Legal Insights & Defence Guidance from Our Blog

02 February

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15 November 2020 Australian Citizenship Test Changes

By Tom Foran The Australian government has announced changes to the Australian Citizenship Test. The new testing regime will come into effect from 15 November 2020. This article explains who needs to take the Australian Citizenship Test. If you have recently applied for Australian Citizenship, then depending upon whether you have applied under Citizenship by Conferral or Citizenship by Descent, you may be impacted. We will look at the exceptions. Some applicants that would normally be required to take the test are exempt. There is going to be an overlap between the existing system and the new system. If you are going to...

02 February

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Mandatory Visa Cancellation for Child Exploitation Materials in Queensland

Posted by Tom Foran

in Sexual Offences

By Tom Foran On 15 September 2020, the Queensland government made amendments to the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992. The changes to subsection 9(4)[1] to that Act are relevant to this post. That subsection provides the requirements for a Court when determining the appropriate sentence for a person that has committed any offence of a sexual nature in relation to a child under 16 years of age, or in relation to a child exploitation material offence. The first requirement for the Court is to have regard to sentencing practices, principles, and guidelines that apply when the sentence is being imposed, and not when...

02 February

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Allegations of Criminal Wrongdoing in Civil Disputes – What You Need to Know

Posted by Potts-Lawyers

in Commercial Litigation

Individuals who are alleging (or have been accused of) criminal wrongdoing in a civil dispute should think twice about settling those disputes themselves without the assistance of lawyers. Some examples of civil disputes where criminal conduct is also alleged include: Claims for the recovery of debts or liquidated demands of money; Claims for unpaid wages or unfair dismissal, and other employment disputes; Claims arising out of contract between a consumer and trader, or two traders; Claims for damage to property; Claims in defects for goods, including motor vehicles; Claims for damages as a result of a failure to perform services as...

15 January

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Weapons Licensing Matters in Queensland

Posted by Potts-Lawyers

in Weapons Offences

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 Migration Law

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

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,...

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 Firm news

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...

01 September

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

Posted by Ashleigh DoRozario

in Firm news

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 Potts-Lawyers

in Administrative Law

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...

15 November 2020 Australian Citizenship Test Changes

Mandatory Visa Cancellation for Child Exploitation Materials in Queensland

Allegations of Criminal Wrongdoing in Civil Disputes – What You Need to Know

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!

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

Potts Lawyers Awarded Leading Criminal Law Firm

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

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