If you’re an Australian employer then you have a range of obligations with respect to paid holidays and leave. Understanding these obligations is crucial if you want to run a successful business without placing yourself at risk, and the best way to do this is to speak with a commercial lawyer, such as Rowe Bristol, with experience in the industry.

As you can imagine, parental leave is something that pops up quite regularly. Unfortunately, a lot of employers don’t understand what their obligations are with respect to parental leave in Australia.

With this in mind, I’ve outlined the main parental leave laws in Australia to help you understand what you need to be doing:

What is paid parental leave?

Basically, paid parental leave involves a new mother or father being granted some time away from work to look after a new child. Usually, this happens in the days immediately after birth, and the length of time it goes for varies according to individual situations.

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Divorces can be nasty, but they are becoming more and more common in the modern world. Using a decent family lawyer can help streamline the divorce, but there’s a few things that you can do to make applying for a divorce as easy as possible.

In this article we’re going to look at five extremely important things that you should remember when applying for a divorce. They include:

1. Try And Resolve Things Without Going Through The Courts

Whenever possible it’s a good idea to try and resolve your divorce without going through the courts. If you do have to go to court, you will end up spending a lot of money on legal fees, and you might not end up with a resolution that anyone’s happy with.

A decent family lawyer will be able to guide you through the divorce process. If possible, remaining on friendly terms with your soon to be ex should also make things easier.

2. Consider Joint Accounts

Joint bank and credit card accounts can become problematic when you’re working through a divorce. If you’re considering applying for a divorce, then speak with your partner about any joint accounts that you’ve got.

It’s also worth speaking to an attorney or family lawyer if you’re not sure about the best course of action. They should be able to advise you and help you head down the right path.

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There are a lot of situations that require the services of a decent commercial lawyer. If you’re starting a business, redeveloping your business structure, signing a new lease, or doing almost anything else related to running your business, then you might need to think about the relevant commercial laws.

Although will be able to safely and legally do most things on your own, it’s often worth employing a commercial lawyer to make sure that you’re not missing anything. However, it can be hard to find a decent commercial lawyer who is both affordable and knowledgeable.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of the top 5 things you should think about when choosing a new commercial lawyer. They include:

1. Their specializations

This should be relatively self-explanatory, but it’s worth touching on. Not all commercial lawyers are the same, and not all commercial lawyers have the same skills and experience.

It’s very important to find one who has experience and training dealing with the field that you’re in. For example, if you’re running an online business, find a lawyer who understands online business structures and reporting requirements. Likewise, if you’re trying to break a commercial lease, find a lawyer with experience here.

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Child custody battles can become complicated, especially if both parents have a strong case. Often, these disputes end up in the courts, where a family lawyer will be invaluable to you.

They will be able to help you put together a strong case, maximising your chances of a positive outcome. However, there are also plenty of things that you should keep in mind when you’re fighting for child custody. You shouldn’t ever rely solely on your lawyer to get the job done.

Considering these five things will help you build the strongest case possible:

1. Make sure you choose your lawyer carefully

It can be easy to fall into the trap of using the cheapest or most accessible lawyer. If you really want to achieve the best child custody outcome possible, it’s very important to make sure that you don’t do this.

Instead, you should choose your lawyer very carefully. Take things like their experience, their training, and their track record with child custody disputes into account. At the same time, make sure that they’re friendly and approachable.

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The penalties for illegal drug trafficking vary immensely throughout the world. Any criminal lawyer will tell you that it’s not worth trying to bring drugs into Australia – the penalties are simply too big.

Although it could be tempting to bring that little bit of something back from your holidays, it’s simply not worth the risk. The chances are very high that you will get caught, and if you do, you will face significant financial penalties and the risk of jail time.

In this article we’ll explore the trouble that you will get into if you try and bring drugs back into Australia, even if they’re for recreational use. We’ll look at a few of the penalties and the things you should do if you’re charged with drug trafficking.

How Much Trouble Will I Get Into If I Try To Bring Drugs Into Australia?

In Australia drug trafficking is seen as a federal crime and comes with extremely tough penalties. However, you won’t always be charged with trafficking for importing small amounts of drugs. You will only be charged with drug trafficking, and risk the associated penalties if you bring drugs into the country with the intent to sell them.

Smaller amounts of drugs will attract smaller penalties if you are caught, but they are still significant. Ultimately, it really isn’t worth trying to import any border controlled drugs into Australia – you will get caught, and you won’t have much chance to defend yourself if they are found in your belongings or on your person.

