The Australian legal system places a high value on openness and transparency, and the idea of ‘open justice’ is a fundamental rule of the common law. This is why normally we have open courts, where the public and view trials in real life, proceedings may be videotaped for later viewing, decisions, transcripts and other court documents are published and made available to all.

However, due to COVID-19 and the new laws limiting ‘non-essential’ activities outside the home, many court proceedings are taking place over the phone or via video-conferencing. Even most bail hearings are being heard by a Judge in chambers, which means the Judge and the defendant seeking bail will not be face to face.

What effect will this have on the principles of open court, if you can’t just walk into the court room and view the proceedings?

Most courts in NSW have developed a policy in relation to COVID-19. The Land and Environment Court states only court staff and legal representatives essential to the hearing of the matter should attend the courtroom. The NSW Industrial Relations Commission has banned people from attending hearings solely to observe proceedings. The Federal Court of Australia has put similar measures in place but also states that the Court is considering streaming and other methods to ensure the ‘requisite degree of public access to hearings conformable with the open justice and open court principles’. Possible solutions may be sharing the videoconference links so people may join and observe the online courtroom, or publishing transcripts and videos after the proceeding has concluded. This may involve technology unfamiliar to the courts, and may involve some quick and flexible thinking – something we are all trying to do in this rapidly changing times.

Open justice is extremely important, but so is the health and safety of individuals, court officers and litigants. Action has been taken to stop the spread of COVID-19, and as we settle into a period of strict social distancing, we need to consider reviewing the current policies and operations with a view to ‘maintaining open justice, consistent with the current constraints and health advice’ (Supreme Court of New South Wales).

Domestic Violence is a pattern of abusive behaviour through which a person seeks to control and dominate another person. Apart from physical violence, domestic violence includes sexual, emotional, social, spiritual and economic abuse. Domestic violence is an ongoing behaviour that gradually undermines the victim’s confidence and ability to leave the abusive partner. Domestic violence causes physical and psychological harm to a person.

Around the world, as cities have gone into lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus, the mass efforts to save lives have put one vulnerable group more at risk. Women and children who live with domestic violence have no or much less means of escape from their abusers during quarantine. The victims living with the perpetrators are at a constant risk.

The “Stay at home” would be more like “hell in closed doors” for many and for these victims leaving violent relationships is likely to become far more difficult and dangerous.

While days may seem too long for many of us now, the days are merciless for that encountering domestic violence. The children who got safety and normalcy at school, but who are at home now, being beaten and abused or forced to watch beatings. The horror of the virus is not simply it being toxic but the violent circumstances it creates.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison responded on 29 March 2020 with a promise of A$150million in the form of support for telephone counselling services who address domestic violence, including to 1800 Respect and MensLine. The Prime Minister has acknowledged that for many families, home is not a safe place and more needs to be done to counter the threat.

The law grants police and the courts power to protect persons in need of protection from perpetrators of domestic violence by way of Apprehended Violence Orders or Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders. Breaches of these Orders are a criminal offence and can have serious consequences.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, please do not hesitate to contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), LifeLine, 13 11 14, or feel free to contact our offices at 02 8917 8700 to speak to one of our experienced lawyers in domestic and family violence matters.

On 2 April 2020, the Australian Government announced a Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package with payments to be made directly to child care services and early childhood education operators, in lieu of the Child Care Subsidy and the Additional Child Care Subsidy, in order to ensure that childcare and early education centres remain open. The Relief Package is to due to officially commence on 6 April 2020.

As a result of the current COVID-19 epidemic, operators have seen a significant decrease in enrolments and attendance as parents withdraw their children from centres in fear of exposing their children to the virus, as well as financial uncertainty due to the increase in unemployment rates.

The Relief will ensure that the centres carrying out early childhood education and childcare services remain open for the children to attend and greatly assist working parents in particular.

