The High Court of Australia has handed down its second significant decision on the interpretation of the adverse action provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act).  Readers will recall the High Court’s 2012 decision in the Board of Bendigo Regional Institute of Technical and Further Education v Barclay which provided employers with guidance on what must be established to defend a claim that adverse action had been taken against an employee for a prohibited reason.  

The Victorian government passed the Justice Legislation Amendment Act on 16 October, just before the deadline was crossed before it moved into caretaker mode.

The Act includes significant amendments to the laws governing the contesting of wills, that is, claims by those who consider that a will has not properly provided for them.

On 12 March 2014, significant changes to the Privacy Act 1988 took effect that included the introduction of a more comprehensive credit reporting system, and the introduction of a set of Australian Privacy Principles, which set out the standards, rights and obligations in relation to the collecting, handling, holding, access and correction of personal information.

In a decision handed down by the Fair Work Commission this week, a Victorian water authority was found to have contravened the "no extra claims" clause in its enterprise agreement by changing a vehicle policy which had provided some employees with limited private use of work vehicles.