Importing small amounts of border controlled illegal drugs can attract penalties of up to 10 years in prison. Marketable quantities attract maximum sentences of 25 years, while the import or export of commercial quantities or border controlled drugs carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

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Starting a new business in Australia involves a lot of legal paperwork. Health and safety is a major consideration for every business, but even more so for those who work with chemicals, outdoors, with machinery, or in otherwise high risk environments.

I’d always recommend hiring a commercial lawyer to help you understand your health and safety requirements before you start a new business. Failing to do so can leave you open to prosecution and a large range of penalties.

With this in mind, here are a few important workplace health and safety considerations that you have to be aware of when starting a new business in Australia:

Understand That Every Industry Has Different Laws

Unfortunately, Australia’s health and safety laws vary according to industry. Different types of business will have significantly different health and safety rules to others, and it’s important to be aware of those which govern your industry.

Again, I’d recommend speaking about this with your local commercial lawyer. They should be able to advise you on the most important laws that you have to stick to. Alternatively, get in touch with Safe Work Australia to find out more.

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When you’re signing a new commercial lease it’s important to try and find the right balance between a long enough lease to let your get your business up and running and a short enough lease to be able to cover the costs if your business fails.

However, this isn’t always easy. Many landlords will want you to sign a long-term lease that’s at least 5 years, and they might try and pressure you into this. It’s important to make sure that you don’t let yourself be pressured in situations like this, otherwise you might regret it later. Make sure that you employ the services of a decent property lawyer to help you negotiate your lease, and make sure that you’re clear on the fine print.

Ultimately, there are a few things you should take into account when deciding how long to sign a commercial lease for. We’ve outlined some of the most important below.

Consider Your Business Vision

It doesn’t matter how long your business has existed for, or even if it’s brand new. If you’re serious about building it and expanding your services in the future, you need to take this into account.

If your business does grow, you might end up wanting to relocate to larger premises at some point. This can be hard if you’re locked into a long-term lease.

Work closely with your commercial lawyer to negotiate a lease that either: (1) only lasts for a short time or (2) gives you an exit clause if you need to find larger premises.

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If you’ve had problems with your business that are covered by your business insurance, then you will need to make a claim. Unfortunately, small business insurance claims aren’t always simple, and insurance companies will often do everything in their power to avoid paying up.

It’s usually a good idea to hire an experienced commercial lawyer to help you put together complicated claims. However, there are a few other things that you can do to help maximise the chances of your claim being approved, including:

1. Make Sure You Use A Good Lawyer

It’s absolutely essential to make sure that your company lawyer has experience in business insurance claims. If they don’t, then you might find that they aren’t able to maximise your chances of winning your claim.

I’d recommend doing your research carefully before hiring any lawyer. Make sure that they have a good reputation and a strong track record dealing with insurance claims.

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Criminal law is a complicated topic, but it’s worth understanding your rights if you’ve come under scrutiny from the police. Fortunately, in Australia you do have a lot of rights, and they are generally pretty clear.

However, police searches can become a complicated subject. Usually, you will have a lot of rights, and you can’t usually be searched without a warrant. But, like with everything, there are exceptions to the rule, which means that you should always speak with a criminal lawyer if you think you’ve been searched illegally.

With this in mind, I’ve put together a short list of things you should do if you’ve been searched without a warrant. They include:

Speak with a criminal lawyer ASAP

If you’ve been searched, the chances are that the police have their eye on you for some reason. If you’ve been searched without a warrant, then you might have some rights that you’re not aware of, and you might even be able to claim some sort of compensation from the police.

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Domestic violence is a massive issue that affects thousands of Australians every single year. As a victim of domestic violence, it can be hard to know what to do to move on with your life, especially if you have children with or are married to the person who has abused you.

Once you’ve dealt with the criminal side of things, it’s a good idea to speak with a family lawyer to sort out things like child disputes and, if you’re married, a divorce. They will be able to help you put your affairs in order so that you can move on with your life quickly with minimum fuss.

Start by distancing yourself from your abuser

One of the biggest mistakes that people make as victims of domestic violence is that they remain in a relationship with, or at least in close contact with their abuser. This is a terrible idea, because it usually leads to ongoing abuse, and can reduce your confidence and compound what’s already a bad situation.

Ultimately, you should distance yourself from your abuser as soon as you possibly can.

• If you were living with them, then you should move out and get your own place. If you can’t afford to get your own place immediately, then try and stay with a friend or a family member for a while.
• Try and cut financial ties with them. If you were a stay at home parent relying on them to supply for the family, this can be difficult. But, it’s still worth doing.
• Above all, don’t remain in a physical relationship with them.

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