Articles
Author: Claire McGee
Commonwealth offences sentencing
Commonwealth offences include drug importation, terrorism, Australian Tax Office and Medicare fraud and are sentenced differently to State-based offences.
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Health professionals and immediate registration action when in the public interest
As of 1 March 2018, the power to take immediate registration action against a health practitioner was extended to include the power to take such action if the Health Ombudsman reasonably believes the action is “otherwise in the public interest”.
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What does it mean to choke, strangle or suffocate someone; from a criminal law perspective
To choke, strangle and/or suffocate are not actually defined in legislation but you can still be found guilty and they are serious criminal offences.
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Replica firearms (gel blasters) & other restricted items
In February 2021, new laws came into effect in Queensland to address the purchase, possession, storage and use of replica firearms.
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Using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence
Under the Criminal Code in Queensland, a person commits an offence if they use a carriage service in a way that reasonable persons would regard as being, in all the circumstances, menacing, harassing or offensive. The “service” can include a fixed or mobile telephone service, an internet service, or an intranet service.
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Sexual boundaries in the doctor-patient relationship
In December 2018, the Medical Board of Australia published revised Guidelines: Sexual Boundaries in the Doctor-Patient Relationship. The Guidelines aim to provide guidance to doctors about establishing and maintaining sexual boundaries in the doctor-patient relationship.
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Being a workplace investigator is no job for a ‘wilting flower’
A Fair Work Commission decision delivered on 4 March 2020 comments on what it takes to be a workplace investigator. In Boyle v BHP Coal, Mr Boyle, an employee of BHP, made a joke to some of his colleagues which became subject of a workplace investigation.
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Can I be a surety for someone applying for bail?
A ‘surety’ is a person who pledges financial security to ensure the person charged complies with their bail undertaking and appears in court.
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