After many years of dedicated service, two of our Harwood Andrews Principals have announced their retirement from legal practice.

Harwood Andrews is delighted to have been identified by clients and peers for expertise and abilities in two areas for Victoria in the 2023 Doyles Guide. Doyles Guide is a highly regarded independent annual peer review of the leading corporate law firms and lawyers in Victoria.

Separation is not easy. In fact, separation is difficult whether it is your decision to separate or not.

There are many things to consider when contemplating separation or you have separated such as your health (including your safety and wellbeing together with any children), care arrangements for children, your financial stability both in the short term and long term and also interactions with your former partner or spouse.

In a recent case of Cao & Trong (2022) FedCFamC1F 754 (4 October 2022) the Court considered debts of the parties which exceeded the value of the matrimonial asset pool available for distribution.

Please join us in congratulating James Hickey and Matthew Synoradzki who were both admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria as Lawyers on Tuesday 8th March 2023. A great achievement after many years of study and hard work.

New changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FWA) as of 1 February 2023 have introduced paid family and domestic violence (FDV) leave for employees who are dealing with the impacts of FDV.

The FWC has recently delivered a ruling involving an analysis of an employee v independent contractor relationship post the High Court’s landmark decisions of Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd [2022] HCA 1 (Personnel Contracting) and ZG Operations Australia Pty Ltd v Jamsek [2022] HCA 2 (Jamsek) in this area last year.

Commissioner Platt of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) in the recent decision of Healthe Care Surgical Pty Ltd T/A Healthe Care [2023] FWC 183 (20 January 2023), has dismissed an application for a proposed Enterprise Agreement (EA) on the basis that the employer used the wrong company name on the Notice to its employees.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) is presently considering referring the head of human resources for hospitality giant Mantle Group to the police after finding that he purposefully lied about a pay deal that deprived hundreds of workers of their penalty rates.

Harwood Andrews is pleased to announce the appointment of Bridgette Kelly to Principal Lawyer, effective January 2023.

Harwood Andrews has commenced 2023 by announcing promotions across four areas of practice.

December is a time for giving, and you may be considering providing your child or children with financial assistance through either a gift or a loan. Before making a gift or loan, you should consider the future implications, particularly in relation to your will if you pass away.

With the recent passing through both houses of Parliament of new legislation in the form of the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 (the Act), a raft of changes to the Australia workplace relations landscape are already in effect.

On 28 November 2022, the Government passed the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022, marking a commitment to implement the recommendations coming out of the 2020 Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s Respect@Work Report (the Report).

There are many examples of people who have studied and practised planning, that go on to study and practice planning law. Less common is the approach that Allison Tansley has taken, where she studied law at Monash University and then undertook a Master of Urban Planning at Melbourne University, before working as a Planner in local government and the private sector. Spend 60 seconds with Allison.

In the recent case of McMurchy v Employsure Pty Ltd; Kumaran v Employsure Pty Ltd [2022] NSWCA 201, the Court of Appeal of New South Wales upheld a decision that a 6 month post-employment restraint was reasonable and enforceable against an employee who joined a competitor business, along with restrictions on the employee’s conduct during employment.

The Federal Government in September hosted the Jobs and Skills Summit which brought together representatives from key sectors of business, unions and education to consider the challenges and opportunities facing the Australian economy and workplace relations.