Issue 2 - March 2004

• Need for Workplace Policies
• Amendments to Home Building Act
• New Procedures concerning children's matters in the Family Court
• Employee Entitlements
• Spam Act Deadline - 11 April 2004

Employers need policies to comply with legislation and protect themselves against claims Need for Workplace Policies

Employers need to be aware of the requirement for policies concerning equal employment, opportunity, workplace discrimination and harassment, privacy, email and internet use and occupation health and safety issues to be developed and implemented in their business.

The need for these policies is not only compliance with relevant legislation but also to protect the businesses against claims which might arise from a breach of the policies.

The development of suitable policies is a time consuming task and one that is potentially dangerous for those who are not familiar with the legislative requirements.

We have developed policies on all these workplace and business issues for a number of our business clients and we can assist you with individual policies or a suite of policies tailored for your business requirements.

For further information, please telephone Greg Dickson or email greg@wmdlaw.com.au

Multiple storey buildings now exempted from insurance requirements Amendments to Home Building Act

On 31 December 2003 the Home Building Amendment (Insurance Exemptions) Regulations 2003 came into effect bringing in changes regarding home warranty insurance. This is insurance cover required under the Home Building Act 1989 for building work in excess of $12,000.

The changes mean that a developer of a building having more than 3 storeys and containing more than 2 dwellings is exempt from the requirement to obtain home warranty insurance cover for the building work. For the purposes of the exemption, a storey does not include any level of the building only intended to be used as parking. The exemptions bring New South Wales in line with all other states and in part result from the insurers not being prepared to insure multi-storey developments.

Whilst this is good news for developers, purchasers of new buildings will need to properly advised as to what insurance cover is required and what recourse is available after settlement in the event of any structural or other defects.

For any enquiries in relation to the amendments to the Act, please telephone Denis Bowles or Rebecca Flynn or email denis@wmdlaw.com.au or rebecca@wmdlaw.com.au

Trial program in effect from 1 March New Procedures concerning childrens matters in the family court

A trial program has been introduced by the Family Court in the Sydney and Parramatta Registries from 1 March 2004 regarding disputes about children. The purpose of the trial program is to see whether a new method of dealing with children's cases results in a reduction in the amount of time these cases take to be dealt with and a better outcome so far as the children are concerned. Initially, the consent of the parties is required to participate in the trial program but, if it is successful, it is expected to be implemented as a standard procedure through the Family Court system in all matters involving children.

The major differences in the new system include:

1. 1 a relaxation of the rules concerning evidence to allow a wider range of evidence into the Court including hearsay evidence;
2. 2 having the Judge in charge of the case playing a much more active role in relation to the conduct of the hearing including deciding the issues to be determined, what evidence may be called, the way the evidence will be presented and how the hearing will be conducted. In the past it has been the parties who determine what issues are brought before the Court for resolution. In future, if this program continues, it will be the Judge who narrows these issues;
3. 3 hearings may not take place in a court room in some cases. The Judge will have the power to determine that the proceedings take place in a less formal session or to take place through mediation or other non-adversarial ways;
4. 4 the Court will focus upon the plans that the parties can put forward for the future benefit of the child rather than an examination of the conflict or difficulties that have emerged in the past in relation to the parties' dealings between themselves and/or the children.

If you or a friend or relative have concerns or questions concerning these changes, contact Accredited Family Law Specialist partner, Greg Dickson on 02 9525 8688 or greg@wmdlaw.com.au

Proposed new scheme to protect employee entitlements upon the insolvency of the employer Employee Entitlements

The Employee Protection (Employee Entitlements Guarantee) Bill 2004 was introduced to Parliament in late February, which will require Employers to insure their workers' entitlements. If passed in its present form the new legislation will establish a scheme which, on the insolvency of an employer company, will provide a guarantee for employees to receive:

- unpaid wages

- payments resulting from terminations without notice or insufficient notice

- unpaid annual and long service leave

- repayment for training expenses

- redundancy and termination payments

- superannuation payments

Employers with less than 20 employees will be exempted from the requirement to hold an insurance policy. The Bill also provides a system for the determination and enforcement of employees' claims for unpaid entitlements under the scheme.

For any enquiries in relation to the new bill, please telephone Kevin Dwyer or email kevin@wmdlaw.com.au

Spam Act Deadline 11th April 2004

The Spam Act will come into force on 11 April 2004. The Act prohibits the sending of some unsolicited electronic messages.

If your business involves the sending of electronic messages including email and SMS you should consider a compliance audit before 11 April 2004 to make sure that your activities will not be affected by the operation of the Act. Breaches of the Act attract civil penalties and, in some cases, damages. The civil penalties range to in excess of $1,000,000.00. We have prepared a guide to businesses to ensure they can comply with the Spam Act.

For any enquiries in relation to the Spam Act, please telephone Greg Dickson or email greg@wmdlaw.com.au

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