Swimmers have been caught at a crossroad regarding the recent debate over transgender athletes competing in women’s events. The International Swimming Federation concluded that the transgender female athletes who have transitioned after the age of 12 will be excluded from competing in female swimming events. Athletic performance is heavily determined by sex, with males out-performing females in almost all categories, including swimming. Many view this policy as discriminatory and offensive, whereas others view it as a scientifically accurate decision, made to benefit cisgender female athletes as well as transgender athletes.

FINA president Husain Al-Musallam said, “We are faced with such a delicate balancing act, we have to protect the rights of all our athletes to compete, but we also have to protect competitive fairness at our events, especially women’s competition and also the past record and achievement of the women.” Al-Musallam announced that swimming will be the first sport to introduce an open category, where anybody regardless of their gender identity can compete at an Olympic level.

Many Olympic swimmers have come forward, announcing their stance on this divisive topic. Olympic champion Cate Campbell publicly voiced her support for the FINA policy. “Believe me, I have wrestled long and hard with myself, with what to say and do. I am aware that my actions and words, no matter what I say, will anger some people — whether they are from the trans-community or from the cisgender female community.” Campbell said in her speech. “However, I am asking everyone to take a breath, to absorb before reacting. Listen to the science and experts.”. Other female Olympic champions like Summer Sanders and Emily Seebohm have voiced their support of the policy, claiming that it is inclusive of transgender individuals by giving them an opportunity to compete in the sport.

Former Australian swimmer Madeline Groves responded to Cate Campbell’s speech on Twitter, chastising her decision to support the discrimination of transgender individuals. “So you ban them from competing with their peers? You’re okay with ostracising an already marginalised group? Real accepting.” Groves tweeted. “Shame on everyone that supported this discriminatory and unscientific decision.”

The International Swimming Federation concluded that transgender female athletes who transitioned before the age of 12 would be excluded from competing in their events due to their biological advantages. However there is already speculation that the policy will be challenged by legal experts around the world due to the discrimination within the conditions of the policy.

If you or someone you know wish to to discuss any legal issues, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.

When I had my work experience at Freedman and Gopalan Solicitors I was given many different tasks throughout the four days that I was there. Some of the more basic tasks I did were scan and destroy, archiving and delivering packages. These basic but necessary tasks allowed me to understand how to navigate myself properly through an average day at work and get a taste for what my future would be like if I choose this area of work. It also allowed me to get familiar with the technology needed in a job like this. I also worked on writing articles throughout the week. These allowed me to explore interesting current topics and develop my writing skills.

However, my two favourite tasks were completing chronologies and sitting in during a meeting. The chronologies allowed me to see the different factors that are important in a case and how they need to be arranged in order to allow for a simple dissection of everything that occurred. When observing the meeting I got to see where to direct the conversation, what was the necessary information, what steps are meant to be taken when just starting a case and how to deal with these types of potentially emotional situations in a calm and professional manner. Both of these tasks gave me a deeper understanding of the steps that are taken in a working on a case.

I was especially thrilled and lucky to be welcomed by the amazing staff here. I was never afraid to ask any questions and their guidance was very helpful in knowing what to do. I don’t think I would have gotten so much out of the experience if the staff wasn’t as approachable and kind. I was very thankful to have the opportunity to have work experience here and I am grateful for the many skills I learnt throughout the week. This experience has made me even more sure of my path in the future and helped me be less afraid of what my future will look like.

If you or someone you know wish to to discuss any legal issues, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.

When young workers are trying to fight for their basic work right of being paid, it is sadly a lot harder than it first might seem. The first and most basic problem is their inability to speak up. Some young people are just shy while others are here on a visa and are afraid of jeopardizing their current job.

Another problem is the expensiveness of the process. Since the amount that they are fighting for is not high, even when they win the case, they don’t gain any profits because of the price of the whole process. This is called a pyrrhic victory.

Another downside to the process is the complexity of it. To some people, it can seem hard to understand and is way too much effort for them to undertake. It is also hard when the court orders for the person to be paid but it still goes unpaid, and many people do not know what to do after that.

To help resolve this, Sharmilla Bargon, coordinator of the Employment Rights Legal Service, suggests that the Federal Government should create a small claims tribunal that deals with cases like this in a simple and affordable way. However, for now the best way for young people to deal with this situation is to speak up as soon as they notice any unpaid debts but there is still a long way to go in resolving this issue.

If you or someone you know wish to to discuss this issue further, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.

