Recently, there were incidents where a wife, along with her boyfriend, were found guilty of murdering her husband. The incident took place in Melbourne, the wife having been torn between the two men in her life and proceeded to choose her boyfriend and made plans with her boyfriend to poison and murder her husband. The boyfriend, Mr Kamalasanam, and the wife, Ms Sam, were sentenced for Mr Abraham’s murder by the Victorian Supreme Court as of 21 June 2018.

Ms Sam has been jailed for 22 years with a minimum of 18 years before parole can be obtained. Her boyfriend, Mr Kamalasanam, has been jailed for 27 years with a minimum of 23 years before parole can be obtained. The husband, having been poisoned with cyanide in his drink, would have had an excruciating death, the Court noted.

This murder could have been avoided if the wife had asked for a separation and divorce.

Another incident that took place in Bega, New South Wales South Coast on 22 June 2018 was a severe bullying situation.

A year seven student was thrown to the ground by her attacker, a thirteen-year-old classmate! The teenage girl was punched in the face, thrown to the ground by her hair, and repeatedly kicked. The footage was captured on a mobile phone by another student, who filmed the attack but failed to intervene or stop the attack.

The victim is suffering serious injuries that were caused to her face and body. Her attacker was charged by the police for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intimidation with intent to cause fear or physical harm. The attacker has been granted bail but has been Ordered to appear at a Children’s Court next month.

A common reason why a child becomes a bully is because he or she lacks attention from a parent at home and lashes out at others for attention. This is a learned behaviour that can be unlearned. To help a child stop bullying, ask him or her to talk to a teacher, a guidance counsellor, or other school officials. An appropriate doctor could also help to an extent.

These incidents confirm that people fail to give consideration to the actual “human life.” It makes us question our values and respect the rights of every individual and to understand and accept our own value, and cherish our own right to life, the freedom to be protected and to protect the intrinsic value and potential of every individual, making absolutely no discrimination whatsoever. Spheres of human value encompasses morality, human traits, human endeavours and social order.

If you believe that you have an issue or know someone who is facing an issue or has an issue they would like to be addressed, advise them to seek appropriate and relevant counselling. For example, if they’re facing issues relating to marriage, they should be then seeking help from marriage counsellors. If kids are encountering issues relating to bullying or self-confidence, they should be speaking with their social counsellors at school to be guided appropriately, or their parents should ensure they are taken to their local GP to make a referral to the appropriate entities/organisations who can guide them.

Any issue that a parent sees, or a friend or partner observes in another person should be addressed as early as possible, and any issue that you believe you might have can have a right and proper solution, rather than you believing that you have no other choice and adopting drastic measures.

We can ensure that your future continues to be secured and appropriate remedial actions are undertaken at each juncture.

Please do not hesitate to contact Freedman & Gopalan Solicitors if you wish to discuss any legal issues to arrive at a proper solution that is legally fit for you and family.

 

Recently in the news, you may have heard of the name Zenah Osman. But who exactly is Zenah Osman and what did she do to make her such a notorious name in the news?

Zenah Osman is the sister of disgraced former Deputy Mayor of Auburn, Salim Mehajer. She has been charged with serious misconduct because she signed and served false affidavits and claimed to represent people and companies which she did not. On the 23rd of May she was struck-off as a lawyer by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for her false representations and attempt to mislead the Federal Court.

Following these recent events presented in the news it can be hard not to wonder whether you are getting the best legal service possible, and if there are any rules of conduct that your solicitors or barristers may be breaking.

Here are our top 3 tips to consider when choosing a lawyer to avoid misconduct of any kind:

To search solicitors, visit https://www.lawsociety.com.au/for-the-public/find-a-lawyer.

To search barristers, visit http://find-a-barrister.nswbar.asn.au/.

All these tips correspond with the standard of conduct expected of lawyers, as stipulated in the Legal Profession Uniform Law NSW (‘LPUL’) – SECT 297 Professional Misconduct which states that:

‘’Unsatisfactory professional conduct of a lawyer where the conduct involves a substantial or consistent failure to reach or maintain a reasonable standard of competence and diligence…is not a fit and proper person to engage in legal practice.’’

Lawyers also have fundamental ethical duties that they must abide by which are outlined under the LPUL Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules 2015 and LPUL Conduct (Barristers) Rules 2015 and include duties to the client, duties to the opponent, management of the practice, and integrity of evidence. If you believe that your lawyer has behaved in ways that constitute professional misconduct while handling your matter, your best option is to inform the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner (OLSC). They are an independent body who deals with complaints about lawyers and can assist with resolving disputes. Note that complaints about conduct must be lodged within 3 years of the alleged conduct occurring, while cost disputes must be lodged within 2 months of receiving the bill.

