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.
A practical Victorian guide for owners corporations, committees and managers. It covers who must repair what, how to authorise and fund the work, how to get access, and what to do when a repair turns into a dispute.
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.
How a Victorian business creditor works an unpaid B2B debt: verifying the debt and the debtor, issuing a proportionate demand, weighing dispute and solvency risk, choosing the right court, obtaining default or summary judgment, and moving to an enforcement gateway.
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 possible elder financial abuse in Victoria — warning signs, capacity and autonomy, attorney duties, VCAT, bank, family-violence and police pathways, and how money or property can be recovered.
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.
The end-to-end Victorian pathway for a criminal or traffic charge: the documents served, the first listing, bail under the Bail Act, disclosure and negotiation, guilty and contested hearings, the committal process applying from 28 December 2025, sentencing, licence consequences and appeals.
The applicant's chronological guide to a family provision (TFM) claim under Part IV of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic) — assessment, preserving your position, the six-month period, evidence, commencing in the right court, Practice Note SC CL 7 procedure, mediation, settlement and trial.
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.
How to diagnose a Victorian retirement village dispute and resolve it — the operator's village dispute procedure, VicAssist conciliation, when VCAT has jurisdiction and what it can order, evidence, deadlines, standing, representation, costs, appeals, enforcement and settlement strategy.
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.
How lifetime financial help from parents is characterised in property settlements — enforceable loan, gift, contribution, secured debt, equitable claim or advance given little weight — and the evidence that decides it.
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.
How Australian family law treats post-separation spending, transfers and dissipation — the codified duty of disclosure, the wastage consideration in ss 79(5)(d) and 90SM(5)(d), add-backs, section 106B set-asides, injunctions and freezing orders, third-party joinder, tax and duty consequences, and the evidence required.
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.
How post-separation contributions and changes in asset value are considered under ss 79 and 90SM of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) — no automatic add-backs or default valuation date, and the effect of financial and homemaker contributions, market movement, business growth and liabilities is assessed on the evidence.
How the current and future circumstances of each party are considered in an Australian family-law property settlement under s 79 (married) or s 90SM (de facto) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) as in force from 10 June 2025 — discretionary, comparative and evidence-based, with no fixed percentage.
How financial, non-financial and homemaker or parenting contributions are considered in an Australian family-law property settlement under s 79 (married) or s 90SM (de facto) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) as in force from 10 June 2025.
When final property orders or Consent Orders may be varied or set aside under s 79A of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) (married) or s 90SN (de facto), and how those grounds differ from appeals, enforcement and setting aside Binding Financial Agreements.
Search orders (historically Anton Piller orders) require a respondent to permit a supervised search party to enter premises and preserve important evidence. A Victorian guide to Order 37B, the rule 37B.03 test, the independent solicitor, privilege and respondents' rights.
Freezing (Mareva) orders restrain dealings with assets so that a Victorian judgment is not frustrated. A plain-English guide for applicants and respondents: the test, evidence, undertakings, the return date, interstate and overseas reach, and what to do if you are served.
When assets, confidential information or transactions are at imminent risk, an urgent injunction may be an important remedy. A plain-English Victorian guide to interim and final injunctions, ex parte applications, the integrated serious-question and balance-of-convenience approach under ABC v O'Neill, the undertaking as to damages, and costs and contempt considerations.
Who pays legal costs in Victorian court proceedings? A plain-English guide to the 'costs follow the event' rule, standard and indemnity costs, Order 26 offers of compromise, Calderbank offers, security for costs 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.
An employer's guide to defending general protections and adverse action claims under Part 3-1 of the Fair Work Act: the 7-day response to a Form F8, the presumption about the reason for a decision, the evidence that displaces it, and the remedies a court can order.
A practical Australian guide for employers, directors and HR teams on unfair dismissal — eligibility and jurisdiction, section 386 dismissal, responding to a Form F2 with a Form F3, jurisdictional objections, the Fair Work Commission process, remedies and costs.
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 prohibited behaviour and stalking outside a family relationship — who may apply, mediation, interim and final orders, conditions, duration, breach, publication restrictions, variation, appeal and rehearing.
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.
Victorian property boundaries and fencing disputes: survey evidence, encroachments, retaining walls, notices, contributions, adverse possession, mediation and the correct court or VCAT pathway.
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 Services 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 by planning permit, under the Subdivision Act 1988 (Vic) and section 73 of the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), and pre-purchase due diligence.
A plain-English Victorian guide to caveats on land — caveatable interests, first steps, voluntary withdrawal, section 89A lapsing notices, dealing-based lapse under section 90(1), court removal under section 90(3), no renewal under section 91(4) and compensation under section 118.
