r/AusLegal

Long story short I did biomed in hopes of getting into research and did my honours and figured out I hated it. I also can’t get any jobs that pay above minimum wage with just my bachelors with Hons.

My gpa is good (3.0) and I’ve been thinking of applying to the Juris Doctor of law just as something to get a decent paying job in, maybe even get into medical law.

Has anyone done this? What was your experiences? And were you employable after?

Why has my employer engaged an insurance lawyer to defend them for a Fair Work matter? No workers compensation or any claim with any insurers is involved. Could my claim have triggered their Employment Practices Liability and insurance lawyers assigned?

Hey guys, got a weird one a colleague who recently quit was advised that $XX amount would be taken away from their full payout when they quit.

It’s just PPE that was required at the construction company which has the company brand on it. This uniform was told to all of us that we need to wear while working.

I’ve looked on fair work and it seems that this is unlawful and that amount should be returned to said person and if they refuse it can be escalated to the work ombudsman for a case so the correct amount gets returned to said worker.

Has anyone come across this situation?

Hi all

I recently moved to a unit. I could literally hear every step the upstairs neighbour took - and they like to stay up until 2am. At first, I thought it must be the age of the building - but then I got told the carpet upstairs is some 25 years old.

I tried to contact the owner upstairs about it but he said it visually looked fine so won’t change it.

Any tips on how to navigate this?

So about a month ago I ordered 3x12 Terabyte Hard Drives off of Amazon AU to be shipped from the U.S. for about $500 a unit. I paid the fees, paid the import tax, and was happily waiting for my items. All the while, Amazon is jacking up the price of the exact drives I ordered, and all other drives are going up as well.

Well it comes to about a week before my drives are meant to arrive, and apparently the drives are held up by customs - I think nothing of it, because a few days after that it reports that the drives are travelling around Australia on their way to me. Fast forward to 2 days before my order is supposed to arrive, and "A problem occurred" is highlighted on my order, and a message on the order displays "there was a problem processing your order, if you haven't received anything by 20th may please contact us"

So I wait until the day (today), and I connect with the customer service teams on the way home from work because I know for a fact no one had attempted to deliver anything resembling hard drives all day.

I get connected to someone, ask where the hell my drives were and why they couldn't deliver them given that my 400+ other amazon Prime orders (including international orders) could be delivered with 0 issues and they just offer me a refund (original price, not price matched to what they are now). I tell him that's unacceptable and they connect me to their logistics team to discuss where my drives are. Flat out Logistics gives me 0 reason as to why the drives are "undeliverable" and offers the same refund. I tell them again "Unacceptable, I need equal or greater drives - I bought them at that price and now it just seems like you're price gouging me"

Logistics connects me to someone one Iota up called Parag. Parag is a godsend, he mentions that he sympathises with me and is working tooth and goddamn nail to get me equivalent or greater drives. I tell him I need them by the end of the week, 3 or 4 drives, 12TB or greater and RED for a NAS. He's searching and searching and after about 10 minutes the chat cuts out and disappears. Clear big company fashion - no logs that it ever happened accessible to me, no record of it ever happening for evidence, just gone.

I try to reconnect with support again, different person at step one, offers refund (not price matched), escalates me to logistics, again a refund that's not price matched, I cry "Going to cancel all my subscriptions (Prime, Crunchyroll, Max) and file a complaint with the ACCC (Australia's consumer watchdog, they're ruthless) and I get escalated up the chain to leadership, cry ACCC again, tell them I need replacements, get escalated to management and they're stern with the same position. Refund at original price, no price matching, no replacement, no reason for why they couldn't deliver the drives in the first place. It takes me about 5 mentions of ACCC until the management person mentions "Oh, because you mentioned ACCC I have to escalate this to the executive team, and they'll contact me within 24 hours"

Great.

