Practice area
Resources on civil litigation and dispute resolution — court proceedings, mediation, alternative dispute resolution and the strategic decisions that shape commercial and personal disputes.
Legal risks in Australian advertising, influencer marketing and branded content — misleading claims, sponsored content disclosure, agency and talent contracts, promotions, copyright and creative clearance, spam, privacy, direct marketing and AI-generated creative.
A creditor-focused Victorian guide to B2B commercial debt recovery — credit checks and PPSR, pre-action letters of demand, statutory demands, proceedings in the Magistrates', County and Supreme Courts, default and summary judgment, settlement strategy and moving to enforcement.
A practical Victorian guide to enforcing a judgment debt — oral examinations, warrants of seizure and sale, attachment of earnings and debts, instalment orders, charging orders, bankruptcy and winding-up applications, and how to choose an enforcement pathway proportionate to cost and prospects of recovery.
Recognising elder financial abuse in Victoria — warning signs across bank accounts, property, wills and powers of attorney, and the civil and protective legal options available to families.
A practical Victorian guide to retirement village refurbishment and reinstatement disputes — the contract, condition evidence, scope of works, quotations, deductions, sale and reletting effects, and when VCAT may be available.
A practical Victorian guide to what happens when a person is charged with a criminal or traffic offence — first hearings, pleas, bail, summary case conferences, contest mentions, evidence, sentencing and appeals in the Magistrates' Court.
A practical Victorian guide to Calderbank offers, offers of compromise and costs strategy in estate litigation — how a well-drafted 'without prejudice save as to costs' offer shifts costs risk in family provision, capacity and executor disputes, when the Court will order indemnity costs, and the drafting pitfalls that make an offer worthless.
A practical, step-by-step Victorian guide for eligible persons considering a family provision (TFM) claim under Part IV of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic) — eligibility, the six-month time limit, evidence, letter of claim, mediation, Supreme Court proceedings, costs and settlement.
A practical Australian guide for employers, directors and HR teams on managing underperformance — identifying the performance gap, designing a defensible performance improvement plan, warnings, procedural fairness, protected rights, health and disability issues, and lawful termination for unsatisfactory performance.
A practical Victorian employer guide to identifying, assessing and controlling psychosocial hazards under the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 and the WorkSafe compliance code — work design, consultation, hierarchy of controls, complaint response, reviews and overlapping employment, discrimination and workers-compensation duties.
A practical Australian employer guide to the positive duty under section 47C of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) — reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment, sex discrimination, sex-based harassment, hostile workplace environments on the ground of sex and related victimisation, with the AHRC's four Guiding Principles, seven Standards, Fair Work overlap and Victorian equal-opportunity and OHS overlay.
A practical Victorian guide to retirement village disputes — the legal and contractual basis, evidence, complaint and negotiation pathways, when VCAT may have jurisdiction, remedies, costs, urgency, executors and the strategic decisions residents, families and estates face.
A practical Victorian guide to applications at VCAT for guardianship, administration, supportive guardianship and supportive administration orders under the Guardianship and Administration Act 2019 — decision-making capacity, less restrictive alternatives, will and preferences, evidence, hearings, the powers and duties of appointees and how orders are reassessed, varied or cancelled.
Definitive Australian guide on how gifts and loans from parents are treated in divorce and property settlements — gift versus loan, contemporaneous evidence, contributions, resulting and constructive trusts, third-party rights, disclosure, sham debts, valuation, companies and trusts, Consent Orders and Binding Financial Agreements.
Definitive Australian guide on full and frank financial disclosure in family-law property settlements — what must be disclosed, standard documents, continuing duty, warning signs of hidden assets, companies, trusts, cryptocurrency, overseas property, subpoenas, forensic accountants, lawful evidence gathering, preservation orders, consequences of non-disclosure, adverse inferences, Consent Orders, Binding Financial Agreements and setting aside orders.
Definitive Australian guide on what happens when a spouse spends, withdraws, transfers, gifts or otherwise deals with assets after separation — ordinary expenditure versus dissipation, current treatment of add-backs, premature distribution, wastage, legal fees, gambling, gifts to relatives, sale below value, companies and trusts, cryptocurrency, superannuation, real property and caveats, joint accounts, evidence and tracing, disclosure, urgent preservation, section 106B, third-party rights, bankruptcy, tax, Consent Orders and Binding Financial Agreements.
Authoritative Australian guide on interim property settlements and partial property orders before final orders — what an interim property order is, the Court's discretionary approach, sale of the family home before final settlement, sale proceeds, liquid assets, business and trust interests, superannuation, tax, liabilities and reserves, disclosure, valuation uncertainty, third-party rights, bankruptcy, family violence, children, spousal maintenance, consent arrangements, evidence, procedure, safeguards, effect on final settlement, refusal and urgent cases.
Authoritative Australian guide on who pays debts after separation and divorce — joint and sole debts, mortgages, credit cards, tax, HECS/HELP, business debts, personal guarantees, family loans, post-separation borrowing, indemnities, refinance and release, bankruptcy, creditor rights and the treatment of liabilities in property settlement, Consent Orders and Binding Financial Agreements.
Received a drone fine, CASA notice or complaint about drone use? A practical guide to Australian drone rules, penalties, privacy issues and when to seek legal advice.
