15 January

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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...

23 December

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Family Violence and Australian Partner Visas

Posted by Tom Foran

in Uncategorised

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...

22 December

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

Posted by Potts Lawyers

in Firm news, staff news

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,...

16 December

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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

Posted by Bill Potts

in General Law News, Uncategorised

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...

10 December

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Disciplinary Matters: Common Health Service Complaints to the Office of the Health Ombudsman Queensland

Posted by Chris Korbel

in Disciplinary Law

The Health Ombudsman Act 2013 (Qld)(“the Act”) provides the Office of The Health Ombudsman (“OHO”) with statutory power to manage and deal with health service complaints. The Act provides OHO with a range of statutory powers to manage and deal with health service complaints. This can include requiring a subject of a health service complaint to provide submissions to OHO, performing its own investigation into the subject of a health service complaint, or commencing Court disciplinary proceedings against the subject of a health service complaint. Everyone and anyone can make a health service complaint to OHO about a health service practitioner or...

14 October

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Potts Lawyers Awarded Leading Criminal Law Firm

Posted by Potts Lawyers

in Uncategorised

Potts Lawyers Awarded as a Leading Criminal Law Firm by Doyle’s Guide 2020 Managing director Rob Franklin is pleased to announce that Potts Lawyers has again been recognised by the prestigious Doyle’s Guide as a “first tier” leading criminal law firm in Queensland. Director Bill Potts has been named as a leading criminal lawyer whilst director Cameron Browne, Mark Williams and Erin Mitchell have been named as a recommended criminal lawyers. Andrew Hanlon has been announced the criminal law rising star and the firm has also been recognised as the Leading Traffic & DUI defence lawyers in Queensland. It is heartening to see that amongst the...

14 October

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What’s different about Potts Lawyers?

Posted by Bill Potts

in Firm news, Uncategorised

What's it mean to be a Good Criminal Lawyer? https://youtu.be/Lpb9O9WDXC8 Firstly, it's important for our clients to know that we are their lawyers. We're not the judge, we're not the jury. So we are not going to be judging a person who is in those sorts of difficulties often in a society that doesn't understand what they're doing or why they're doing it doesn't understand how they got to be in that dark place, and need to understand that there is a way out of it. And often, that means giving some form of psychiatric or psychological assistance for sometimes it means explaining to...

01 September

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Ashleigh DoRozario: Founding Member of the Queensland Law Society’s Diverse Abilities Network

Posted by Ashleigh DoRozario

in Litigation

At the beginning of this year, I became a founding member of the Queensland Law Society’s Diverse Abilities Network. As a solicitor with disability, being legally blind with low vision, I represent persons with disability in the Queensland legal profession. In this position, I also work collaboratively with the Queensland Law Society’s Equity and Diversity Committee. The aim of the network is to: address accessibility issues within the legal industry; seek greater diversity and inclusion within the profession; advocate equal opportunity and provide a support network for practitioners with disability accessibility, discrimination or human rights issues. With a view to destigmatising disability...

01 September

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Blue card “No Card, No Start”: New Changes To the Blue Card System

Posted by Jason Papoutsis

in Litigation, Uncategorised

Blue Card “No Card, No Start” in Queensland On 31 August 2020, changes were made to the Blue Card system which all Blue Card applicants and Blue Card holders should be aware of. The “No Card, No Start” law The Blue Card system now states that applicants will be unable to work or volunteer in a position which requires a blue card until their application is approved. Previously, applicants were permitted to begin work which requires a Blue Card whilst their application was being processed. New Rules for Blue Card Expiring The new rules also state that if you do not renew your blue card...

26 August

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Bill Potts comments on domestic violence laws six months after horrific murders

Posted by Potts Lawyers

in Domestic Violence

Hannah Clarke's parents call for stronger domestic violence laws six months after horrific murders Six months on from the shocking murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children, domestic violence advocates are calling for coercive control and petrol dousing to be established as offences in Queensland. Ms Clarke, 31, and her children, Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey, were murdered in Brisbane's Camp Hill after her estranged husband Rowan Baxter ambushed them on the morning school run on February 19. Baxter, doused them with petrol and set the car alight before he died of self-inflicted stab wounds nearby. The three children — aged, six, four...

Weapons Licensing Matters in Queensland

Family Violence and Australian Partner Visas

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

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

Disciplinary Matters: Common Health Service Complaints to the Office of the Health Ombudsman Queensland

Potts Lawyers Awarded Leading Criminal Law Firm

What’s different about Potts Lawyers?

Ashleigh DoRozario: Founding Member of the Queensland Law Society’s Diverse Abilities Network

Blue card “No Card, No Start”: New Changes To the Blue Card System

Bill Potts comments on domestic violence laws six months after horrific murders

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