In recent weeks there has been a story in the news about the evacuation of a unit block in Harris Park after a sink hole opened up alongside the building. The recent heavy rain combined with the flooded excavation site next door caused the wall of the excavated site to wash away to such an extent th...

As part of the normal conveyancing process, the purchaser will make enquiries with the vendor about the Title of the property.  These are referred to as “requisitions on title”.

The purpose of requisitions is to ask the vendor information which may not have been disclosed in the contract or discove...

A voluntary code of conduct for the food and grocery industry has been introduced under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. The Code governs certain conduct by grocery retailers and wholesalers in their dealings with suppliers.

Only those retailers and wholesalers that have elected to be bound b...

The NSW Minister for Fair Trading is expected to today announce a new trust fund scheme designed to prevent insolvent builders from keeping money that is owed to subcontractors after the job is completed.

The new retention trust scheme is the first of its kind in Australia, and was developed in res...

The ACCC has commenced proceedings against an online retailer,Electronic Bazaar, for alleged breaches of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

The ACCC alleges that the owner of Electronic Bazaar made false and misleading representations about:

• the availability of consumer refund rights – suggestin
...

The annual work Christmas party is usually the one and only opportunity for workmates to really let their hair down, socialise away from the usual constraints of work and celebrate the festive season … a celebration which unfortunately has the potential to result in a whole host of legal issues for ...

From 1 January 2015, the current Franchising Code of Conduct will be repealed and replaced with a new Code.  This will apply to all franchise systems operating in Australia. Whilst the Code will remain largely the same, some of the changes the new Franchising Code will bring include:

• introducing
...

The Government has passed legislation that will give the ACCC stronger powers and greater flexibility when enforcing the Franchising Code of Conduct, the mandatory industry code regulating the conduct of both franchisors and franchisees alike.

The Bill, which will commence on 1 January 2015, gives ...

The Federal Court earlier today handed down its ruling in the proceedings commenced by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commissionagainst Coles supermarkets, ordering that:

• Coles be banned for 3 years from advertising its bread as “fresh” and “baked daily” when that wasn’t the case
• Coles mu
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The Grattan Institute released a report in 2014 called “Dying Well” noting that although 70% of Australians want to die at home, only 14% end up doing so, with the rest passing away in hospital or aged care facilities.  The report encourages policy and attitudinal change to assist people to “die wel...