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Responding to Show Cause Letters

If you have received a show cause letter, it is important that you obtain legal advice and assistance with responding to the allegations against you. This applies to people who are both guilty or innocent of the conduct alleged.  This article discusses the purpose of show cause letters, the common forms of show cause letters, and why legal advice is so important to ensuring you attain a successful outcome.   What is a Show Cause Letter? A show cause letter (also known as a show cause notice), is a letter sent to a person which provides them with an opportunity to respond to...

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Enhanced Enforcement & Deterrence Regulations for Queensland Engineers

The New Regulatory Regime Comes Into Effect on 1 March 2021 The Board of Professional Engineers Queensland (BPEQ) has been protecting the public and setting the standards for engineers in Queensland for almost a century. But soon, the BPEQ will have enhanced investigative and enforcement powers, bringing it up to speed with many other regulatory bodies in Queensland and Australia. It is anticipated that the strengthening of the regulatory regime will lead to audits, investigations, and possibly also disciplinary action and criminal charges against engineers and the firms who employ them.   Who is affected by the changes? Approximately 16,000 engineers registered in Queensland will be...

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From Collaboration to Conflict: When Business Disputes Arise

By Jason Papoutsis What Happens When Your Joint Venture, Business Partnership, or Informal Collaboration With Another Business Turns Sour? An increasing amount of businesses across the world, and here in Queensland, are collaborating with other businesses.   These types of collaborative relationships are very common these days, whether it’s GoPro & Redbull, a social media influencer who has entered into an agreement to promote a business and attend events, or your local coffee shop teaming up with a surf shop down the street. This recent trend should come as no surprise, as there are many benefits to businesses collaborating. Some of these benefits include: Collaborative relationships...

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15 November 2020 Australian Citizenship Test Changes

By Tom Foran The Australian government has announced changes to the Australian Citizenship Test. The new testing regime will come into effect from 15 November 2020. This article explains who needs to take the Australian Citizenship Test. If you have recently applied for Australian Citizenship, then depending upon whether you have applied under Citizenship by Conferral or Citizenship by Descent, you may be impacted. We will look at the exceptions. Some applicants that would normally be required to take the test are exempt. There is going to be an overlap between the existing system and the new system. If you are going to...

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Mandatory Visa Cancellation for Child Exploitation Materials in Queensland

By Tom Foran On 15 September 2020, the Queensland government made amendments to the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992. The changes to subsection 9(4)[1] to that Act are relevant to this post. That subsection provides the requirements for a Court when determining the appropriate sentence for a person that has committed any offence of a sexual nature in relation to a child under 16 years of age, or in relation to a child exploitation material offence. The first requirement for the Court is to have regard to sentencing practices, principles, and guidelines that apply when the sentence is being imposed, and not when...

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Allegations of Criminal Wrongdoing in Civil Disputes – What You Need to Know

By Jason Papoutsis - Litigation Lawyer Individuals who are alleging (or have been accused of) criminal wrongdoing in a civil dispute should think twice about settling those disputes themselves without the assistance of lawyers. Some examples of civil disputes where criminal conduct is also alleged include: Claims for the recovery of debts or liquidated demands of money; Claims for unpaid wages or unfair dismissal, and other employment disputes; Claims arising out of contract between a consumer and trader, or two traders; Claims for damage to property; Claims in defects for goods, including motor vehicles; Claims for damages as a result of a...

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Weapons Licensing Matters in Queensland

Australian attitudes towards gun laws are arguably much more sensible than those in the United States, where mass shootings and gun related violence are a common occurrence.  The rest of the world sees Australia, and the lessons learned from the Port Arthur massacre, as a leading example of why gun laws should be strengthened.   It is evident that the strengthening of gun laws in Australia has generally led to a downturn in gun related homicides and crimes, and since Australian gun laws were strengthened, no mass murders similar to Port Arthur have occurred since. Despite this, gun laws and gun safety...

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Family Violence and Australian Partner Visas

1000 Partner visa application approvals each week and a very common problem. According to statistics published by the Department of Home Affairs, in the 2019 to 2020 financial year, 52,479 Australian Partner visa applications were lodged. That is about 1000 applications each week. 96,361 applications were in the pipeline at the end of June 2020, awaiting processing. An article in the Medical Journal of Australia[1] explains that it is difficult to specify the incidence rate of family violence. The incidence rates depends upon the definition used; and whether the data comes from community crime victim surveys, community samples, or prevalence studies in...

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Ashleigh DoRozario appointed as a member of the Queensland Law Society Equity & Diversity Committee!

Congratulations to Ashleigh DoRozario who is now officially appointed as a member of the Queensland Law Society Equity & Diversity Committee! Ashleigh is a litigation lawyer at Potts Lawyers. She is also legally blind. At the beginning of this year, Ashleigh made the brave decision to speak up for disability within the legal profession. She created the social media persona @BlindLadyJustice to champion equal opportunity and inclusion of people with disability, impairment or injury within our profession and wider society. From there, Ashleigh became a founding member of the QLS Diverse Abilities Network which is a growing support network of lawyers, law students,...

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High Court orders a re-trial for a man who violently stabbed and bludgeoned his wife to death in front of their children – Bill Potts comments

A man who had been sentenced to life in jail for stabbing and bludgeoning his wife to death in 2016  has been granted a re-trial by the majority of the High Court. The High Court found that the trial judge wrongly instructed the Jury about how they (the jury) could consider the defence of provocation and if it applied in this case. Background Section 304 of the Criminal Code (Qld), a person is only guilty of manslaughter (and not murder) if that person unlawfully kills another (a)in the heat of passion, (b)caused by sudden provocation, and (c)before there is time for the person’s passion...

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