Ultimate Guide to Understanding Car Exhaust Laws in Australia

So, here is it. We all want a car that sounds great and is always on top of its game. In fact, if you have an enthusiasm for automobiles or you are a frequent driver, the sound of an engine can be so exciting.

However, Australia has a complex set of laws regulating car exhaust. Whether you intend to modify a car or you’re just an average vehicle owner, it is critical that you understand these rules to ensure you’re on the right side of the law.

As a top player in the automotive industry providing outstanding service to Western Australians since 1981, Genie Exhaust knows how important it is to stay in line with the law. This is why we have written this comprehensive guide to provide much-needed insight into car exhaust laws in Australia.

The truth is that you don’t want to be found driving with an illegal exhaust. But that’s not even the real deal. The reality is that with six states and two territories – all with moderately different rules – the laws behind car exhaust in Australia can appear somewhat confusing.

But then, that’s why you have Genie Exhaust! So, let’s help you see how you can enjoy your ride while staying within the bounds of the law.

What are the Basics of Car Exhaust Regulations?

Here’s an important kick-starter for you as we go into regulation nitty-gritty. In Australia, car exhaust laws are a mix of federal and state regulations. Ordinarily, the federal government sets the general standards. However, each state and territory also has the power to implement and enforce its own specific rules.

There are different regulatory agencies responsible for the Australian Design Rules (ADRs). For more clarity, the Australian Design Rules are Australia’s national technical regulations for vehicle safety, theft resistance, and emissions.

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5 Legal Steps Landscapers Can Take If A Client Is Unjustifiably Withholding Fees Payable

If own a landscape design business you will experience negative issues that also befall other business types, and unfortunately, they tend to adversely affect smaller businesses more than they do larger ones. One which causes some of the most angst is when a client refuses to pay what they legitimately owe for the work which has been done, and in this case, it would be for a landscape design.

Now, let us be clear we are not talking here about situations where a client quite rightly refuses to pay for a product or service which does not meet the agreed standards. In those scenarios, we fully support the right of any person or any business to demand that a contract is fulfilled and fulfilled to an acceptable standard.

We are sure that all the landscaping work you do is professional and doubtless has received positive reviews and testimonials from your many happy clients. As such, we are not talking here about a client withholding money justifiably, but them doing so unjustifiably and for no other reason than they do not wish to pay their fee as stated in the contract they signed.

If this were to happen to you, we are sure you are wondering what steps you can take, and our first advice would be to ensure that any step you take is legal. We have seen stories of landscapers taking the law into their own hands and destroying landscaping work they have completed due to a client not paying, and whilst it might produce a degree of satisfaction, it is neither helpful, unlikely to be legal, and worst of all, it will certainly not see your fee being paid.

Assuming you wish to remain on the correct side of the law, you are presumably hoping we are going to suggest ways you can get the client who unreasonably refusing to pay you to do so, and we are, with the following five steps to recover monies owed to your landscaping business.

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A Legal Expert's Guide to Laser Eye Surgery

A Legal Expert’s Guide to Laser Eye Surgery

Laser eye surgery is becoming increasingly popular as a means to correct vision problems. It can be a difficult decision to make, however, as it can be costly and there is some risk of side effects. As such, it is essential to obtain correct and accurate information before making any decisions regarding laser eye surgery. This blog post is intended to provide an overview of the procedure, the potential benefits and risks, and the legal aspects of laser eye surgery. It is written by an experienced legal expert who has been advising clients on the subject for many years. The goal is to provide an informed and unbiased overview that will help the reader make an informed decision. We hope that this guide will be of use to those considering laser eye surgery and will assist them in navigating the legal aspects of the procedure.

1. Understanding the risks and benefits of laser eye surgery

Understanding the risks and benefits of laser eye surgery is an important initial step in determining whether or not the surgery is right for you. Laser eye surgery is an outpatient procedure that uses a laser to reshape the cornea, resulting in improved vision. It can be used to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Possible risks from laser eye surgery include infection, dry eyes, and loss of vision. It is important for potential patients to know that the procedure is not suitable for everyone due to the cost of laser eye surgery and that certain medical conditions may make it inadvisable. However, the benefits of laser eye surgery are undeniable – most patients achieve 20/20 vision or better, and many are able to dispense with glasses and contact lenses altogether.

