Coleman Wigens & Chan Solicitors

Coleman Wigens & Chan Solicitors A unique law firm servicing Bathurst and the Central West. We provide professional legal advice on:

WHAT IS AN ADVACNED CARE DIRECTIVE?An Advanced Care Directive is not the same as a Power of Attorney or Enduring Guardia...
04/08/2022

WHAT IS AN ADVACNED CARE DIRECTIVE?

An Advanced Care Directive is not the same as a Power of Attorney or Enduring Guardianship document.

An Advance Care Directive is an important part of your end-of-life care. An Advance Care Directive formalizes your advance care plan. It can contain all your needs, values and preferences for your future care and details of a substitute decision-maker. It outlines your preferences for your future care along with your beliefs, values and goals. Having an advance care directive means you can also formally appoint a substitute decision-maker for when you can no longer make decisions yourself.

An Advance Care Directive can include one or more of the following:
• the person you would like to be your substitute decision-maker
• details of what is important to you, such as your values, life goals and preferred outcomes
• the treatments and care you would like or would refuse if you have a life-threatening illness or injury
You can make an Advanced Care Directive if you are over 18 and have decision making capacity.

Your substitute decision-maker should be somebody:
• you trust
• who is over 18 years
• who will listen to your values and preferences for future care
• who will be comfortable making decisions in difficult situations

Health professionals and family members must follow a valid directive. They cannot override it.

We advise all our clients to have an Advanced Care Directive in addition to their Will, Enduring Power of Attorney and Enduring Guardianship. An Advanced Care Directive is an extremely important document for NSW Ambulance for those who prefer to be cared for at home.

You do not need a lawyer to draft an Advanced Care Directive. You should discuss you this with your GP.

Call or message Coleman Wigens & Chan Solicitors on 0447 936 747 to discuss Wills, Estate Planning and Succession needs.

Coleman Wigens & Chan Solicitors

www.cwcs888.com.au
Email: [email protected]

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03/08/2022

TO BAIL OR NOT TO BAIL – THAT IS THE QUESTION!

The Western Advocate newspaper reported on 3 August 2022 that a Magistrate at the Local Court in Bathurst had refused bail for a defendant allegedly involved in a road rage incident. The defendant had been charged with several offences including “acquire a firearm while subject to a prohibition order”.

The bail process is governed by the Bail Act 2013.
Bail is the authority to be at liberty for an offence and can be granted to any person accused of an offence. A person who, because of bail, is entitled to be at liberty for an offence is entitled to be released from custody. A decision to grant or refuse bail can only be made by a police officer, authorized justice or court with power to make the bail decision.

There are 4 possible outcomes of a bail application:
1. To release the person without bail;
2. To dispense with bail;
3. To grant bail, or
4. To refuse bail.

On this occasion the Magistrate refused bail on the grounds that the bail conditions were not sufficient to mitigate the concern of “unacceptable risk”.

Section 18 of the Bail Act lays out the matters to be considered as part of a bail assessment, including the accused background, the nature and seriousness of the event, and the strength of the prosecution case etc. The bail authority must refuse bail if satisfied (on the basis of the assessment) that there is unacceptable risk. An unacceptable risk is that the defendant will fail to appear at any proceedings for the offence, commit a serious offence, endanger the safety of victims, or interfere with witnesses or evidence. If there is no unacceptable risk the bail authority must grant bail (with or without conditions), release the person without bail, or dispense with bail.

The Act allows certain conditions to be placed on bail, including requiring the accused to refrain from certain conduct; the forfeiture of a specified amount of money if the person fails to appear before the court; character acknowledgement; accommodation requirements, or enforcement conditions (e.g. refraining from using drugs or alcohol).

The police may take action to enforce bail requirements.

A key issue is that a person making a bail application has been accused of a crime, but has not yet been convicted of that crime. The concept of liberty is a pillar of the rule of law and that is why the bail authority is required to assess the risk of release to both the community and the accused.

Call or message Coleman Wigens & Chan Solicitors on 0447 936 747 to book an obligation-free legal consultation now.

Coleman Wigens & Chan Solicitors

www.cwcs888.com.au
Email: [email protected]

Send a message to learn more

28/07/2022

Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave?

A Bill to amend the Fair Work Act 2009 to provide for paid family and domestic violence leave is currently before the Parliament.
In May 2022 the Fair Work Ombudsman issued a provisional decision to include paid family and domestic violence leave in awards for permanent employees.

The current Fair Work Act provides for 5 days unpaid family and domestic violence leave under certain conditions.

All employees (including part-time and casual employees) are entitled to 5 days unpaid family and domestic violence leave each year. The entitlement to unpaid family and domestic violence leave comes from the National Employment Standards (NES).

If an employee takes family and domestic violence leave, they have to let their employer know as soon as possible. This can happen after the leave has started. Employees also need to tell their employer how long they expect the leave to last.

An employer can ask their employee for evidence that shows the employee took the leave to deal with family and domestic violence. If the employee doesn't provide the requested evidence, they may not get family and domestic violence leave.

The evidence has to convince a reasonable person that the employee took the leave to deal with the impact of family and domestic violence.
Types of evidence can include:
• documents issued by the police service
• documents issued by a court
• family violence support service documents, or
• a statutory declaration.
Employers can ask employees to provide evidence for as little as 1 day or less off work.

Coleman Wigens & Chan Solicitors services Bathurst and Central West NSW. Call or message us on 0447 936 747 to book your obligation-free legal consultation.

References:
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/family-and-domestic-violence-leave/notice-and-evidence-for-family-and-domestic-violence-leave
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/family-and-domestic-violence-leave
https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/national-employment-standards

Coleman Wigens & Chan Solicitors

www.cwcs888.com.au
Email: [email protected]

Send a message to learn more

Address

Suite 3, 195 Russell Street
Bathurst, NSW
2795

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
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