What this means for you:-

  1. Parents who are currently sending their children to child centres are able to continue to do so free of charge, or obtain a subsidy; and
  2. For parents who have withdrawn their children from childcare and early childhood education centres and intend to re-enrol, services are able to waive gap fees payable by returning families.

However, there is are three factors which will determine a family’s level of Child Care Subsidy. See the Department of Education's Child Care Subsidy page and FAQ page to see whether you meet the eligibility test and to learn further information. Options are also available for parents who are currently studying/training, self-employed, looking for work and even volunteering, as well as other positions.

There is a range of government assistance available to early learning and childcare operators, which also includes:

The system will be reviewed after one month, with an extension to be considered after three months.

If you have any queries in relation to the above, please do not hesitate to contact Freedman & Gopalan Solicitors on 02 8917 8700 or send us an email at reception@freedmangopalan.com.au.

The current pandemic is having an enormous impact on Australian families, particularly those who currently have family law orders to follow through.

What is expected by the Court during this unprecedented time?

  1. The best interest of your child is imperative and ensuring the child’s safety and wellbeing should be the priority.
  2. Coupled with each parent’s responsibilities to act for the child’s best interests, parents are still expected to comply with court orders. That being the case, time stipulated for the child to spend with each parent should be followed through.
  3. However, during this unprecedented time, every family’s circumstances are different, and there may very well be situations where parents are unable to comply with court orders. For instance, there may be genuine safety concerns with regards to changeovers or having a designated contact centre which is currently no longer operating.
  4. If able and safe to do, parties should communicate with each other a practical solution to resolve this. The Court has noted that this should be done sensibly and the best interest of your child should be the priority, and each parent are to appreciate each other’s concerns and attempt to revise the current arrangements if need be.
  5. If a new parenting arrangement can in fact be arrived at, even if it is to be adjusted temporarily for the current COVID-19 pandemic, this arrangement should be in writing (e.g. by way of email, text message or WhatsApp).

If you require further guidance in relation to your current parenting orders, please do not hesitate to contact Freedman & Gopalan Solicitors on 02 8917 8700 or send us an email at reception@freedmangopalan.com.au.


The Covid-19 pandemic has plunged the nation into uncertainty on two fronts: health, and the economy.

Thousands of Australian workers had their hours reduced, been stood down, or had their employment terminated, leading to large queues outside Centrelink offices and the MyGov website crashing as demand surges.

As we grapple with the economic complications this pandemic has caused, it is important to understand your rights and entitlements as an employee. What is the difference between being stood down and being terminated? Where do you, as employees, stand? And what options are available to you?

What does it mean to be stood down?

According to Fair Work Australia, “an employer may stand down an employee during a period in which the employee cannot usefully be employed”.

This is usually considered to be a temporary measure and occurs when companies want their employees to return to work eventually.

With COVID-19 causing a significant reduction in the business operations, and also causing a mandatory shut-down of several workplaces entirely, there is the risk of employers rely on their statutory power to stand down their employees.

However, as an employee, you are entitled to know whether your employers actions are justified.

You can only legally be stood down by your employer if you “cannot be usefully employed”. All employees should be given the opportunity to perform any work that is available and which they are capable of performing before a decision is made to stand them down.

What does it mean to be terminated?

Termination of employment can occur when workers are dismissed (fired) by their employer as a result of a breach of contract, or where the company can longer afford to employ them.

Given the financial downturn of businesses during COVID-19, there is the likelihood that a vast majority of jobs will made redundant.

A redundancy occurs when an employer no longer requires an employee’s job to be done by anyone. For example, where a business closes down entirely, all jobs of that employer are redundant.

Where an employee’s job is made redundant, there are the following two options available to you: -

1. You could either be offered suitable redeployment, and if you accept this, you will continue to be employed, with your accrued entitlements occurring; or

2. Your employment may be terminated due to redundancy, in which case you may be entitled to redundancy pay, apart from notice and payment of all your other accrued entitlements.

What entitlements are there for workers who have lost work?