In Australia we have open adoptions. This means that the child will know they are adopted and be supplied with any necessary information on their family and cultural heritage. They are able to keep their given name or names (while still being able to change their last name to fit with the new families last name if needed), identity, language, cultural and religious ties. These should not be put in jeopardy just for the benefit of the adopting parents as it is the child’s wellbeing that is first priority, and all decisions should be made in order to benefit the child.

Adoption is made at a state level which means that the exact ways that adoption is done will differ. The basic steps for all types of adoption across all different states and territories include getting in touch with the relevant agency/department, attending information sessions, creating the relevant documentation, being assessed and trained, getting placed with a child that suits both the adoptee/s and the child and then getting post adoptive support (sometimes provided by state/territory departments).

Once the child is adopted, they are as equal as a birth child. This means they have the same rights and responsibilities, and they will no longer be under the responsibility of the Minster for Communities and Justice.

In order to adopt a child, you must be a resident in Australia, in the right physical and mental state to take on the responsibility of a child, over 21 years old and at least 18 years older than the child.

Once you understand all of this you can decide what type of adoption will be best for your situation. The main types of adoption are:

If you or someone you know wish to to discuss this issue further, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.

The following are the main changes that the Labor government have promised.

To make it easier to see doctors and take the pressure off of hospitals by providing Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, boosting workforce incentives for rural and regional GPs, expanding the John Flynn Prevocational Doctor Program, expanding the Innovative Models of Collaborative Care program, and strengthening rural generalist and GP registrar training. They also want to cut costs of medications by reducing the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

To help secure Australian jobs by including 45,000 new places to have fee-free TAFE courses in industries with skills shortages, 20,000 more university placements, give people more access to apprenticeships by having one in ten workers on major government projects be apprentices, increase wages, ensure same job equals same pay, make work more secure, make wage theft a national level crime, maximise the use of Australian-made products and try to close the gender pay gap.

In order to make childcare cheaper they are lifting the maximum childcare subsidy rate, increasing subsidy rates for families with one child who earn less than $530,000, make subsidy rates higher for additional children who are cared for and extend the subsidy rate to outside school hours.

To improve schools, they will deliver $440 million for better ventilation, building upgrades and mental health support through the Schools Upgrade Fund. This will ensure that public schools get the same funding as private schools and are more ready for facing the effects of COVID.

Through their Powering Australia plan, they aim to create 604,000 jobs, cut power bills for families and businesses by $275 through upgrades to the electricity grid to fix energy transmissions which then lowers prices, have an electric car discount, reduce emissions gradually over time so they can get to net zero by 2050 and produce 85 more solar banks throughout Australia.

If you or someone you know wish to to discuss this issue further, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.

It was recently announced that Lincoln Crowley will become a Supreme Court Judge on the 13 June 2022. This is a significant and important moment for Crowley as he gets to represent many other First Nations people and inspire them to ignore the relentless racism they face and continue to fight for what they want.

As a child, there were many unfortunate experiences that he faced in concerns to racism. One example of this is when his deputy principal called him into their office and stated “Your family is Aboriginal aren’t they? They’re the type that end up in jail”. Even as a young person he was constantly told negative things about his Indigenous side but despite that he continued to persevere and become successful.

His position as a Supreme Court Judge in Queensland is well deserved. Since he was a regarded as an expert in his position as a barrister, he was given the title of Queen’s Council in 2018. He was a solicitor-advocate for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service shortly after he graduated school. He also had many high-profile cases including his role as crown prosecutor on a case about Omar Succarieh who was convicted of foreign incursion charges.

It is important that people in high positions represent our community so they can better make decisions that will reflect what Australia wants and stands for. As stated by Annastacia Palaszczuk on the topic of Crowley’s new position it was “hopefully the sign of many more to come”.

If you or someone you know wish to to discuss this issue further, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.

In Australia, couples must be separated for a period greater than twelve months before being granted the ability to file for divorce. In most cases, separation is easy to define – when a couple first begins living separately, however, in some cases, couples choose to remain living in the same house even after separation, in which case it makes it harder to prove that their relationship is beyond the point of repair. This is referred to as separation under one roof.

Separating under one roof is a common choice for couples. There are a wide variety of reasons why this option may seem the most appealing to them. A primary factor is financial reasons, where one spouse may not have enough money to support themselves or buy their own home, especially considering increasing house prices. Many separating couples could also jointly own their hone and not want to give it up. Additionally, many see it as the best option from a parenting perspective, so that they can raise their kids in an easier, more family-like environment.

