Szabo & Associates News & Updates

The NSW Land and Environment Court is a specialist Court dealing with matters such as development approvals, compulsory purchase compensation, prosecutions for environmental offences and other planning and land use issues, including civil enforcement proceedings, as illustrated in a recent case.

Representation of children in family law proceedings in NSW can take different forms, but at the federal level, the Family Law Act 1975 provides for the possibility of appointing an Independent Children’s Lawyer (ICL). This is a legal practitioner who will represent a child’s interests in parental proceedings. This statutory form of child representation has been further developed by case law, particularly in the 1990s, and notably in Re K (1994) and in P and P (1995). More guidance about the role has also been provided by National Legal Aid Guidelines.

Unconscionable conduct can be seen where a benefit is gained by one party through the deliberate exploitation of an imbalance of power relative to another party.  An example is when someone close to an elderly person with a mental disability, in the act of elder abuse, persuades the elderly person to transfer property to them.

The issue of wanting sole and exclusive use of the family home arises during the course of a relationship breakdown. Sometimes the matter can be resolved amicably by one partner agreeing to move out or, where that is not possible, the parties agree to remain ‘separated under one roof’. 

The process of tendering for a development contract may be essential, but it can raise legal issues for both developers and prospective contractors alike. Moreover, it can be costly in terms of time and funds invested, which are usually borne by the tendering parties, successful or otherwise, as a ‘cost of doing business’. But what if the tendering party had been seduced into incurring further costs, believing an agreement existed, because of the misleading and deceptive conduct of the developer?