If you have lost your job, been stood down, or if your shifts are significantly reduced, you are eligible for Centrelink’s $550.00 per week coronavirus supplement.

People taking leave from work to care for someone with COVID-19 are also eligible for the government supplement.

If you are already receiving welfare payments this supplement will come through automatically. If you do not already receive welfare, you will need to register through the MyGov website.

If you think you have been unlawfully stood down, or you have an action of unfair dismissal against your employer, please do not hesitate to contact our friendly team on 02 8917 8700 for legal assistance.

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting an ambitious work experience student! Julia, a year 10 student from Cherrybrook Technology High School, showed great skill and ability throughout her week with us. Here is what Julia had to say about her experience with us: -

"As an indecisive person, choosing future job prospects has always been a challenge, with job ideas ranging from becoming a marine biologist to a child-care worker. However, since my discovery of law books centred around criminal and family law, I have been intrigued by the area of law. Despite the little I knew prior to work placement, I was still aware of the large amount of work and commitment that was required to become a lawyer, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to cope. Whilst elective classes I had at school about law did provide an insight into areas of the legal system and how it functions, it did not fully explain the whole concept of being a lawyer. Thus, when the opportunity of work experience presented itself, I instantly chose to try a law firm as a chance to understand the work behind becoming a lawyer, and the types of tasks they complete. Essentially, I was hoping that this week would provide an insight into the working environment of a law firm and help me decide if this is a career I would definitely pursue.

Coming from a family whose strengths predominantly lie in the financial sector, I’d never had the experience of hearing or trying job tasks outside of that sector. Hence, I was often unsure whether I should pursue a career in which my family was immensely experienced in or diverge on my own path in a sector I knew little about but enjoyed reading about. This question was one of the primary reasons I chose work experience in a law firm, and I have not regretted it.

Through this short period of work placement at Freedman and Gopalan, I’ve able to decide that not only do I want to pursue legal studies, but I’ve gained an understanding as to which area of law I would study. Listening to a call over hearing and writing notes, as well as follow up documents proved to be unique and interesting, something which I was not expecting. Simple tasks such as filing and scanning eventually grew on me, and I began to enjoy the small tasks, even though the scanning took me quite a while to understand. The workplace environment was welcoming and constated the contemporary beliefs of lawyers being extremely serious all the time.

When I first entered the firm, I was beyond nervous, as this would be the week defining whether I would pursue law or choose another sector. But my time and experiences at Freedman and Gopalan proved that law was not only interesting, but extremely rewarding, as demonstrated by one of the hearings I was able to listen to. Other experiences such as researching, writing articles and creating binders are often seen as boring and sometimes painful, but I found these tasks rather enjoyable and relaxing. The attitude I had towards my time at Freedman and Gopalan helped me conclude that law is the career I would pursue, and this experience would motivate me to continue through high school and university.

Throughout my week at Freedman and Gopalan solicitors, I was welcomed by friendly people who were patient and easy to approach. The workplace proved that the concept of lawyers always having a serious demeanour and are intimidating are false, and instead, I was in an extremely friendly workplace.

I have been extremely grateful and fortunate to be able to spend a week at Freedman and Gopalan, and it has been an immensely unique experience, one which I will not forget. The cases I were able to read, the tasks I carried out and the people there, helped me find a solution as to which job career I want to pursue – law. Along with this, the advice which has been provided to me by other workers will undoubtedly assist me in future endeavours, of which I am grateful for. And whilst the whole concept of the law and helping client with their cases seems slightly terrifying, I am sure my studies will develop my skills in this sector. This week has been highly memorable and filled with interesting tasks, and I am sad to be leaving such an amazing firm, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and am excited to continue my law studies.

-Julia, Cherrybrook Technology High School

And here is what our Principal had to say about Julia: -

"It was a pleasure to have your daughter, Julia, with us between 16 March 2020 through to 20 March 2020.

What a pleasant change it was to have a student who was not only mature, but also very interested, keen and most polite. She mixed with the team extremely well, and was always acting in a diligent and professional manner.

