This session will provide an overview in relation to the different approaches utilised and the best practice around preparing and advising clients who wish to enter into Financial Agreements. Importantly, through an examination of recent authorities, we will examine the issues that arise in litigation, and a Financial Agreement is either being set aside by one party and/or enforced. 

This session was recorded during the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2023.

DISTRESSING CONTENT 

Viewers are advised that this course may contain details that some may find distressing. Please review the course description and use your discretion before proceeding. 

If you are in distress, the Solicitor Outreach Service (1800 592 296) and Lifeline (13 11 14) offer 24/7 counselling support. If you are concerned for your safety or that of someone else, please contact the Police or call 000 for emergency assistance. 

This session was recorded on 29 August 2025 as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2025.

Join barrister Michelle Hirschhorn for a session discussing common property transactions where GST or CGT might arise. Learn more about the circumstances when GST and CGT might apply, and the practical and legal impact on the transaction. The session will also include looking through the lens of decided tax cases and tips on good record-keeping and evidence.

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

Spec Acc Conf 2024 - Property

Since the publication of the final report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to child sexual abuse in 2017, significant developments have taken place in ‘Abuse Law’ in NSW, as well as in the other jurisdictions. This presentation will consider the issue of setting aside settlement agreements; schools’ liability for harm committed by students on other students; and recent changes to the National Redress Scheme.

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

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

This session was recorded on 29 August 2025 as part of the Specialist Accreditation Conference 2025.

Recent reforms have consequential impacts for the Fair Work Commission, with further changes forthcoming. This session will address the implementation of three major pieces of legislation: the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 and the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Acts 2023 (No1) 2023 and 2024 (No2). The Commissioner will deal with key changes implemented and on the horizon including the right to disconnect, a new definition of casual employee, changes to enterprise agreement approval assessments, Protected Action Ballot Order conferences, intractable bargaining declarations, workplace determinations and other changes within the Commission’s expanded jurisdiction.

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

ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke Mandatory Climate Reporting: Building Successful and Resilient Corporations

For legal teams—both in-house and external—now is the time to upskill in climate literacy. The introduction of mandatory sustainability reporting and climate-related financial disclosure marks a shift in the intersection of climate-related financial issues and business. Joe Longo, the Chair of ASIC, said “This shift to mandatory climate-related disclosure presents the biggest change to corporate reporting in a generation”. 

Understanding how climate-related risks and opportunities may be relevant to a range of clients and stakeholders, the nuances of the climate disclosure requirements and how businesses can navigate climate-related risks and opportunities, will help ensure compliance with reporting obligations.    

For lawyers, an understanding of this evolving intersection and foundational climate literacy will be an invaluable skill. 

Hear about these issues, with an insightful session led by the following speakers: 

• ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke, whose portfolio includes climate reporting. 
• Tim Stutt and Mark Smyth, partners at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer, and Co-Chairs of the Law Society’s Climate Change Working Group, who will facilitate the session. 

From 1 July 2024 amendments to the Crimes Act 1900 will come into force, making coercive control a criminal offence in NSW. The new criminal offence applies when a person uses abusive behaviours towards a current or former intimate partner with the intention to coerce or control them.

Join Jane Sanders, Principal Solicitor at The Shopfront Youth Legal Centre, for a conversation with Dr Hannah Tonkin, Women's Safety Commissioner, as they discuss coercive control in its NSW legal context, including the background to the amendments, the elements of the offence, the roadmap for review and how the NSW offence compares to other jurisdictions. 

This webinar will be complimentary to members, so register now to secure your spot.

This session will provide a comprehensive update of recent amendments to NSW Duties and Land Tax legislation, including the recent Budget announcements, as well as recent cases. This will include surcharge purchaser duty and surcharge land tax changes, the change in beneficial ownership provisions and the approaching principal place of residence exemption changes. A special focus will be paid to the exemption on the transfer of primary production property between family members, including the recent enhancements that Revenue NSW has made. 

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