So because I don't actually believe I have to rotate in a circle and shout ACCC until the lawyers suddenly appear, I ask for any reference that they've escalated it. An internal reference number to a claim, who I should be expecting an email from, what they might do, etc. All I get is an internal email from them with a response to a Customer support email I already had saying "Thank you so much for your time, we've escalated it to concern team, we're unable to process price match refund and replacement for your order, they will contact you within 24 hours"

In any case, I've sent a claim to the ACCC, 12tb Hard Drives have shot up to like $799 almost everywhere. From my perspective it looks like Amazon doesn't want to take the loss because I managed to get the drives at a good price before prices went super crazy and I'm just being bullied by a multi-trillion dollar company

Wondering what my rights are here, all the while Amazon support have told me i can repurchase the products after they issue my refund - but that's a more expensive price and i'd have to get them reimported to Australia. Should i try going to QCAT? the drives were a scooch over $1,500

I have an upcoming formal meeting and I suspect they will put me on a attendance plan. The policy is 95% over a 12 week period and over that time I was rostered 46 shifts but was sick for 5. I know that Fair Work says that employees are protected from being dismissed because of absence if they are absent for less than 3 months over a 12 month period. I have been sick for 12 days over the last 12 months. However the big problem is that I never thought to get a medical certificate. The process for calling in sick is simply calling up and telling them I’m won’t be able to attend my shift because of illness and they cancel it. They have never requested a medical certificate. Still I’m aware it’s a very dumb mistake not getting proof and from now on I will always get a medical certificate. What I’m wandering is whether I have a defence against unfair dismissal if they were to dismiss me based on attendance. I have proof that they cancelled my shift due to me saying that I’m sick and it is surely unreasonable to expect a sick employee to show up. If it helps I have never no-showed, worked there for years and have good performance while working.

Hi everyone, seeking some advice.

I was involved in my first car incident late last year. We exchanged information and parted ways. I did try to contact to settle privately although there was no response. I claimed insurance and their insurance contacted me for the claim number and details of the situation. I paid my excess and thought it was all done.

Yesterday I received a statement of claim from the magistrates court of Vic. So the other party had gotten a lawyer and it seems that the repairs they're asking to be compensated for are quite excessive for what the damage was. I sent the documents to my insurance already but I'm just worried as it's my first experience with this and it says I have 21 days to respond.

Any advice is appreciated.

Looking for some reassurance and practical advice — I am a female management consultant working in finance in NSW.

I was in a coercively controlling and abusive relationship almost 2 years ago. After an unexpected encounter with my ex, I sent him a few non-threatening emails while an AVO was in place.

He took two of the three emails to police — deliberately leaving out the third, which clearly stated I wanted no contact — and I was charged with an ADVO breach. Please no lectures here, I have had my fair share of opinions and serious trauma due to my lapse in judgment.

In court, five pages of psychiatric evidence documenting the abuse I experienced were read out and accepted. The magistrate acknowledged the broader context, my good character, and my professional standing. I received a Section 10 non-conviction with a one year good behavior bond — the lowest possible outcome.

My issue now is practical. Because of the good behavior bond, the Section 10 will appear on a National Police Check for the next twelve months. I work as a contractor in finance and move between roles, so police checks come up regularly.

I plan to disclose it proactively and have drafted a short statement explaining the context — that I was the victim of coercive control, that no conviction was recorded, and that colleagues provided character references for the proceedings.

My questions are:
1. For those with knowledge of finance sector compliance — how seriously would a Section 10 non-conviction with a good behavior bond be viewed for a management consultant role (not a licensed financial adviser)?
2. Is proactive disclosure with context the right approach?
3. Any experience with how HR or compliance teams at major firms typically handle this?

I’m not a risk. I’m a victim who got caught in an incredibly unjust situation. Just trying to understand the landscape before it comes up.

Feeling really depleted and upset and wondering if anyone has gone through something similar..

My husband works for council and is being denied his primary carer’s leave because I’m only returning to casual work. His coordinator and colleagues have been supportive, but the people handling leave entitlements keep saying we don’t meet the requirements without clearly explaining why.

He has provided every document they asked for including stat decs and a letter from my teaching agency confirming I’ll be committing to taking on consistent and regular shifts up to 5 days a week which they can connect me to various schools. I’m a casual teacher and just can’t return to full time work yet with multiple kids and the workload and after hours work that comes with full time teaching.

What’s frustrating is he kept asking them in writing to show which part of the EBA or policy says he’s not eligible, but they couldn’t clarify and instead asked for a face to face meeting. Even then, they still couldn’t explain properly and just said they're rejecting it because I'm casual..

They also told him he can’t claim Centrelink parental leave pay if he receives the parental paid leave from work, which I thought wasn’t true?

Just feeling really defeated at this point. Has anyone dealt with something similar or challenged a decision like this?