If you have been a victim of professional misconduct, or have any queries relating to issues featured in this article, please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8917 8700 or fill out the enquiry box and we will get back to you ASAP.

Recently, we had year 10 student, Isata Yansaneh-Harleston., do work experience with us at our firm. We thoroughly enjoyed having her and were really encouraged by her enthusiasm and hard work. Read below for Isatah's experience at our firm in her own words.

"There’s always an amazing feeling when you state, you want your future occupation to be one as hugely respected as being a Lawyer, it certainly makes your parents proud. However, despite my knowledge on how rejoiceful and proud my parents will be when I obtain my law degree(s) I still knew that there was going to be a considerable amount of work and dedication that will need to occur in being a lawyer and so I took this short week as a way of gaining a boost of reassurance; that this was what I definitely wanted to become or to enlighten me in going into another field for my next work experience opportunity. Now don’t get me wrong I knew that I couldn’t just discard my dream career due to one negative experience or stop trying to venture into other fields because my time at Freedom and Gopalan Solicitors was undeniably amazing, as stated before my experience would only enable me to ask the question: is being a lawyer what I really want to become?

“Is this what I really wanted to do”? This question lingered on in my mind after I completed tasks, while I had nothing to do and during my observation of this firm’s environment. I’ve concluded that It most certainly is.

The reasoning behind my conclusion doesn’t lie primarily on my experience at F & G solicitors but merely due to my observations of some of the cases I was able to read. Reading the cases and seeing almost the whole process of each one brought within in me an urge to be a part of the process and aid these individuals as much as possible through the legal field. This ‘urge’ I know will modify into immense passion that in turn will assist me to get through university and law school.

I was astonished by how well I was able to adapt to this firm’s environment. Finding out about how the environment in a law firm is like made me very anxious as I wasn’t sure rather I would completely hate it or adjust to it very well. Thankfully, I felt completely comfortable and fine with it, my sudden adjustment to the environment assisted me in concluding that, a career in law is something I most definitely want to venture in.

During my week at F & G Solicitors I was treated with immense respect and felt very welcomed. I was very pleased to see a great relationship between the solicitors, secretaries and interns; I hope to one day be fortunate enough to work at a firm where such relationship is present. It was also very evident from my first day that they care tremendously for their clients and future clients.

I’m very delighted and fortunate enough to have the opportunity to have done my work experience at, Freedman & Gopalan Solicitors as I know that my time here will never be forgotten and has inevitable changed my doubts for the best.

Overall, work experience week for me was and still is extremely important mainly because I knew it would aid me in concluding rather: if being a lawyer was what I really wanted to become- which it is."

 

 

We’ve all been in front of an impatient car, the one that instantly honks their horn a millisecond after the traffic light has signalled go. We’ve also occasionally honked the horn to say ‘Hello’ or ‘Goodbye’. Well that innocent act of greeting or farewelling a fellow driver is in contravention of regulation 244 of the Road Rules 2014 (NSW), which are made under the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW).

Regulation 224 of the Road Rules states:

“A driver must not use, or allow to be used, a horn, or similar warning device, fitted to or in the vehicle unless it is necessary to warn other road users or animals of the approach or position of the vehicle; or it is being used as part of an anti-theft device, or an alcohol interlock device, fitted to the vehicle”.

Use of your horn or warning device unnecessarily can result in a maximum penalty of $2,200 in NSW.

This may come as a shock to many given how often we see people ‘beep’ hello and goodbye. You may be thinking that next time you will simply roll down your window and wave a greeting to your friend outside the car instead. Regulation 268 of the Road Rules states however that:

“A person must not travel in or on a motor vehicle with any part of the person’s body outside a window or door of the vehicle, unless the person is the driver of the vehicle and is giving a hand signal”

Thus, drivers can be penalised if they put their hand outside the window to wave to a friend. This rule also applies to passengers, and drivers can be penalised up to $2,200 if either themselves or their passengers are found in contravention of this rule. The only exception to the rule is if the driver of the vehicle is giving a hand signal to indicate changing direction to the right, or stopping and slowing.

Finally, who hasn’t been driving in a car before suddenly remembering that you may have left the stove on. In your rush, you do a U-turn, drive back home and barely even park properly, leaving your engine running in your haste to get inside and prevent your from burning down. Thankfully, everything is in the clear so you drive back to your previous destination feeling relieved. Turns out however that in your rush to protect your property, you may have broken regulation 213 of the Road Rules.