2. Knowing the different types of laser eye surgery

The second step in understanding laser eye surgery is to know the different types that can be performed. The two main types of laser eye surgery are LASIK and PRK. LASIK is the most common form of laser eye surgery, where a surgeon uses a laser to reshape the cornea to improve vision. PRK stands for Photorefractive Keratectomy, and it is similar to LASIK but without the creation of a flap in the cornea. LASEK, or Laser Assisted Sub-epithelial Keratectomy, is another type of laser eye surgery that is similar to PRK, but the surgery is slightly more involved and the healing process is longer. It is important to understand the differences between the different types of laser eye surgery so that you can make an informed decision about which one is right for you.

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Why A Commercial Lawyer Should Be Retained By Every Dental Practice

Why A Commercial Lawyer Should Be Retained By Every Dental Practice

A dentists working days present an array of challenges from filling cavities of those who have poor oral health to cleaning and polishing teeth of those who want their pearly whites to look incredible. We are also sure that not too many minutes of your days are filled with thoughts on legal matters.

When we say legal matters, we are referring to those which apply to owning and running a dental practice business. Many of the legal matters which could crop up in the operation of a dental practice can be run-of-the-mill such as ensuring you comply with employment law as it relates to your staff, however, there can also be less mundane matters such as being sued by a disgruntled patient.

It could also be the case that you need to take legal action against another person or business because you have been wronged, Examples include patients who refuse to pay their bills, or a supplier sending you dental equipment that does not meet the standards they promised.

For all of the above, and indeed many other legal scenarios, there is one person who you should have by your side figuratively, and that is your commercial lawyer, who can be invaluable to your dental practice in all legal matters. To emphasise that point more, below are five benefits that illustrate why retaining a commercial lawyer for your dental practice is not just advisable, but essential.

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State By State Details Of Australian Landscaping Licenses

State By State Details Of Australian Landscaping Licenses

Whilst we are sure landscapers love to focus on the work they do in transforming the gardens and outdoor spaces of their clients, unfortunately, there are also administrative obligations that they must deal with. Some relate to health and safety, others to consumer law, and for landscapers based in Australia, they also need to ensure that they have the appropriate licences to carry out the work that they do.

This is especially the case when landscapers carry out structural landscaping where they may be constructing fences, ponds, and retaining walls. Where the difficulty comes is that there is not a one-size-fits-all licence across Australia. Instead, the licences that landscapers need will be issued by the respective state authorities where they are based as outlined below in alphabetical order.

Australian Capital Territory

ACT does not issue specific landscaping licences, but it does require that a business holds a Class D builders licence if carrying out building work. In addition, their Class D licence may be granted with endorsements permitting landscapers to construct structures not regarded as habitable such as pergolas and patios.

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Legal Agreements Used By Landscaping Businesses

3 Common Legal Agreements Used By Landscaping Businesses

Something you might not immediately associate with landscapers would be legal documents, however, for landscaping businesses,  to protect their interests and to operate within certain regulations, they often need to use them. The specific documents landscapers use will be influenced by the size of the business, what services it offers, and what state it is located in.

In particular, there are three formal agreement documents that you will find, not just landscaping businesses use,  but businesses of all kinds. These three agreements are Service Level Agreement, Employment Agreement, and Partnership Agreement. Read on and you will discover exactly what these agreements are and when they should be used by a landscaping business.

Service Level Agreement

What Is It?

A service level agreement, or SLA, is the contract that is created between a client and the landscaping business about their landscape design. It outlines in detail what work the landscapers have agreed to undertake and the expectations related to the services provided. It is created so that both parties are fully aware of their respective obligations so that no misunderstandings occur. Specific details that should be included in an SLA are:

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The Safest Ways To Legally Purchase A Bali Villa

The Safest Ways To Legally Purchase A Bali Villa

Anyone contemplating starting a tourist rental business will have many hurdles to overcome before booking guests. These include finance for the investment, property management, and how to market the villa to attract guests. However, before any of that can happen, they need a villa to rent to tourists, which can provide the biggest hurdle of all.