A new fence has recently been installed between my property and a council owned kindergarten. The fencing contractor has completely severed significant structural roots on two very large blue gum trees near the trunk. These trees are on my side. A qualified consulting arborist has recommended the trees be removed due to structural instability as well as potential for infection given the size of the wounds. They are also on a heavy lean toward the kindergarten and would absolutely destroy this building.

These trees mean a lot to us and my wife and I are are pretty devastated. Im 33 and have lived in the house my entire life. Theyre massive, old, beautiful, home to possums, tawny frogmouths, bats. I work as a climbing arborist and have cared for, maintained, and climbed these trees for as long as i can remember. This side of the tree industry isnt my forte, but as an arborist I have half an idea about these things and the amenity value of these tree would be signifcant.

I let the fencing contractor know, his reponse was "I dont know what to say mate". I let council know that they pose a significant threat to their property and their response was essentially "your trees your problem". I said that we didnt have the financial means to remove these trees in the near future, and they doubled down and said that because i was an arborist and have recognised the seriousness of the issue that i would be responsible for any damage if they fell.

I dont think that I want to go down the route of suing for amenity value but i certainly dont want to pay for the cost of removal. The odds of them falling tomorrow are incredibly low, but they need to be removed asap. I plan on letting the kinder teachers know tomorrow morning. Ill be getting a quote for removal tomorrow as well.

Im sure the contractor has breached duty of care and so is probably ultimately liable, although unlikely to pay up in the near future. My argument to council tomorrow will be that they have the financial and practical means to remove the trees asap. Although the the tree is on my side, the buttressing and roots that have been cut are above ground and on their side too which also comprises the trunk??? Surely they have some responsibility as well, particularly given that the damage was caused by construction if a shared boundary.

I suppose im just looking for insight/advice/support from anyone with experiecne with councils or tree law. Also just a vent cos Im feeling powerless, confused, sad and worried that my trees may squish a bunch of kinder kids.

Hi i got married to my boyfriend as it was just long distance and he is not completely toxic he is good but also made few mistakes in our relationship but as he was the only person i dated and when he put marriage proposal i was okay and got married in 2024 and he had good money just like any other student who had gone Australia and celebrated our wedding with grandeur and after that he got a business in Australia hoping it was best decision he didn’t inform anyone about that it was surprise to everyone and initially it was good the first two months and not sure what was the issue it went down like completely as it was first business he even forgot about the ITO something and i had to put all my gold in loan to clear that and the sales isn’t good no matter what we do and we tried to sell the business as it isn’t going good we had to sell it for bare minimum and start something new we got that for 145k in aug 2024 and was ready to sell it for 30k and we gof a buyer but unfortunately as the landlord is also selling the property they were not helpful in extending the lease so we had to just walkaway with nothing just 9days before walking out my husband put all his savings from the past 4 months into a car from marketplace again surprise though i told him not to he thought as we didn’t have good car it would help us drive good as we had a baby and got thr car just exactly after 9 days we were moving out to completely different place and we are travelling in night and the car went down and had to toll twice and the mechanic told its gonna cost 9k and thats howmuch we paid for the car and we took a house in one area as we applied many rental properties as we couldn’t inspect in person and also the competition we couldn’t get any rent and had to choose marketplace and got one thats very far from his workplace and its curvy road and had to drive 1and half hour and the house is very tiny as its video call and the price is too much its 580 per week including bills for a room that has no separation between bedroom to kitchen its basically like a studio and as its getting hard for my husband to drive we politely asked the landlord that we are looking for new property as its far and we paid 4 weeks bond and 2 weeks advance and its a hilly area where my baby is getting ear issues as we have to gulp while travelling just like flight and the landlord isn’t helpful we are looking for houses and all and we even had issue with electricity right from the beginning and she used to say don’t use two items in one go its gonna trip and sometimes it used to trip even with just one thing using and suddenly one day it is tripping i made a video where i wasn’t using anything yet it is tripping and they were like u have to pay for this its gonna be 7k and i wasn’t misusing anything but she is just not helpful and night somehow we got just by unplugging everything and in middle of the night it didn’t trip from home but we had no power and no water and we had baby of 11months and we have been contacting as we need hot water or just water and electricity to warm his milk they weren’t answering we stood infront of their home but they had gone work and my husband cant leave us like that so he spoke to them and said we are leaving and left the home and cleaned everything with wet wipes and tissues as they might cause future issues and we have a video of it too and now they are messaging us like we gave you mattresses and it isn’t good pay 300 for that and pay 150 for broken shelf and pay 5000 for electricity without any image video or proof that we did and i am sure she is capable of producing false evidence as well and now my pain don’t we deserve to be happy since we got married its always downs no ups my husband had seen a best life at some point of time me being a normal middle class girl had hopes that i will be happy and peaceful after marriage it isn’t like that i am not asking for luxury i want my family to he happy stress free like she is blackmailing us like i am gonna call police or court something like that i really cant deal all this we have lost our 3years of savings in business and lost the car just after we got and left all the bond and rent for them and yet no peace of mind are we that bad why is got testing me so bad

