uestion: When does a postal vote on same-sex marriage become a substitute for a legislated plebiscite?Answer: When the federal government fails for the second time to get its Bill for same-sex marriage passed through the Senate.If you’ve been paying attention to the same-sex marriage issue, you will know the Senate rejected yesterday, Wednesday, 9 August 2017, the … [Read more...]
Tell Your Story As Part Of The National Review Into Access To Justice
Countless people do not have access to justice in NSW. Now you have the chance to share your experiences with the justice system as part of The Law Council of Australia’s Justice Project.The Justice Project is a comprehensive national review into the state of access to justice in Australia, supported by The Law Society of NSW, that focuses on the challenges faced by the … [Read more...]
Victoria Law Foundation’s General Grants Close In 5 Weeks
Thinking about applying for a Victoria Law Foundation grant? Have you started to get your application together? The Foundation's 2017/18 General Grants round closes on Monday 28 August.This year with an increased grant budget, the Foundation is looking to fund projects that will make a greater impact and reach more Victorians.The Foundation will consider diverse legal … [Read more...]
New Report Reveals Women Outnumber Men In Legal Profession
The 2016 National Profile of the Profession has revealed that of the total 71,509 practising solicitors in Australia, 35,799 (or 50.1 per cent) are female while 35,710 (or 49.9 per cent) are male.The 2016 National Profile of the Profession is the only report of its kind and captures a demographic profile of practising solicitors around Australia. Data is compared to the … [Read more...]
Half Year Review 2017: Things We Learned (And Some We Wish We Hadn’t)
id anyone else flip to July on their calendars this week and experience a moment of profound discomfort? We've blown straight through to July without blinking! The halfway marker is now looming large and terrifying.A brief mental playback and it seems like January - June screamed by like episodes in a podcast programmed to double speed. Wait ... whaaaaaaaat have we … [Read more...]
Coding For Justice: New Initiative Supports Victorian Women In Tech
ode for Victoria II – Women in Tech matches talented female coders and designers with Victorian Government departments, to apply skills to specific public sector digital challenges.The new program follows on from the success of Code for Victoria's Innovation Challenge - a collaboration between Code for Australia and the Victorian Government’s Public Sector Innovation Fund - … [Read more...]
#LegalNews: Court Orders Are Going Digital From 1 July 2017
s part of the Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia’s commitment to the Government’s digital continuity policy, the courts are changing the way court orders are accessed.From tomorrow, 1 July 2017, the courts will no longer post hard copies of sealed orders by mail to legal representatives.All court orders will be signed and sealed … [Read more...]
Netflix Hikes Australian Prices Up To 20% Ahead Of 1 July Digital Tax
etflix has confirmed that Australians will pay up to 20% more for the digital streaming service to align with the introduction of the GST to digital products and services purchased in Australia from international companies.Netflix has increased its prices ahead of the legislative changes which will come into effect on 1 July 2017. The company is using the opportunity … [Read more...]
New Executive Director Appointed To Victoria Law Foundation
Lynne Haultain has been appointed as the new Executive Director of Victoria Law Foundation, taking over from Joh Kirby.Ms Haultain has a background as a senior executive and is a passionate advocate for access to justice. She is Chair of the Board of Management at the Victorian Foundation for the Survivors of Torture and is a former Commissioner with the … [Read more...]
Do You Have A Project Idea That Will Help Victorians Understand The Law?
pplications for Victoria Law Foundation’s 2017/18 General Grants are now open. This year with an increased grant budget the foundation is looking to fund projects that will make a greater impact and reach more Victorians.The foundation will consider diverse legal projects including research, service delivery, development of legal resources or community legal education. … [Read more...]
#PopLaw: Gene Simmons Files To Trademark “Rock” Hand Signal
KISS frontman and lead singer, Gene Simmons, has reportedly filed an application with the US Trademark and Patent Office to trademark the infamous "devil horns" rock hand gesture.The application, along with a handy diagram, was filed last Friday, 9 June 2017.Simmons claims to be the first to use the gesture commercially on Nov. 14, 1974, during the KISS Hotter Than … [Read more...]
#LegalNews: Taiwan First Asian Country To Rule In Favour Of Same-Sex Marriage
A panel of 14 of Taiwan's top judges have ruled in favour of same-sex marriage.In a recent ruling, Taiwan's highest court decided that current laws preventing same-sex unions were unconstitutional and violated rights to equality.Contrary to many misleading reports circulating the internet, laws that legalise gay marriage in Taiwan have not come into force yet. The … [Read more...]
WATCH: Lawyers Remain Awkwardly Motionless As Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ Reverberates Around Court
ourt can be a sombre affair.But not today.Video of some of New Zealand's top legal minds getting on with business as Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' blares around an increasingly awkward courtroom has clocked over 94,000 views on Youtube this week alone.The magic moment was captured on film during initial proceedings in New Zealand's high court in Wellington.The 2002 … [Read more...]
#LegalNews: Bose Headphones Are Secretly Recording Users Listening Habits
ou can tell a lot about a person by their taste in music.It's why we always ask our monthly interviewees 'what they listen to'.Music preferences and listening habits reveal a lot more about you than just your favourite bands or artists. They are a window into your personality, ethnicity, religious views, politics, innermost thoughts and feelings - not to mention … [Read more...]
Red Hot Job Alert + Change Of Leadership At Victoria Law Foundation
After a 9 year tenure, Joh Kirby, Executive Director of Victoria Law Foundation, has announced she will move on from the foundation at the end of this financial year.Joh has led Victoria Law Foundation since 2008, having originally started with the foundation as Grants Manager in 2006. She has driven the foundation's commitment to improving legal communication and … [Read more...]
In Brief: Snapshot Of Current Bail Framework In Victoria
A person accused of committing a crime and who is being held in custody is generally entitled to be granted bail unless a Court refuses bail under section 4(1) of the Bail Act 1977 (Vic) on the basis that there is an ‘unacceptable risk’ that the accused person, if released on bail, would:fail to surrender himself/herself into custody and answer bail commit an offence … [Read more...]
$6 million ‘Rescue Package’ Announced For Community Legal Centres In NSW
Yesterday, NSW Government and Attorney General Mark Speakman SC announced a $6 million ‘rescue package’ for Community Legal Centres in NSW.Society President Pauline Wright says the $6 million commitment will help ‘fill a gap’ caused by a Federal Government proposal to cut funding to community legal centres by up to 30 per cent. Without the decisive action of the NSW … [Read more...]
Women In Law: Chaman Sidhu, General Counsel at Xero, Talks Leadership, Wellness And Discovering A Career That You Love
Women In Law: Chaman Sidhu, General Counsel at Xero, Talks Leadership, Wellness And Discovering A Career That You LoveBoM15 March 2017In the March issue of BucketOrange Magazine, we catch up with Chaman Sidhu, general counsel at Xero. When it comes to legal careers, she’s enjoyed one of the most fascinating and diverse. Having earned an LL.B at the University of Queensland, an … [Read more...]
Legal Tools for Entrepreneurs: How To Be A Leader + Key Person Of Influence Book Giveaway
"Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult." - Warren G Bennis.Effective leadership can take many forms.Many of us associate strong leadership with giants like Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama, CEOs, politicians, thought leaders or people who make important scientific breakthroughs. But great … [Read more...]
New Study Suggests Slash Careers Behind Upskilling Trend
Nowadays, the pressure to stick with and succeed in one chosen field has, in many ways, lessened as more young Australians vote with their feet and regularly change careers.Commonly referred to as a slash career, these alternative career pathways can manifest in many different ways. You may hold down a full-time job but have a side hustle or work on a passion project over … [Read more...]