It is a difficult hurdle to overcome because, in Bali, which is governed by Indonesian law, it is illegal for a foreign individual to purchase land or property. Before you tear up your plans for your Bali villa business, let us state that there are workarounds, some of which are perfectly legal and sound, and some which, whilst legal, carry huge risks. Here are some of your options based on first-hand knowledge from the professionals at Luxury Villas Bali.

Use A Nominee

By far, it is the riskiest option, which needs massive due diligence and care. The nominee is an Indonesian citizen with the right to buy property in Bali. What happens is you fund the purchase, but the title for the property goes into their name. To protect yourself, you would have a notary draw up an agreement between you and the nominee, but these are far from watertight, and if the nominee goes rogue on you, it can be a costly experience.

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7 Highly Effective Time Management Tips For Landscapers

7 Highly Effective Time Management Tips For Landscapers

For any landscape designers who are running their own landscaping business, there are several ways in which to help make that business successful. There are the obvious ones such as marketing to gain new clients, but there are also tasks that do not necessarily require a monetary investment, but instead, commitment to following better business practices. Near the top of that list is the effective management of your time, so here are seven ways you can achieve that goal.

Proper Planning Is Essential

The reason we highlight this first is due to it being the number one way to improve your time management. Without planning, your business enters a never-ending cycle of chaos, mistakes, and missed deadlines meaning unhappy employees and clients. You must take time to plan your business’s future properly, both for the long-term and short-term.

Keep All Business Documents Organised

It would shock you to discover how many hours upon hours are wasted by business owners and their employees searching for documents due to their file organisation system being either non-existent or unfit for prepose. A landscaping business is one where document numbers should not be too high so commit to getting those that it does have into a properly organised digital or physical filing system that aid the business, not hinder it.

Communicate By Phone Rather Than Email

Email does have a part to play in business, but when it becomes your sole means of communicating it can add unnecessary time and delay to your working week. With email, not only do you need time to type it out, you then have to wait for the other party to reply. Often a quick phone call will get you the answer you need, so if a call is possible, use it rather than an email.

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Why You Would Send A Cease And Desist Letter

If someone does something which you believe to be wrong, or harmful to your business, you do not always need to instruct your commercial lawyer to start court proceedings. For a start, not every so-called wrongdoing warrants a court case, and besides, there are other options available to you.

One of those options is to send the person or the business who you believe has stepped out of line, a cease and desist letter. These are letters sent, normally by a lawyer, to a third party who you believe has undertaken an activity or an action, which could be infringing your rights, or harmful to you.

Some of the most common reasons for people sending a cease and desist letter are:

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7 Common Questions About Drug Offences

It can often be the case that a person has entered a drug rehab program or facility, but at the same time, they have the cloud of a possible drugs charge hanging over them. Whilst entering drug rehabilitation might show good intent for the future, it, unfortunately, cannot erase the past and negate the fact that they may have been arrested and face being charged with a drug offence.

No doubt they will have many unanswered questions relating to drug charges, so, to provide some clarity, we have listed 7 common questions and provided what we believe are the most straightforward answers to them.

Question #1 – What Are The Possible Charges Relating To Drug Offenses?

There are several charges that can be brought against someone under most drug laws that exist. The list includes:

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4 Essential Legal Steps To Successfully Purchasing A Business

4 Essential Legal Steps To Successfully Purchasing A Business

Owning your own business is a dream for many, and that is understandable given that the rewards a successful business can bring are significant. One way to shortcut the process is to buy an existing business, but the process involves many pitfalls, and as some of them are legal, having the advice and support of a commercial lawyer throughout the purchase process is essential.

Not every aspect of buying a business will be a legal one, with matters such as business finances, new branding, media announcements of the change of ownership, and many others, not all necessarily requiring the help of a commercial lawyer. Nevertheless, having a commercial lawyer being given an overview of everything will ensure that nothing happens that may come back to cause you a major legal headache.