It is evident that she has been raised in a very wonderful household to see how polite and hardworking she is. Obviously, these traits come from within, and our congratulations to you and your wife for having raised Julia into such a fine young lady.

I also take this opportunity to congratulate Cherrybrook Technology High School and the wonderful staff who are also a part of this great result. We congratulate the teachers for their fine job undertaken to ensure that such fine future citizens are moulded.

Julia, my team and I especially thank you for having taken extra care in order to express your gratitude and thanks by not only giving us your kind gifts but such personalised thank you notes touched everyone and was welcomed by all. With the traits that have been inbuilt in you which includes hard work, determination, dreams and gratitude, you will go many places.

We wish you and your family all the very best for your future endeavours, and once again, congratulations to the proud parents. You have every reason to be proud."

-Mittu Gopalan, Principal, Freedman & Gopalan Solicitors

Seven years after the gang rape and assault of a 23-year-old medical student, which sparked global outrage, four out of the six men involved were executed on Friday for rape and murder, a case that led to a series of protests and changes in Delhi’s system to ensure the safety of women.  

The victim was a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, namely Nirbhaya by the press, as she could not be named under Indian law. Six people were arrested for the attacked, but only four were executed. Ram Singh was found dead in jail in March 2013 after allegedly taking his own life. One of the six was 17 at the time of the attack and served the maximum term possible for a juvenile in India, which was three years in a reform facility. The remaining four, Akshay Takur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh Singh were sentenced to death by a court trial in 2013. The group was hung in the capital’s high-security Tihar prison, the first executions in India since 2015. 

In the months prior to the executions, the remaining four convicts filed petitions in the Supreme Court, pleading to reduce their penalties to life imprisonment. However, the top court rejected their petitions, including a mercy plea to India’s President Ram Nath Kovind. Along with this, a last-minute appeal to have the death penalties removed were also rejected before the executions.   

Nirbaya was boarding an off-duty bus at roughly 20:30 local time on the 16th December 2012 with a male friend after watching a film. While the bus was in motion, a group of men stole the pair’s belongings and proceeded to take the victim to the back of the bus where they raped and assaulted Nirbhaya with iron roads, according to court documents. They also stripped and beat her friend, who they held down during the attack. Both were then thrown out on the roadside to die, but not before the men tried to run them over. Passers-by found the two naked and bloodied, and alerted the police. Nirbhaya died two weeks later in a hospital in Singapore, where she was transferred for further treatment once her conditions in New Delhi was worsening.  

This incident prompted global outrage and led to the creation of new anti-rape laws in India. Protestors had occupied main streets, mostly young men and women, turned up at India Gate in the centre of the city, forcing police to use water cannons to disperse the crowd. Protests continued in Delhi and numerous other cities for two weeks, which was the number of days it took for the victim to succumb to her injuries. In an attempt to stop rising public anger, the Delhi government declared numerous measures with the intention to make the city safer for women, including more night patrols by police, checks on bus drivers and the banning of buses with dark windows. This attack also gave way to a national debate on the treatment of women.  

What is the COVID-19 virus?

COVID 19 has sparked a global pandemic due to the prominence of the virus in all countries which threatens the safety of people.

The corona virus is similar to many other respiratory viruses, in the sense that it can spread in small droplets which are released from the nose and mouth of an infected person. However, the virus can also be contracted by an individual touching surfaces, which have been contaminated with the virus. These occurrences have provided an insight into understanding and carrying out experiments to examine how long the virus can survive in the external surroundings of the human body.

Infection through the air

A single human cough produces around 3000 droplets, which can land on other people, clothing or surfaces around them, whilst smaller particles may remain in the air. Evidence also suggests that the virus lasts longer in faecal matter, which demonstrates that individuals who leave bathrooms without washing their hands thoroughly, would potentially contaminate anything they touch.