Authoritative Australian guide to post-separation contributions and changes in asset value in family-law property settlements — separation does not freeze the pool; mortgage and household payments, occupation of the home, parenting and homemaker contributions, income and savings after separation, new assets and debts, passive market movements, active improvements, business growth, inheritances, trust distributions, superannuation accrual, wastage, preservation, delay, interim orders, Consent Orders and Binding Financial Agreements.
Authoritative Australian guide to current and future circumstances (often called 'future needs') in family-law property settlements — discretionary, comparative, no fixed percentage; age, health, income, earning capacity, care and housing of children, financial resources, trusts, inheritances, pensions and superannuation, family violence economic effect, wastage, liabilities, cohabitation, spousal maintenance and child support, time limits, evidence and what is just and equitable under sections 79 and 90SM of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).
Authoritative Australian guide to how financial, non-financial, homemaker and parenting contributions are assessed in a family-law property settlement — initial contributions, wages, mortgage payments, renovations, business and trust contributions, gifts, loans, inheritances, superannuation, short and long relationships, post-separation contributions, the economic effect of family violence, wastage and the just-and-equitable check under sections 79 and 90SM of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) as amended on 10 June 2025.
Authoritative Australian guide to when final property settlement orders or Consent Orders may be varied or set aside under section 79A and section 90SN of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) — finality, miscarriage of justice, fraud, suppression of evidence, non-disclosure, false evidence, duress, family violence, impracticability, failed refinance, default, exceptional child-related circumstances, proceeds of crime, consent variation, the distinction between appeal, enforcement, correction and setting aside, BFAs under Part VIIIA and VIIIAB, creditors, bankruptcy trustees, bona fide purchasers, tax and duty, superannuation, interim protective relief and procedure.
Search orders (formerly Anton Piller orders) authorise entry to premises and the preservation of documents and electronic records at risk of destruction. A plain-English Victorian guide to the threshold, the role of the independent supervising solicitor, and the costs and contempt risks.
Freezing (Mareva) orders preserve assets so that a future Victorian judgment is not rendered worthless. A plain-English guide to the evidence required, the undertaking as to damages, interstate and overseas reach, and the costs and contempt risks of breach.
When assets, confidential information or transactions are at imminent risk, an urgent injunction may be the only effective remedy. A plain-English Victorian guide to interim and final injunctions, ex parte applications, the serious-question and balance-of-convenience test, the undertaking as to damages, and the costs and contempt risks.
Who pays legal costs in Victorian court proceedings? A plain-English guide to the 'costs follow the event' rule, party/party vs solicitor/client costs, indemnity costs, Calderbank offers, offers of compromise and the costs risks of estate and commercial disputes.
A practical Victorian guide for business owners on resolving commercial disputes before court — letters of demand, negotiation, mediation, expert determination, arbitration, VCAT and cost-effective strategies.
What a letter of demand is, common types of claim, time limits, preserving evidence, the risks of ignoring correspondence, negotiation and settlement options, and when to obtain legal advice.
A plain-English guide to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal — its jurisdiction and powers, starting and responding to proceedings, hearings, evidence, costs and practical tips for applicants and respondents.
A practical Australian guide for employers, directors and HR teams on general protections claims — adverse action, workplace rights, industrial activity, freedom of association, the reverse onus of proof, the Fair Work Commission and court process, remedies, penalties and personal liability of managers.
A practical Australian guide for employers, directors and HR teams on unfair dismissal — eligibility, the Fair Work Commission process, time limits, valid reason, procedural fairness, remedies and how to respond to an application.
How bankruptcy affects family law property settlement in Australia — the role of the trustee, vested property, the rights of the non-bankrupt spouse, creditors, clawback issues and what to do if your former partner becomes bankrupt.
A plain-English guide to Family Violence Intervention Orders in Victoria — who can apply, what counts as family violence, interim and final orders, conditions, children, contesting an order and the consequences of breach.
How PSIOs protect people from threatening or harmful conduct outside a family relationship — who can apply, the court process, interim and final orders, and the consequences of breach.
A plain-English Victorian guide to owners corporation disputes — levies and special levies, repairs, common property versus lot property, water leaks, building defects, short-stay, noise and pets, committee decision-making, managers, internal dispute resolution, Consumer Affairs Victoria, VCAT and the costs and practical risks of escalation.
A plain-English Victorian guide to restrictive covenants — how they appear on title, common examples, due diligence, section 32 disclosure, planning permit issues, breach risks, Supreme Court modification and practical steps if a covenant is discovered late.
A plain-English Victorian guide to property boundaries and fencing disputes — how legal title boundaries are determined, why fences are often in the wrong place, licensed surveyors, encroachments, retaining walls, trees, access, the Fences Act 1968 (Vic), mediation and Supreme Court proceedings.
A plain-English Victorian guide to adverse possession — the 15-year limitation period under the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), continuous and exclusive possession, intention to possess, fencing and boundary encroachments, Crown land exclusions, applications through Land Use Victoria and Supreme Court proceedings.
A plain-English Victorian guide to easements — drainage, sewerage, carriageway and utility easements, building over an easement, neighbour disputes, removal and variation under section 36 of the Subdivision Act 1988 (Vic) and section 23 of the Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), and pre-purchase due diligence.
A plain-English Victorian guide to caveats on land — caveatable interests, voluntary withdrawal, section 89A lapsing notices, urgent Supreme Court applications under section 90(3), and compensation for wrongful caveats under section 118.