Whilst every sale and every purchase of any existing business will have their own peculiarities, at the core of most of them will be four essential legal steps. These four legal steps need to be navigated correctly to ensure that the purchase of your new business can proceed without any major hurdles or more to the point that it does not fall through altogether. We have covered each of them in some detail: Review of the Contract, Amendments, Review of the Commercial Loan Agreement, Exchange and Settlement of the Contracts.

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Website Site

5 Website Design Mistakes by Small Businesses

Small businesses pay a lot of attention to their SEO marketing efforts, revenue generation and customers since they are usually serving niches and tend to focus on their core competencies a lot. Competing with giant organizations cost a lot to the small firms and they are prone to mistakes which the customers or potential customers may catch easily in whatever domain. Website design is one of the areas where the small businesses seem to be ignorant some of the time about certain aspects. Often lack of hefty initial capital leads to development of the business website by the organization’s own staff which might not be a professional team in this regard. Turns out, a website with a lot of design mistakes that could turn off the traffic. And since a small business needs a great deal of viewership at its site since that could be the only medium of communication before launching some campaigns, it hinders the growth of clientele.

Mistake # 1: Poor Choice of Colours

Colours and contrasts are not thought to be as a priority when listing common mistakes made by small businesses in web design, but it is one of the fundamental ones. Since visual appeal plays great role in attracting customers and viewers on the web, poor choice of colours or contrasts that speak otherwise of your vision and business philosophy might be the factor throwing off potential customers to competitors’ site. Fonts and graphic content also falls under this category.

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Advice On Finding The Best Lawyer For Your Dental Practice

Advice On Finding The Best Lawyer For Your Dental Practice

There are many reasons why any dentist might wish to retain the services of a lawyer. Some are positive, some negative, and some are run-of-the-mill, but whatever the reasons, ensuring that you choose the correct lawyer to represent you is something that should be done with some thought.

Whilst all lawyers will have gone through the tried and tested route in terms of university and legal exams, not all operate in the same way, nor have the same success rate, and therefore it is not enough to simply assume they are going to provide you with more or less the same type and level of service.

As such, it will pay dividends for you to take just a bit of time to think about which lawyer you are choosing. Bear in mind that this is someone who potentially might be in court someday, defending your business. As we said in the intro, there can be negative reasons for you needing a lawyer, such as being sued by a patient for malpractice, so do not make this decision lightly.

It is important to also remember that although you are the one paying a lawyer for their services, they are not there to simply roll over and agree to everything you ask or tell them to do.

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Smartphone Consumers

How Digital Marketers Should Connect With Smartphone Consumers

With a rapidly growing population of mobile users (3.6 Billion) today, it becomes essential for businesses to create robust customer engagement; if they are to stay in the challenging market competition. Subsequently,  digital marketing professionals must adapt to the evolving consumer behaviour, who now consult their Smartphones and mobile devices before purchasing.

Google suggests marketers should consider new strategies to connect with consumers through different digital marketing channels to gain quality conversions. Mobile marketing plays a vital role for brand managers to meet their customers. A recent Google Analytics report indicates that smartphones help users make a decision, 57% of users visit a store, 39% of users will call a business to inquire, and 51% will create an online purchase.
With such positive figures, marketing professionals can connect with consumers by employing these four tactics:

Evaluate Your Brand’s Reach Beyond Mobile Sales

It is essential to consider all the available options to advertise and promote your products; when customers are searching for your brand/product reviews, prices and sizes on their smart devices. Google Adwords is the paid advertisement method that can put your digital marketing in full steam. This tool lets you determine the platforms that deeply influence your sales, whether shopping from the mobile app or in-store.

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Business Marketing

Profitable Ecommerce Blueprint – From Scratch To A Profitable Growth

What Is Online Business?

An online business, which is also referred to as e-business is the hue of business bustle that takes place over the Internet. There are a lot of things that are to be considered while starting some business online and especially if you are not some computer expert or haven’t started a business before.