As above. In WA.

TIA

Hi, I got married to my boyfriend in 2024 after being in a long-distance relationship. He is not completely toxic — he is a good person overall — but like every relationship, there were a few mistakes from both sides. He was the only person I had ever dated, and when he proposed marriage, I agreed because I truly believed we would build a happy and peaceful life together.

At that time, he was financially stable, just like many students who move to Australia and work hard. We celebrated our wedding beautifully and with great happiness. After marriage, he suddenly decided to buy a business in Australia as a surprise for everyone, believing it would be the best decision for our future.

Initially, the business went well for the first couple of months, but then everything slowly started falling apart. Since it was his first business, there were many things he did not know, including tax and ITO-related responsibilities. At one point, I even had to put all my gold into a loan to help clear those debts. No matter what we tried, the business was not making enough sales.

We bought the business for around $145,000 in August 2024, but things became so difficult that we were willing to sell it for only $30,000 just to move forward with life. We finally found a buyer, but unfortunately the landlord of the property was also trying to sell the place and was not helpful in extending the lease. Because of that, the sale failed and we were left with almost nothing.

Just nine days before leaving the business, my husband used all the savings we had left from the previous four months to buy a car from Facebook Marketplace. I had advised him not to buy it, but he genuinely believed it would help us because we had a baby and needed reliable transport. We paid around $9,000 for the car, but during our move to a completely different area, the car broke down in the middle of the night. We had to tow it twice, and later a mechanic told us it would cost another $9,000 to repair it.

At the same time, we were desperately trying to find a rental property. Since we could not inspect houses in person and competition was very high, we had no choice but to rent a place through Marketplace. The house turned out to be extremely far from my husband’s workplace, requiring him to drive around one and a half hours through difficult, curvy roads every day.

The house itself was tiny and overpriced — $580 per week including bills — for basically a studio with no separation between the bedroom, kitchen, or living area. We also noticed our 11-month-old baby was having ear discomfort while travelling through the hilly roads, similar to the pressure people feel during flights.

From the beginning, there were also serious electricity problems in the house. The landlord would constantly tell us not to use two appliances at once because the power would trip. Sometimes it would even trip while only one item was being used. One day, I recorded a video clearly showing that nothing was being used and the electricity was still tripping. Despite that, they blamed us and claimed the damages would cost around $7,000.

One night, things became even worse. We suddenly lost both electricity and water completely. We had an 11-month-old baby with us and no way to warm his milk or even access proper water. We repeatedly tried contacting the landlords, but they ignored our calls and messages. We even stood outside their house trying to get help, but they had gone to work.

At that point, my husband could not leave us in that condition anymore. We cleaned the place carefully, even using wet wipes and tissues to avoid causing any issues, and we also recorded videos as proof before leaving.

Now, despite everything we already lost — our business, our savings, our car, and even leaving behind the bond and advance rent — the landlords are still demanding more money. They are claiming we damaged mattresses and asking for $300, claiming a shelf was broken and asking for $150, and accusing us of causing $5,000 worth of electrical damage without providing any real proof, images, or videos. I honestly feel they are capable of creating false evidence as well.

My pain is this: do we not deserve happiness? Ever since we got married, it feels like our life has only been full of struggles and losses with no peace at all. My husband once had a very good life, and as someone from a normal middle-class family, I only dreamed of a peaceful and stable family life after marriage. I am not asking for luxury. I just want my husband, my baby, and myself to live happily and without constant stress.

Now they are threatening us with police and court matters, and mentally I feel completely exhausted. We already lost nearly three years of savings through the business, lost the car almost immediately after buying it, left our bond and rent behind, and still we have no peace of mind.

