Explore the complex interplay between defamation, vulgar abuse, and the ethical dimensions of shame in contemporary legal discourse.

This session was recorded as part of the 2025 Government Solicitors Conference.

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

Viewers are advised that various Conference sessions contain graphic details that some may find distressing, including but not limited to references to sexual offences, child pornography and violence. Please review the program and use your discretion before proceeding. 
 
If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic or family violence and require assistance, please contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) to speak with a counsellor from the National Sexual Assault and Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service. 

If you are in distress, the Solicitor Outreach Service (1800 592 296) and Lifeline (13 11 14) offer 24/7 counselling support.   

A session to assist criminal defence lawyers in identifying torts committed by police – with a focus on First Nations populations in RRR communities.

This session was recorded on Friday, 11 October 2024 as part of the Rural and Private Practice stream at the Annual Conference 2024.

This presentation will undertake an analysis of key changes to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) by the Family Law Amendment Act 2023 (Cth), which came into force on 6 May 2023.  The session will cover the concept of joint or sole parental decision making, the changes to the legislative pathway, the meaning and application of the term ‘safety’, and the test of ‘unacceptable risk’. It will touch upon the possible impact on the changes referrable to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and on the role of Independent Children’s Lawyers. Analysis of these changes will focus on the ability to rely on past authorities, and on what can be gleaned from early decisions after 6 May 2023 and from overseas jurisdictions.

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Family 

This session was recorded on 20 March 2025 as part of the Civil litigators: Mandatory Rule 6.1 – live webinar

Developments in evidence law – Carmel Lee, Barrister, Greenway Chambers

In this session, learn about recent developments in evidence law and their application to civil litigation.

The increasing prevalence of digital assets and AI calls for greater consideration of the way digital matters fit into the law and process of inheritance. Surveys suggest the general public rarely thinks of the digital, including digital access to non-digital property, when giving instructions for wills, and lawyers’ attention to this is only slightly more frequent. Testators may know very little about their digital assets and be very surprised to learn they do not own the material on their streaming services. This session suggests ways to manage. Where overseas jurisdictions have passed legislation, this may not always be useful. Data protection, post-mortem privacy and the right to be forgotten or to be memorialised are all aspects of this developing area of law.

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Wills and Estates

The principles of Kennon v Kennon (1997) FLC 92–757 (‘Kennon’) are well established. However, Kennon claims regularly fail, for a variety of reasons. Some fail because of a lack of thorough investigation of the allegations, or a failure to adduce clear evidence of the allegations. Some fail because of a failure to adduce corroborating evidence, or where the evidence of the complainant is inconsistent with other contemporaneous evidence. This session will analyse the practical steps that ought to be taken when preparing and running a Kennon claim from both perspectives: acting for the complainant and for the alleged perpetrator.

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Family

This videocast was originally captured during the Specialist Accreditation conference 2021 - Employment & Industrial Law stream. 

Around 2.1 million people with disability in Australia are of working age.  This session looks at the following topics around disability and employment:

• What do the numbers tell us?
• Segregated employment
• Disability discrimination issues – areas of unlawful conduct; reasonable adjustments; inherent requirements
• Intersection of WHS laws and disability discrimination

Any practitioner that regularly deals with security interests knows that the regime prescribed by the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) is highly complex. As lawyers we are responsible for ensuring registrations are valid and effective. The session will cover critical concepts necessary for giving stakeholders certainty about their security interests, examine how the Courts have recently dealt with particularly complex issues, and identify what lessons lawyers should learn from those matters.

This session was recorded during the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2023.

PPSR; Personal Property Securities Register; discharge of interests

Where do all those special conditions come from? Why are they needed and what do they mean? The interaction of GST with property transactions continues to be a source of tension. Questions abound regarding the operation of the margin scheme, what activities constitute the carrying on of an enterprise and the vexed issues arising from the need to distinguish between commercial residential premises and residential premises.  This practical session will look at drafting issues in the light of the GST provisions as well as recent decisions in this evolving area of the law.

This session was recorded during the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2023.

Easements and other rights of access are commercially valuable rights which allow the use and development of land for commercial purposes. This paper discusses contentious issues that arise in this area of property law.

Join Monica Ross-Maranik for a session examining elder abuse claims. This presentation will cover topics including considerations for interlocutory relief, possible sources of evidence, the necessity to plead alternate relief, possible defences, and recent cases. 

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024.

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Wills and Estates

Electronic execution of documents

This session will cover: 

• Electronic execution of deeds and agreements by persons and companies 
• Electronic execution processes and clauses 
• Practical issues for property practitioners

Practitioners should inform themselves of Rule 6.1 of the Legal Profession Uniform Continuing Professional Development (Solicitors) Rules 2015 which sets out the requirements for the four (4) mandatory CPD areas for NSW legal practitioners – (a) ethics and professional responsibility; (b) practice management and business skills; (c) professional skills; and (d) substantive law. It is the responsibility of each legal practitioner to self-assess as to whether a particular educational activity extends their knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to their practice needs or professional development.

Employee Share Schemes (ESS) can be important business tools for retaining and attracting talent, particularly where a business has cash constraints (such as a start-up). However, the tax implications relating to ESS can be complex. A myriad of ESS arrangements is possible.  An appropriate ESS arrangement can depend on the commercial objectives and stage of life of the business.  In this session, we will consider ESS from a tax perspective, including: what is an ESS, common ESS arrangements, common tax considerations and practical examples. 

This session was recorded as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2024. 

This session will examine some of the recent developments in employment law including:

• Changes to casual employment
• The introduction of the right to disconnect
• The pay secrecy prohibition
• Limitations on fixed term contracts
• Criminalising wage theft
• Expansion of domestic and family violence protections in employment

This session was recorded on Friday, 11 October 2024 as part of the Rural and Private Practice stream at the Annual Conference 2024.

Michael Byrnes, Partner, Employment, Workplace Relations and WHS – Swaab Member of the Law Society of NSW Employment Law Committee
Carly Stebbing, Partner and Head of Employment Law - Longton Legal Member of the Law Society of NSW Employment Law Committee
Kymberlei Goodacre, President, Clarence River & Coffs Harbour Regional Law Society (Moderator)