You will start to hear terms such as SEO, eCommerce, responsive web design and many others that may confuse you at first, but here are some tips, which can prove a helpful starting point when starting an online business:

What Are The Main Tips Required?

Some of the beneficial tips for the business owners that are planning to start an online business are as follows:

Offer what people want: The owners should make sure that their business renders the customers what they want, and this can be started well if the owners make sure enough of selling the basic ones.

Positive cash flow: The owners should make sure that they run their business in such a way that it renders those cash as soon as possible. The owners can simply achieve this by increasing their profit rates while decreasing their disbursements. Lastly, they should keep in mind that all discount offers are not beneficial to their sales as some of them may even decrease their profit.

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Trespassing

Why Trespassing Can Be A Shortcut To A Criminal Record

It may not seem like the most serious offence that a lawyer may have to represent their client for, but trespassing is a crime and one for which conviction and punishment can leave the offender with a criminal record.

For a first offence, you might be given a fine, or maybe even released on the proviso that you pay a bond, especially in cases where the trespass was not deemed especially serious, and no damage or loss occurred.

However, do it again, and you can expect the penalty to be more severe with probation, community service, and ultimately, imprisonment, all possible punishments.

Hopefully, you are a law-abiding citizen, and never likely to face any of those penalties, but given that a surprisingly large amount of confusion exists with regards to trespassing law, we thought we would help you make sure.

Part of the problem is that trespass law comes under both criminal law and tort law. Tort law relates to civil matters, whereby someone could sue for damage caused due to trespass.  For this reason, many are under the illusion that trespassing is purely a civil matter, and only find out it is actually a criminal matter too, when they are arrested.

The legal definition of trespass is entering private or specified public places without permission unless it was for a legitimate reason. The sort of public places covered by this include schools and health facilities. Private places include private land, homes, and business premises.

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Terminate an Employee’s Contract

When Do I Have the Right to Terminate an Employee’s Contract?

Australian employment contracts tend to provide a lot of protection to employees, but it’s important to realise that employers have rights as well. For example, two of the most important employer rights are workplace surveillance and the right to expect reasonable performance from every employee.

If an employee isn’t meeting the expected performance standards, you might be able to terminate their contract without advance warning. However, there are conditions. And, there are other reasons why you may want to and have the right to terminate a contract.

Below are a few common situations when you have the right to terminate an employees contract:

  1. With the Provision of Adequate Notice

In the absence of another clause written into an employment contract, an employer must provide a minimum amount of notice when terminating a contract. If a contract specifies a particular notice period, it must be given. If not, you need to give:

  • At least one weeks notice for less than a year of employment.
  • At least two weeks notice for one to three years employment.
  • At least three weeks notice for three to five years employment.
  • At least four weeks notice for more than five years employment.

On top of this, employees aged 45 or older who have been employed for a minimum of two years are entitled to an extra week of notice. If you believe you aren’t receiving your proper rights, this is when you should speak to your employment lawyer.

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Marketing Expert

4 Reasons Why You Should Use A Marketing Expert For Your Law Firm

Online marketing is difficult for anyone. Unlike past times where it was as simple as making an ad and waiting for the results, modern online marketing is super competitive, and it has to be done just right if you want to get a decent return on investment. This is especially true for lawyers and legal advice firms, who have to do things just right if they want to get a decent return on their marketing efforts.

Although it is possible to take charge of your online marketing campaigns yourself, most law firms choose to employ marketing experts to do it for them. There are many benefits associated with doing this, including:

  1. Marketing Experts Are Efficient

Unless you have a lot of marketing experience, you will spend a lot of time trying to get things right if you choose to control your own law firm’s online marketing. However, if you employ a marketing expert, you will be getting someone with experience, who knows exactly what they’re doing, and who will be efficient. This will free you up and will allow you to spend more time on the things that you’re good at.

  1. They Will Be Able To Identify The Best Marketing Streams

If you choose a marketing consultant or agency with a lot of experience and a good reputation, you can be sure that they know what they’re doing. They will be able to identify the best and most profitable marketing streams for you and your business, and they will be able to implement high quality marketing campaigns to make the most of these streams.

