Edge Legal
The following is a brief overview of the unfair dismissal provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (“the Act”)which became operative on 1 July 2009.
Who is protected from unfair dismissal?  
In order to be protected from unfair dismissal, a person must be employed:

by a constitutional corporation; or
by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth authority; or [...]

Edge Legal
The Federal Court has determined that it is up to individual judges to decide whether Twitter may be used to cover court cases.
Reporting court cases on Twitter became evident recently when journalists from ZDNet.com and The Australian both used Twitter to cover the much-publicised case between iiNet and the entertainment industry. For those of [...]

Edge Legal
One often overlooked component of the employee-employer relationship is the employees right of privacy. In many instances the employer may unknowingly violate the employees’ right of privacy and thereby run the risk of acting in breach of Australian law.
The instances and types of privacy breaches in the workplace will vary depending on the nature [...]

Mr Lee C v CLS Pty Ltd (U2009/10839)
The employer applied to dismiss the application on the basis the income threshold was exceeded, some $833 above the high income threshold of $108,300 per annum. The employee was paid $109,133 per annum, which included $26,100 in living away from home allowance (LAFHA)) and $4,133 per annum in [...]

The Civil Liability and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2009 was introduced to parliament on 7 October 2009, to amend various legislation impacting on personal injuries, but not including work injuries.
Among the amendments tabled are:

Altering limitation periods for Dust Diseases claims;
Indexing General Damages allowances to increase annually;
Reinstating certain gratuitous domestic claims (CSR Limited v Eddy);
Permitting de-facto [...]

Criminal Organisation Bill 2009
There has been much media attention in respect of ‘anti-bikie’ styled legislation.  The Bill was finally introduced to parliament today. There is general concern that its application is far reaching and not limited to bikies.
Brisbane Barrister – David Cormack

Legal Services Commissioner v Dempsey (No. 2) [2009] LPT 23
The Tribunal recommended Mr Dempsey be removed from the roll of legal practitioners in Queensland and pay compensation to Rafaela Oats in the sum of $17,232.72.
The Tribunal made findings as follows:
[3] The Tribunal is of the view that Mr Dempsey was not “a fit and proper [...]

The 2008–09 annual reports of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and the Australian Industrial Registry are now available online following their tabling in the Parliament on 26 October 2009.
Brisbane Barrister – David Cormack

 The Bill was released to the House on 21 October 2009.
Referral legislation has been passed by QLD, NSW, VIC, SA and it is expected the other States will follow. One of the purposes of the Bill is to replace charges under the Corporations Act 2001, although these provisions are yet to be released. It is [...]

De Ross v General Medical Assessment Tribunal & Anor [2009] QCA 327
His Honour Justice Keane, with whom Holmes and Fraser JJA concurred, dismissed the appeal of WorkCover Queensland, upholding the decision of the learned primary judge’s decision.
Central to this discussion was whether failure by WorkCover to furnish articles provided by Mr de Ross’ legal [...]