Regulation 213 of the Road Rules provides that:

(3) "If the driver will be over 3 metres from the closest part of the vehicle, the driver must switch off the engine before leaving the vehicle."

(5) “If the driver will be over 3 metres from the closest part of the vehicle and there is no-one left in the vehicle, the driver must: (a)  If the windows of the vehicle can be secured—secure the windows immediately before leaving the vehicle, and (b) If the doors of the vehicle can be locked—lock the doors immediately after leaving the vehicle.”

The rule clarifies that a window is considered “secured” even if it is open, by up to 2cm. As ridiculous as regulation 213 may appear, breach of the rule can come with a penalty of up to $2,200.

Road Rules 2014 (NSW) provides hundreds of rules that cover every aspect of the road including angled parking, how to make turns, and rules for pedestrians. Most other states and territories have an equivalent to the Road Rules 2014 (NSW) which include similar, if not the same, regulations. Find all the regulations applicable in NSW at http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_reg/rr2014104/.

If you have any queries relating to issues featured in this article, please do not, please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8917 8700 or fill out the enquiry box and we will get back to you ASAP.

The Royal Commission established an enquiry on 14 December 2017 into misconduct in banking, superannuation and financial services industry, after several years of pressure from members of the public, consumer groups, and several politicians. The aim of the enquiry is to investigate whether Australian financial services have engaged in any criminal misconduct, and whether there are sufficient mechanisms in place to compensate victims.

Since the first public hearings on 13 March 2018, a number of scandals have emerged, where the actions taken by some of the biggest financial services in Australia shed light on the unsurprising reality of their priorities. In order to meet targets, many banks have undertaken several acts of misconduct including forging documents, issuing unfair loans, briber, and lying, leaving hundreds of victims in poor financial states at the risk of losing their homes and assets.

Founder of Finance Consumers Support Association, Ms Denise Brailey, has advocated for enquiries into financial services for years. One area of particular concern for her are interest-only loans which banks devised to tempt people who were nearing retirement. Usually these people had paid off their mortgages and were looking to purchase investment property. Ms Brailey claims that these interest-only loans which did not require much documentation, tempted people to take out large loans that they could not actually afford, putting them in serious debt while the bank’s financial advisers gained commission from meeting lending targets. UBS, one of Australia’s most renowned banking analysts, confirmed in 2017 that there are around $500 billion worth of inaccurate mortgages.

The Royal Commission will be making enquiries into all these potential anomalies. Some confirmed acts of misconduct which have been exposed so far include the Commonwealth Bank of Australia admitting that their financial advisers have charged fees to dead clients, some for more than a decade, or clients who were no longer being provided with financial services. What is especially discouraging for the public has been the revelation that these financial advisors were often aware of the charges but made little or no attempt to contact family members to right the situation. AMP similarly charged their customers fees without providing financial services, and further admitted to lying to regulators such as ASIC (Australian Securities and investments Commission). As a result of these discoveries, AMP has announced the resignation of their CEO, Mr Craig Meller.

As well as investigating the big-four banks, the Royal Commission will also be making enquiries into insurance and mortgage companies such as BT Financial and Aussie Home Loans, and car financing companies. The key concern that is now on everyone’s minds is what penalties will be imposed to ensure justice and deter from future misconduct. The government has proposed new penalty regulations including increasing the maximum penalty for some serious offences to 10 years imprisonment for individuals or $9.45 million fines for corporations. They are further proposing to expand the range of offences subject to such penalties.

The Royal Commission’s interim report will be submitted no later than 20 September 2018, and their final report will not be submitted until 1 February 2019. It is clear however, in light of the misconduct unearthed, that regulations by the government and changes from financial services, can be expected. The public is able to assist the enquiry by making online submissions as an individual or entity detailing any misconduct they have encountered. The form can be found at: https://financialservices.royalcommission.gov.au/Public-submissions/Pages/default.aspx.

If you have been a victim of a financial service’s misconduct, or have any queries relating to issues featured in this article, please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 8917 8700 or fill out the enquiry box and we will get back to you ASAP.

  1. Finance

Before searching local property listings, you should meet with your mortgage broker and have your finance approved.  This will make it much easier during the settlement process and avoid any delays in settlement because of delays in finance approval.

 

  1. Using a Buyer’s Agent

Real Estate Agents work for Vendors to help them sell their property.  However, if you are engaging a Buyer’s Agent to help you locate a property or to bid on a property for you at auction, be sure to have their agreement reviewed.  Know what fees, terms and conditions you are signing up for.