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Co-habitation Agreements

Creating Effective Co-habitation Agreements

Family law is ever-changing in the modern age we live in.  Statistics show us that 60-70% of people will live together before marriage, particularly for the age from of people falling between 30-44 years old.  Another striking statistic is that co-habitation is increasingly popular among adults over 75 years old.

According to family law experts Davies & Co Lawyers, co-habitation may be referred to in different ways.  You may have heard phrases such as: Committed Intimate Relationships, Non-Married Heterosexual Couples, Non Traditional Cohabitors, or Meretricious Relationships.

It’s important when considering a co-habitation agreement to understand the different types of agreements and that courts generally treat them like contracts.  You may also have heard of these agreements under other names, such as:  Written Agreements for Support, Written Partnership Agreements, or Non-Marital Agreements. There are generally three types of agreements: Implied, Oral, and Written.  Jurisdictions vary on whether they will recognize oral co-habitation agreements, although many do.  Some will only recognize agreements entered into in writing.  It’s important to understand what the courts in your jurisdiction require.  Some jurisdictions will not recognize an implied cohabitation agreement.

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Shareholder Disputes

Shareholder Disputes can Lead to Protracted Court Battles

Early Valuations can put you in an Empowered Position

Shareholder disputes are more common than we like to think and often prove disruptive to a business; in fact, it would be fair to suggest that a serious dispute can bring a successful business to its knees. Expert commercial lawyers can help perform early valuations and this helps pave the way for quick and efficient resolutions. Independent valuations of your shareholdings can strengthen bargaining power and there is higher likelihood of getting what you deserve. There can be several circumstances that can lead to a shareholders dispute. Differences of opinion may arise between the parties involved and the dispute could involve:

  • Shareholders and directors of unlisted companies
  • Shareholders and directors of proprietary limited companies
  • Partners in a business partnership or trust
  • Conflict between controllers of a business entity regarding management, finance, operation or other issues

At the core of any shareholders’ dispute is usually a struggle for control as well as the resultant benefits that can be expected from the control. Shareholder disputes may arise due to relationships gone sour, differences of opinion regarding succession, operation, finance or families could be mired in a dispute for future control of the business. At times, when shareholders fall out, they may complain of unprofessional handling of company affairs or even allege fraud. In such cases, it’s always better to seek efficient legal services in order to explore methodical and systematic solutions to legal problems.

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Accounting For Dummies

Accounting For Dummies – Setting Up Your First Business

When it comes to setting up a new business, hiring a good accountant can actually be one of the more difficult things to get in order. The tax and bookkeeping requirements differ between industries and according to what sort of business you are setting up, which means that it is easy to make mistakes if you don’t know the tax system well.

If you are starting your first business, and don’t really know what your obligations are, then consider the following:

Speak to an accountant!

If you really don’t know where to start, then it is always a good idea to speak with an accountant or professional bookkeeper. An experienced accountant should know exactly what your requirements are when it comes to setting up a new business. If possible, try and choose someone who has experience in the field that you are starting your business in.

Although you may decide that you don’t need to hire an accountant regularly, an initial consultation can help you get set up. Consulting a knowledgeable tax lawyer may also be prudent depending on how complex your business structure is going to be. Knowing what sort of records you have to keep, what sort of things you have to report, and how you need to report them can help you make sure that you fulfill all of your tax obligations.

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Family Law

Australian Family Law and Major Legal Problems of the Field

The two cornerstones of Australian family law are a marriage and de facto relationship, including same sex relationship. The ultimate significance of a marriage and de facto relationship as the underlying fundamentals of Australia’s family law lies in the fact that these two types of family related states and interactions give birth to a wide array of legal issues that can be resolved only in the framework of family law. Most typical and important legal issues and thus topics of Australia’s family law include divorce, child support, spousal maintenance, property division, household content division, allocation and adjustment, parenting arrangements, adult child maintenance, etc.

