Articles
Regulatory offences in Queensland
In Queensland, there are two types of offences: criminal offences and regulatory offences. Criminal offences are by far the most common, but in this article, we explore the lesser-known topic of regulatory offences.
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Possessing child exploitation material – charges and penalties
In Australia, there are a wide variety of criminal offences relating to unlawfully dealing with child pornography, also known as child exploitation material. These include the offences of unlawful possession, access, distribution and making of CEM; the most common offence being that of possession.
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Police interviews involving children
When police wish to interview a child in relation to a suspected offence, special rules apply. Parents and those with the care of a child who the police want to question should seek urgent legal advice from the outset, before any interview takes place.
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NDIS fraud – investigations and penalties
The NDIS Commission uses a range of compliance and enforcement tools to prevent and address breaches of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013, including NDIS fraud and other non-compliance activities.
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Protected and unprotected industrial action
The law around industrial action is complex, and it’s important for everyone involved in such disputes - employees, unions and employers – to understand what constitutes industrial action, and what they can and cannot lawfully do in undertaking such action in the course of a bargaining dispute.
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Weapons licensing show cause requests
When further information is required to adequately determine a weapon’s licence application, it is ordinarily sought in the form of a show cause notice which is emailed to the applicant and identifies the further information requested by the authorised officer.
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Work health and safety (WHS) due diligence duty of company officers in Queensland
Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), a company officer has a duty to exercise due diligence to ensure the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) complies with its health and safety duties.
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Worker’s general protections claim fails in the Federal Court
A Federal Court employment law decision in 2024 emphasises what is required when establishing that the making of a complaint constitutes the exercise of a workplace right for the purposes of a general protections claim under the Fair Work Act.
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Assault occasioning bodily harm explained
Assault occasioning bodily harm is a very common offence of violence, and falls within the broad category of assault offences. It is a more serious offence than common assault, but less serious than grievous bodily harm.
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Update on stop bullying orders – FedEx workers fail in Fair Work Commission
In 2023, a number of workers engaged by FedEx Australia made an application to the Fair Work Commission for a “stop bullying order” against FedEx and one of its managers. The application was ultimately denied by the Fair Work Commission.
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Employee suspension – when can it be done?
Often, employers feel the need to remove an employee from the workplace. In these situations, proper processes for employee suspension must be followed to avoid allegations of breach of the employment contract and/or applications for general protection orders.
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Australia’s reformed foreign bribery laws to commence September 2024
On 29 February 2024, in line with Australia’s commitment as a member of the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transitions, the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Bill 2024 passed both houses of Parliament. The changes will commence in September 2024.
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