 

  1. Reviewing the Contract

Before bidding on a property at auction or signing the contract, we recommend you have the contract reviewed by a Licensed Conveyancer or Solicitor.

This is to ensure that the contract does not have any clauses that may be detrimental to you and so that you are aware of any conditions that you will be subject to when purchasing the property.

Some properties purchased by private treaty will have a cooling-off period of anywhere between 3 and 10 business days (this is something that your conveyancer or solicitor can negotiate for you).  During this time, your solicitor will be able to negotiate with the Vendor’s solicitors and you will be able to arrange an Inspection of the property.

A cooling-off period is a set number of days after entering into the contract in which you can decide to proceed with the purchase of the property or terminate the contract.   In New South Wales, this period is usually five business days long and if you decide to terminate the contract you will be liable for a termination fee to the seller (0.25% of the purchase price).

Properties purchased at auction do not have a cooling-off period. You should conduct all enquiries and investigations well before the date of auction, so you have enough time to negotiate and make a decision.  You should also look into arranging a Building and Pest Inspection and/or a Strata Report prior to the auction.

Once the cooling-off period ends, you will officially enter the “post-exchange” period.

 

  1. Post-Exchange

During the post-exchange period, your solicitor/conveyancer will be making arrangements with the Vendor’s solicitors, your bank, the real estate agents and any other interested parties to make sure that settlement takes place on time.

Your representative will ask for the following details which you should provide straight away to avoid delays in the settlement process:

You will need to meet with your solicitor or conveyancer or arrange an appointment with a certified Verification of Identity Agent (Australia Post or ZipID if your solicitor/conveyancer is registered).  You will need to have the following documents available to be certified:

If you are unable to provide any of the documents, you can speak with your solicitor/conveyancer about the options available to you.  You should also notify your solicitor/conveyancer if you are a Permanent Resident and have recently travelled out of Australia.

From this stage, there is very little contact that will need to take place between you and your conveyancer until the days leading up to settlement.

Rest assured, radio silence does not mean that your matter is not being worked on.  During this time, your solicitor/conveyancer is planning for settlement to take place, negotiating with the Vendor’s solicitors and your bank to ensure that all takes place smoothly.

You will not need to meet with the solicitor/conveyancer thereafter, as the only further contact made by your representatives will be the long-awaited phone-call that you now own the property.  You will then need to contact the real estate agent to collect the keys to the property.

You should engage a conveyancer/solicitor who has expertise in this area so that you do not run into any situations where your questions remain unanswered.

 

  1. Settlement

Settlement is a transaction that takes place at a venue nominated between parties.  You will not need to attend. 

Once the property has settled, the Certificate of Title is handed to your mortgagee.  If there is no mortgage on the property, the Certificate of Title will be handed to your solicitor/conveyancer on settlement.  If your solicitor has safe-custody facilities, you may want to think about storing the Certificate of Title with your solicitor.  If not, make sure you store the Certificate of Title somewhere safe.

 

 

Australian Treasurer, Scott Morrison recently released our third budget which will result in number of changes if the Liberal Party are re-elected next year and the budget is in fact implemented. The changes aim to put the Government in surplus for the first time since 2008 but this does not necessarily mean significant cuts. In fact, the majority of middle-class working Australians are set to benefit from the new budget. Below is a rundown of how the new budget might affect you:

 

Taxation

The government is planning to reduce taxation for lower and middle-income Australians and families by increasing the taxable threshold income for low-income tax offset (LITO) from $66,667 to $90,000. This means that more Australians will be taxed less.

A limit on cash payments will be introduced with the new budget in an attempt to crack down on those attempting to avoid tax payments. From July 2019, there will be a limit of $10,000 for cash payments for goods and services.  It is anticipated that this limit, along with a Taskforce dedicated to targeting areas of under-reported income, will result in an additional $5.3 billion dollars of tax coming into the budget over the next 4 years.

Pensioners

$227 million dollars has been allocated to the Pension Work Bonus Scheme which allows pensioners to earn more money without incurring any deductions to their pension amount received. Pensioners will also be able to mortgage their home under the Pensions Loan Scheme.

Welfare Recipients

Unfortunately, welfare recipients will be adversely affected by the new budget with the government aiming to save $373 million by cutting welfare payments. Additionally, the government is increasing the waiting period from 3 years to 4 years for new migrants attempting to obtain welfare benefits. This will likely save another $200 million dollars.