Lawyers advise that the majority of the aforementioned legal issues, with the exception of child support, are regulated by Australia’s Family Law Act. This Act is a piece of federal legislation, which is enforceable in all states and territories of Australia. The Family Court of Australia and the Federal Magistrates Court exercise subject-matter jurisdiction under the Family Law Act. However, it needs to be mentioned that Western Australia has established its own Family Court, irrespective of the fact that the state also applies federal law to regulate the aforementioned legal issues. On the other hand, the issue of child support is regulated through child support schemes.

According to Family Law Assist, divorce is the first and foremost legal issue encountered in the framework of Australia’s family law. It is extremely interesting to note that Australia has enacted a no-fault divorce legal regime. This implies that fault/guilt of either of the spouses is not taken into consideration by the court when deciding a case of divorce. The Family Law Act of Australia makes it crystal clear that the only ground for divorce, also defined as the dissolution of a marriage, can be a situation when the marriage ‘has broken down irretrievably’. The question is how to prove the irretrievably of breaking down of a marriage. The answer is that the irretrievable breaking down of a marriage can be established by virtue of the fact that the parties have separated and lived apart for at least one year. As soon as the aforesaid ground is established, the court will grant divorce. The major legal point in this area is that the court may decide not to grant divorce if it is not satisfied that necessary arrangements have been made by the parents in respect to their children.

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Partnership Issues

Understanding of Shareholder and Partnership Issues

Looking for Clarity and Greater Understanding of Shareholder and Partnership Issues? Dedicated Lawyers can you Assert your Rights

Setting up and operating a business can be an exceedingly complicated process. Dedicated commercial lawyers  and legal advisors can help you set up partnerships, obtain clarity on shareholder disputes and resolve legal problems related to business agreements. The success of a new venture often depends on greater understanding of the legal ground rules that govern business operations in Australia. In the beginning, most partners (who may also be family members or friends) are excited and enthusiastic about the prospect of getting a successful business off the ground. However, it is crucial to have written contracts drawn up so that partners can explore the future vision of the company within the proper legal framework.

One of the most significant building blocks for a successful venture is a written and well-structured shareholder’s agreement. A well-prepared and comprehensive shareholder’s agreement helps the business run smoothly. The experts at lawandstuff.net has told us, a shareholder agreement is especially useful in the event of a dispute or difference in opinion or even in case of doubt. Although the contents of shareholders’ agreements would vary across businesses, the following list typically describes some important information that is usually included in general:

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Criminal Law

Purpose of Criminal Law in Australia

The overarching purpose of criminal law in Australia is to bring about and enforce criminal sanctions, also known as penalties, such as imprisonment or fines, with regard to individuals whose behaviour is considered not merely unacceptable enough to deserve punishment by the state, but also socially dangerous. The key specificity of Australian criminal law stems from the fact that it originated from both common law (case law) and legal statues enacted by the legislatures, including, for instance, such statutes as the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW).[1] In Australia, criminal law belongs to those domains of law that are largely controlled by the states, rather than by the federal government, notwithstanding the fact that there is a growing number of criminal law provisions enacted by the Commonwealth government as well, such as the Anti-Terrorism Act (No. 2) 2005 (Cth).[2] Here, it is extremely interesting to note that the federal system of Australia has it own criminal law enforcement agency, the Australian Federal Police.

As the foregoing discussion must suggest, most of the criminal statutes in Australia originate from English criminal law, though Queensland originally rested its system on the nineteenth-century Code of India. Criminal statutes not merely define what constitutes a crime and cover the relevant penalties and sentences for diverse criminal offences, but also regulate issues of criminal procedure and evidence. In addition to this, certain specific statutes, such as the Corporations Act 2001, or laws pertaining to transport, roads or environmental protection, tend to prescribe sanctions for specific offences committed in particular areas of social relations.[3]

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Digital Agency

The Benefits of Using a Professional Digital Agency

Digital agencies are becoming more and more common to cater for the needs of a growing internet. Getting your site out there and having your content read is getting harder and harder as the years go by, which means that it is getting more and more beneficial to have an expert coordinate your digital marketing efforts.

