and poaching" players who are still under contract for the following season. Many sports followers must be wondering what can legally be done to prevent this issue (assuming the club does not wish to grant a release). The answer may lie in the tort of interference with contract (or inducement...

In my last column, I reflected on the need to take action on regulation. In July, we also released our final policy position paper titled 'Towards better regulation.' We believe deregulation - stemming the growth in regulation and actually cutting back existing red tape - is a key element of the agenda for boosting national productivity and a crucial policy...

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As if the economy, business compliance and keeping up with customer demand were not enough for business owners to contend with: employers also need to be vigilant about the behaviour of their employees! Courts have found against employers for breaching their duty of care to employees and customers in circumstances where an employee has failed to exercise commonsense. By way...

It is possible for people to lose track of their super over the years as they change employers or funds. In this article, we look at how people can track their lost super by using the ATO's SuperSeeker service. Losing super According to the Commissioner of Taxation's 2010/11 Annual Report, Australians have around $20.2 billion in lost and unclaimed super....

As a provider of credit you insist on it and as the receiver of credit you baulk at providing it: a personal guarantee. How do they apply to sole traders? A sole trader is a person who trades without the use of a company structure, or partners, and who alone bears full responsibility for the debts of the business. A...

How many times have you searched for something online? How did you feel when you found what you were looking for, but couldn't read the details as the site appeared too small to read from? According to the statistics, around 94% of smartphone users have searched for a product or service on their phones and nearly 60% access internet via...

Canberra is a pretty stress free city - but workplaces can sometimes contribute our stress levels and our productivity. Stress in the workplace is a growing concern for both employees and business owners. Synergy research has identified the key causes of stress and how to deal with them. If we can manage stress better, we can all become far more...

A downstream risk is defined as a risk that eventuates when new treatments or controls are introduced. When developing risk treatments for an identified risk, it is important to take the time to consider what these downstream risks might be and the damage they can cause. Of course, there will be flow on risks no matter what treatments we put...

A candidate rich market can complicate the recruitment process and quantity does not align with quality! Be it internal or external, it's both time-consuming and costly to recruit. To manage this in a candidate rich market increases the difficulty - not only to secure that perfect candidate, but managing the process to get there! What to bear in mind in...

The day has finally come. The All Lawn Tennis Club has a local Wimbledon champion since the great Fred Perry lifted the crown in 1934. Andy Murray has given the British crowd what they wanted and since then has inspired many juniors to get on the court and take up the game of tennis. Australians love watching sport. We don't...

Have a look around your workplace, at those people you depend upon each day to make a meaningful contribution to your business. How many of them are in relationships, married or de facto? Look a little more closely - how many of them are happy in those relationships? Don't know? Not your business? Perhaps you should - between 30 and...

A case last month (Brennan v Mansfield & Ors SASC 83) was one of the first cases of a will for a person in a same sex relationship. But what makes the decision more interesting is the discussion about what amounts to "adequate provision". Where a will maker does not make "adequate provision" in a will for their partner,...