Superannuation

In order to maximise superannuation funds available to working Australians, the government plans to introduce a 3% cap on fees for any account that has less than $6,000 in it. It is very common for individuals to accumulate a number of different superannuation funds over their work lifetime which may be confusing and difficult to keep track off. The government is planning to introduce an initiative where all inactive accounts with less than $6,000 will be transferred to the ATO to be ‘reunited’ with owners.

Mental Health

The government intends to increase funding for mental health services by $338 million dollars, focusing specifically on suicide prevention, research, and accessibility for rural and older Australians. This will include more support for people discharged from hospital following suicide attempts, and more funding for hotline services and awareness campaigns.

Small Businesses

In the 2015-26 budget, the Government introduced an Instant asset write-off initiative where business owners could write off up to $20,000 for any asset purchases they had bought and used, or installed to use in that year. The new budget has extended this initiative for another 12 months until 30 June 2019.

Road Congestion

The government has allocated $24.5 billion dollars to transport projects with the aim of reducing congestion. This includes work on roads and rail. As well as potentially decreasing our morning commute times, these projects will generate hundreds of new jobs.

Independent Students

If you are a student from a regional or rural area of Australia, who is living away from home to study at university, the new budget will make access to Youth Allowance payments easier. These payments are based on the income of the student’s parents. By increasing the threshold amount of parental income to $160,000, more students will be eligible for these payments.

Medical Assistance

Treatment and medication, especially for life-threatening, can be extremely expensive. To combat some of these costs, the government is adding $1.4 billion dollars to the budget over the next 4 years. This will be targeted at medication for a number of illnesses including relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy, and breast cancer.

As well as this, the Government is focusing on increasing access to doctors to those in rural areas by introducing 5 new medical schools in the Murray-Darling region, and creating a new junior doctor training program in remote regions. An additional $84 million dollars will go to the Royal Flying Doctor Service who will begin delivering dental and mental health services for the first time.

Security

The government is setting aside money in the budget to ensure the safety of Australians. This will include strengthening airport security, managing biosecurity risks from the import/export of agriculture, and continuing Operation Sovereign Borders, an initiative introduced to combat people smugglers.

 

If you have any questions regarding the budget, please do not hesitate to contact us on (02) 8917 8700. Alternatively, visit the visit the Australian Government’s Budget website at https://www.budget.gov.au/index.htm. 

Parliamentarians’ citizenship status has received vast amounts of media attention this year, with the High Court has ruling Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, along with a number senators, ineligible to sit in Parliament. This comes as a result of their respective dual citizenships, which were a contravention of s 44 of the Constitution.

This section prohibits a person who is a subject or citizen or is entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or citizen, of a foreign country from sitting in the Senate or House of Representatives. Thus, if you are a dual citizen of Australia and another country, you are ineligible to sit in Parliament.

The High Court’s view:

According to Sykes v Cleary (1992), successful renunciation of citizenship from the foreign country is not strictly essential in order to sit in Parliament. Rather, the majority held that the appropriate test is whether the person has taken all reasonable steps to renounce the foreign citizenship. This test acknowledges that renouncing citizenship can be a lengthy and complex procedure which is subject to varying requirements depending on the country.

Mason CJ, Toohey and McHugh JJ considered that when determining whether ‘reasonable steps’ had been taken the Court may take into account the level of connection between the person and the foreign state, the foreign state’s requirements for renouncement and the circumstances of the individual. For example, the UK requires a signed and witnessed application, proof of Australian and British citizenship, along with a fee in order to renounce British citizenship. It is likely that ‘reasonable steps’ in this case would involve completing this process, potentially irrespective of whether it has been formally approved.

Dean and Gaudron JJ, who dissented, took different approaches as to what would constitute ‘reasonable steps’, and the application of the test has remained largely uncertain. To add to the ambiguity, there is still debate as to whether all reasonable steps taken to renounce foreign citizenship must occur before the nomination date for election, and if so, how far in advance.

The Current Situation:

In an effort to avert the citizenship crisis, a new government initiative required both Senators and Members to make a declaration as to their citizenship, their parents’ citizenship status and, if applicable, any steps they have taken to renounce dual citizenship. Following the deadline for disclosure closing, a number of MPs may face referral to the High Court given their questionable citizenship status. There is a pattern of Parliamentarians attempting to renounce their foreign citizenship close to the closing date for nomination for election, and only receiving confirmation after nomination. If such referrals are made to the High Court, it is likely that they will have to consider the time frame in which reasonable steps must be taken.

Please contact Freedman and Gopalan Solicitors today on 02 8917 8700 to see how we can help you in your separation.

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