GL Insights
Qantas JobKeeper case – How to properly calculate JobKeeper payments
In a recent decision of Qantas Airways Limited v Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia (the JobKeeper Case) the Federal Court of Australia considered and determined the correct application of the JobKeeper provisions contained in section 789GDA(2)(b) of the Fair Work Act 2009. Relevant JobKeeper provision Section 789GDA(2)(b) contains the “minimum payment guarantee”, which operates to …
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OAIC Privacy Survey Reveals Insights from COVID-19 Australia
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has recently published the 2020 Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey (ACAPS). The ACAPS provides insights to Australians’ views and understanding of privacy and privacy-related issues. Interestingly, the ACAPS also includes a snapshot of those views during the COVID-19 outbreak. COVID-19 Interestingly, the survey was carried out …
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An impartial summary of the new APSC Guidance on the Personal behaviour of APS employees on social media
The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has published revised guidance on the use of social media by Australian Government public servants. This comes just over a year after the High Court found that anonymous tweets can be a breach of the Australian Public Service’s Code of Conduct (Comcare v Banerji [2019] HCA 23). In that …
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Please sir… can I use this song?
On August 13, the Government announced a plan to reform digital copyright laws to bring them into line with the needs of a more online Australia. While nothing has changed yet, we can expect to see some draft legislation by the end of the year. We thought this would be a good opportunity to look …
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IP Australia fee increases and updated classification search
From 1 October 2020, IP Australia will increase their fees for a number of their intellectual property services including trade mark applications. Trade mark applicants wanting to submit their own unique claims instead of choosing from IP Australia’s standard list of available claims (the picklist), can now expect to pay even higher fees moving forward. …
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Government announces plan to extend temporary relief in response to COVID-19
We previously published an article about the Federal Government’s legislative response to the economic impact of COVID-19 and the introduction of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 which came into force on 25 March 2020. You can view this article here. The purpose of the legislative changes was to ease the financial impact …
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Launching Real Estate into the Digital Domain: The transition to e-Conveyancing in the ACT
The ACT is following in the footsteps of other Australian states and working toward an electronic conveyancing system. It has been on the horizon for months, with the implementation of gradual measures to make the transition, including identity verifications and the removal of requirements for original signatures on documents. So what could e-Conveyancing mean for …
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Genuine redundancies during the COVID-19 pandemic
In the recent case of Browne v MySharedServices Pty Ltd [2020] FWC 4445, the Fair Work Commission (Commission) has reasserted the importance of consultation, even during the current COVID-19 pandemic. In this case, Mr Matthew Browne (the Employee) was dismissed without his employer, MySharedServices Pty Ltd (the Employer), undertaking any consultation prior to his termination. …
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How should you calculate sick leave?
In a recent case Mondelez Australia Pty Ltd v Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union [2020] HCA 29 (Mondelez Case) the High Court settled some long-standing uncertainty about the meaning of “a day” under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act). The National Employment Standards (NES), through the operation of …
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ACAT fines Lessor for non-compliance with Tribunal order
It is vital to the administration of justice and the rule of law that orders of the Courts and Tribunals are complied with. The ACT Civil & Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) has recently fined a litigant for the deliberate flouting of orders: Brynes v Wang (Residential Tenancies) [2020] ACAT 40. Order In this case, the Tenant …
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