I genuinely wonder sometimes — are we really that bad? Why does it feel like God is testing us so harshly?

Is there any way of finding out the contact details of someone who owns a property?

The short version is, the house next door is a currently vacant house run by an NDIS provider. Their last tenant was beyond problematic and has since been kicked out.

I've tried asking a few of the people who come in and out of the property but they've refused to give out any contact details.

Their staff, look I have a giant sign out the front of my house with my address and despite that, they have on more than one occasion been caught entering my property, then going to my backyard to try and get in. They've parked me in a few times, again despite it being pretty obvious they're in the wrong spot.

And I really cannot understate how little I want to hear loud conversations at night about the grooming habits of the person who lives there.

My child was very recently injured at childcare. It's a pretty traumatic injury involving teeth.
She was doing an activity in an area where they had placed steel poles (these were a temporary setup, btw, and not completely fixed), fell, and smashed her face onto one of the poles badly.

My child is pretty traumatised by the whole thing. She can barely eat and wouldn't even drink for close to a day, and will no doubt need major dental work done, which is never nice, but of course 1000x worse involving a toddler.

There are short-term and long-term issues here. The immediate trauma and issues with her diet, and long term affects to her mouth/ teeth.

They provided a report through the CC, and also sent one to NSW early learning.
Of course its all very vague and how the teacher was very close by etc, pretty much washing them of any guilt. I asked for cctv footage but they cant release that apparently because theres other children on the video for protection etc (but they can take 100 photos every day and send them over)

Am I being a bit simple in looking at claiming negligence here ? I think it's a bit ridiculous and a child shouldn't be exercising or doing physical activities around structures like that, especially one i was told was not permanent.

Hi everyone,

I’m dealing with an issue with a former employer and I’m not sure what my options are.

My employer has been withholding my final wages and delaying payment for around 3 weeks, saying they are “reviewing” the situation before processing anything. There has been no clear or consistent reason given for the delay.

He has also been withholding payment until I returned my uniform, which I did promptly after finishing my shifts. Despite returning it, I still have not received any payment.

On top of that, I have not been paid for my last week of work, and I understand I may also be entitled to payment in lieu of notice, as no notice was provided when my employment ended (one weeks notice, as I've worked there for less than a year). Fair Work has also indicated I may be entitled to this.

My employment was effectively ended when I was switched from part-time to casual and told I would not be given any more shifts anytime soon, with no notice and no clear written agreement or contract explaining the change.

Any attempts I’ve made to contact my employer have either resulted in no response or further delays.

I’ve already raised the issue with Fair Work, but I’m still waiting to hear back from their FWO. I’m unsure whether an employer is allowed to withhold wages like this or end employment in this way, or if they are required to finalise all outstanding payments separately while any dispute is resolved.

Has anyone dealt with something similar or know how Fair Work usually handles situations like this?

Thanks in advance.

I recently got pulled over in a v8 Holden caprice on my red p plates. Officer got me on the lick stick and a caution for not displaying p plates but not for driving a high performance vehicle. He repeatedly asked me if it was a v8 but just took my word for it. I’ve done some research and pretty sure they can still send me a fine and demerits point if they figure it out while the sample is still in the lab.

Have I gotten away with it or will only time tell?
Car is in vic reg and not under my name yet

Hi ,

I had to get ECG done in a private lab in Sydney, the machine was faulty with artifacts inspite of multiple repositioning , the staff was compassionate & duscussed if it can be done in another centre with the head ,

It seem the Cardiology in charge passed it on & didnt ask for a repeat ECG, and issued the ECG report in which the QT was abnormal with a normal report comment .

Now my Gp couldnt give a clearance for an Ecg with abnormal QT & asked me to undergo A Cardiology evaluation for abnormal readings.

At the Cardiology centre they had to evaluate for QT interval , repeated the ECG...which was absolutely fine & they did further evaluation to make sure everything is fine.

As i am on medications which needs adjustments based on ECG recordings at interval .

I had send a mail to the Pvt lab ..demanding a compensation for faulty machine & fautly report passed on as normal.

They responded by telling me ..machine is fixed & their Cardiologist approved the report , denial attitude & nothing was done .

A 100 Aud Ecg which was supposed to be normal , ended by making me spend 1000 Aud just because of their negligence.

Where to raise this issue ? it was total injustice and denial