When investigating whether two people are separated, even if they live together, courts will consider several factors that are indictive of their separation including their financial aspects, social aspects, sleeping arrangements and intimacy levels. Regarding finances, it is recommended that separated couples living together separate their finances. This shows a lack of interdependence in the relationship. This could involve separating joint bank accounts, removing one another as beneficiaries in a will, superannuation, and bill payments. Another indicator is the social aspect in the couple’s lives. This regards whether they still present themselves as a couple to institutions and looks like whether they continue to attend events together, celebrate festivals together and whether they tell their friends and family about their situation. It is also expected that couples that are separated under one roof sleep in separate rooms and are not intimate with one another.

These factors all must be evident in affidavit statements from both parties. This document must show a clear shift in the nature of the relationship by portraying the above requirements.

Separating under one roof remains to be a common option for many newly separated couples, however, can often be hard to prove. It is crucial for spouses to be able to totally prove their financial, social, and intimate separation in such cases.

If you or someone you know wish to to discuss this issue further, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.

Marriage is commonly thought to be the union of two people who are so deeply in love and wish to spend the rest of their lives together. Over the past few years, there has been an evident change in the fundamentals that constitute a marriage, however one major factor has always tended to remain the same; the love shared between the people getting married. This age-old notion, however, is being challenged with the recent growth in popularity of platonic marriages.

Platonic marriages centres around the idea of companionship - two parties who wish to come together as life partners, sharing an immense love and respect for one another that is not romantic and free from any sexual intimacy. A New York Times article explains that:

“Couples in this type of arrangement often find compatibility and understand each other well, while also agreeing to the guidelines [of marriage] without being blinded by romantic feelings.”

So, why would someone choose to partake in this type of union instead of a traditional one? For some, it provides a level of stability and trust in their lives, that they have yet failed to receive in other romantic relationships. This means that they can enjoy the romantic freedom of someone who is single, yet still have a life partner to fall back on, raise a family with and grow old with. It also poses many practical benefits, particularly posing an alternative to couples who wish to remain with one another yet have fallen out of love. Additionally, it appears more appealing to many asexual, pansexual, aromantic and some polyamorous couples who find kinship and companionship more appealing than a traditional romantically fuelled marriage.

However, many people remain reluctant in accepting the concept. In a recent survey by the US National Health and Social Life agency reported that 2% of married couples have not been intimate over a year – technically classifying them as platonic. The real percentage, however, remains unknown, which is a major indicator that this form of marriage is not beneficial. A large number of people also believe that platonic marriages are unethical and considered as a ’sham marriage’ since technically, people who consider themselves ‘just friends’ should not get married.

Though this remains a growing point of conversation between those who invite this new form of marriage and those that prefer to stick to the traditional way, it has not stopped thousands of people globally who are in platonic relationships get married, against the will of many in our society.

If you or someone you know wish to to discuss this issue further, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.

This week I attended work experience at Freedman and Gopalan Solicitors. Coming into the week, I was quite nervous and was not sure what to expect, but my worries were quickly taken away when I was welcomed warmly by all staff who were so kind and accommodating towards me.

Throughout the four days, I engaged in a variety of different tasks, all of which helped me to gain a clearer understanding of what life was like as a lawyer. On my first day, I was tasked with writing a chronology on an ongoing case file. Though it seemed overwhelming at the start, I eventually got the hang of it. It was really interesting to read over the affidavits on the case and understand some of the legal processes needed when taking a case to court. Additionally, in researching chronologies, I was able to learn about the different types of documents needed in legal matters, and how they must be presented.

Also on the first day, I was given the incredible opportunity to sit in on a few meetings and consultations. This was very interesting to listen to. I really enjoyed understanding how the first consultations started, what kind of questions to ask and how to interact with different types of clients. This continued throughout the week and helped me gain a clearer understanding of different legal terminology and types of cases in family law. I also wrote a few articles on various current affairs during the course of the week. These were interesting to read and write about and broadened my understanding of various current legal matters and general knowledge. I was also able to engage in an adoption case by looking over and editing various documentation and affidavits, which I thought was fascinating. I also was able to participate in some administration work such as scanning, destroying, and archiving different files.

Before the week started, I was considering going into law as a potential career option, and now I am surer than ever that this is what I want to do. This experience has been incredibly fulfilling and fascinating and I am very grateful to have had such an opportunity.

If you or someone you know wish to to discuss any legal issues, then please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8999 9809.

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