It is no longer as simple as running a few internet ads to drive visitors to your website. The types of advertising are endless (think SEM, SMM, PPC, etc…), and each one requires special skills to have full effect. Consider the following benefits that are associated with hiring a professional digital agency to take care of your digital marketing campaigns, and think about whether you need to hire someone.

A professional agency will have skills that you don’t:

Unfortunately, the various types of digital marketing can take years to master. There is absolutely no point wasting your time learning about each one. The chances are that you will never be as good as a professional, and that your website will suffer as a result.

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Web Hosting

Why is it Important to Use a High-Quality Hosting Service?

Online and internet based businesses are becoming more and more common in the modern world. The rise of the digital age has opened up countless opportunities for people with an entrepreneurial mind, and they are really only limited by their imaginations.

More people than ever own and run their own websites. Some of these are designed to generate a profit, while others are simply run as a hobby. A high-quality hosting service from Slinky Hosting is extremely important for maintaining the health of your website, no matter what its purpose is. There are many reasons why you need to use a high-quality hosting provider for your website, including:

Cheap servers may experience a lot of downtime:

If you own a business website or a site that is designed to generate a profit, then you want it to be online for as long as possible. Unfortunately, cheaper web hosting providers often cram way too many sites onto a single server, which often leads to the server crashing. This means that your site won’t be online for long periods at a time, and can negatively impact your traffic numbers in a big way. Higher quality hosting providers will do things properly, which means that your site will nearly always be accessible and that you won’t have trouble with too much downtime.

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Estate Planning

Estate Planning for Small Business Owners

Everyone should make plans for their family should the unthinkable happen. This is not difficult, especially when you have an estate planning solicitor to guide you. Making a Will is an essential part of it, although there can be much more to it. But for those who own a business it is a little more complicated because they have to decide what they want to happen to the business and those who work in it, then implement steps to ensure it happens.

If the business is a partnership or has several owners, there must be plans to ensure they are taken care of. One way to do this is to draw up a legally binding buy-sell agreement. This will outline what you want to happen if a partner or co-owner dies, decides to leave or is forced to leave for some reason.

In the agreement will be details about

  • who can purchase his or her share of the business
  • under what circumstances such as retirement, death or disability and
  • what price they should pay such as market value, percentage and so on.

You should also discuss it with your lawyer or legal advisor who will be able to advise you what options are available and how to implement them, what to put in your estate plan and what common estate planning mistakes you should avoid. For instance you could sell the business, close it down or hire someone else to run it as you get older and find it more difficult to keep up the pace.

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financial-advisor

How Financial Planners can Keep You Grounded

Every business should have a good financial planner on board to guide the owner through the financial maze that is inherent in every business. A financial advisor can work with you right from the start to help create the financial section of your business plan; something that any lender will want to see before they make that important lending decision.

According to well known financial planner Andep, when you have your financial planning sorted out, you can see at a glance whether your business concept is truly viable – and so can the lender. While it might seem obvious to anyone starting up a business that it is essential to be sure before you start that the business is viable, when you are possessed by a cherished dream to have this particular business you can often get carried away and think things will be much better than they end up being.

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Litigation-on-Small-Business

The Impact of Litigation on Small Business

If you have a small business, litigation lawyers giving legal advice will tell you it is absolutely essential to take out insurance against litigation. You may think that litigation only happens to other people and it is not likely to happen in your business, but this is not so. Accidents can happen to anyone at any time and if someone on your premises or on your payroll is injured or worse, litigation is likely to be the outcome.

In fact, even if you do have enough insurance to cover the costs involved in a litigation suit, there are many other factors involved that money cannot help.

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Hairstyle

What Your Hairstyle Says About You

If you are in business, it is imperative to dress the part and make yourself as attractive as possible. Some people choose to do this with Botox treatments, while others pay more attention to their makeup and hairstyle. Certainly, if you have pronounced wrinkles, Botox can help smooth them away and give you a younger look. There are other ways to make the most of yourself and one of these is to ensure your hairstyle really suits the shape of your face.

Making the most of yourself may include using Botox injections to reduce facial wrinkles, but if you keep that tired old hairstyle, you still won’t look your best.

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