World Health Organisation and other health authorities have indicated the importance of washing one’s hand constantly and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces to help prevent the spread of the virus. A study has displayed that the virus could survive in droplets for up to 3 hours after being coughed into the air, and fine droplets, which range from 1-5 micrometres in size, are able to remain airborne for numerous hours in still air.

Joseph Allen, a professor of public Health at Harvard, suggested that the data supports the idea that people should take practical precautions, such as ensuring the flow of fresh air and good ventilation, to prevent airborne spread.

Infection of surfaces

The virus has also been found to be able to survive on metal, glass and plastic for periods as long as nine days, unless properly disinfected. In low temperatures, the virus can survive for up to 28 days.

The National Institute of Health study has also discovered that COVID-19 survives up to 23 hours on cardboard, and up to 3 days on plastic and stainless-steel surfaces.

These findings suggest that the virus thrives on such materials including door handles, plastic coated worktops or other hard surfaces. However, researchers have found that copper surfaces tend to kill the virus in roughly 4 hours.

Infection on clothing

On clothing and other surfaces which are difficult disinfect, the ability for the virus to survive is not yet evident. Head of the virus ecology section at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Vincent Munster, has stated that the absorbent natural fibres may dry up the virus quickly.

“We speculate due to the porous material, it desiccates rapidly and might be stuck to the fibres,” he says. “Changes in temperature and humidity may also affect how long it can survive, and so may explain why it was less stable in suspended droplets in the air, as they are more exposed.”

An epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina, Rachel Graham, has supported this idea, stating that “porous surfaces – like money, hair and fabric – don’t allow viruses to survive as long because of the small spaces or holes in them can trap the microbe and prevent its transfer.

Infection on food

Daniel Kuritzkes, an infectious disease expert at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, has also stated that food is not a major risk factor, due to most infections occurring in the respiratory system, not the digestive tract. The infections typically originate from contracting the virus on an individual’s hand then proceeding to touch their face. He continues to remark that “utensils, plates and cups which may be handled by an immense amount of people in a cafeteria setting for example, would be of more concern, and precautions are important to ensure the minimisation of infected people.”

What is still unknown?

Given that this virus is a recent addition to our world, the impact environmental conditions have on its survival and growth is unknown. There is discussion that scientists will continue to analyse the environmental conditions including temperature and humidity – factors which may affect the virus’ ability to live in a specific environment. In addition to this, in order to gain a deeper understanding of real-world transmissions, they plan to experiment with variables to test if the spread of the virus may be hindered during warm summers.

General Motors has announced that the iconic brand Holden will cease production and trading by the end of the year. The brand we think of as the ultimate Australian car was founded in Adelaide in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer, but it was actually sold to General Motors, based in Detroit, 89 years ago. The parent company General Motors has made the decision and announcement.

While production will cease in June, Holden vehicles that have already been built will be sold over a period of 'several months', according to GM Holden's Interim Managing Director Kristian Aquilina. For those who already own a Holden, General Motors has announced it will continue to support its cars with 'warranty, spare parts, servicing and recalls for at least the next 10 years'.

Holden currently employs 800 people, and by June, around 600 will be out of a job. The remaining 200 will constitute the after-sales teams to support existing customers. Apart from employees, there are 185 Holden dealerships in Australia and 31 in New Zealand. General Motors has announced it will work confidentially with these dealerships to ensure a just and equitable transition.

The decline of car manufacturing in Australia.

This announcement comes just three years after the end of local manufacturing in Australia. On 11 December 2013 Holden announced it would cease vehicle and engine production by the end of 2017, and on 20 October 2017 the last existing vehicle plan closed.

Between 1997 and 2012, this industry received $30 billion of assistance in subsidies and other government assistance.  In March 2012, Holden was given a $270 million lifeline by the federal government, and the state governments of South Australia and Victoria. However, clearly this assistance was not enough to stop the inexorable shift away from manufacturing in Australia. Some have also said that the assistance in recent years has lessened and become insufficient.

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