Catton Roderick Lawyers Caboolture

04/04/2022

From conveyancing and commercial law to wills and powers of attorney, our experienced lawyers have you covered.

04/04/2022

Employee or Independent Contractor.

In determining whether a worker was an employee or an independent contractor in the past the Courts applied a “multi-factorial” approach where the terms of the contracts of employment were relevant but not decisive and other issues were considered including how the work relationship was actually conducted between the employer and the worker.
This position has now been substantially altered by the High Court in recent decisions.
The Court has now moved away from the multi-factorial test.
In circumstances where there is a valid contract of employment which sets out all of the terms of the party’s relationship the High Court determined that the focus should be exclusively on the rights and obligations contained in the contract itself rather than in the subsequent working arrangement.
In Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contract Pty Ltd the High Court determined that it was not necessary to conduct a wide ranging review of the parties details and that the proper approach was to consider the principles of contract law where the party’s rights were entirely contained within a written contract.
Except where the contract has been varied or waived either expressly or by conduct then how the working relationship plays out is not relevant in determining whether the worker is and employee or a contractor.
If you have any questions about your working relationship, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

01/04/2022

We normally conduct Family Provision Claims for claimants on a NO WIN NO FEE basis, which means you do not have to pay unless we are successful in receiving additional money from the estate for your benefit.

25/11/2015

Clients are often concerned about the cost of seeing a lawyer especially in emotional areas such as family law. Catton Roderick now offers a fixed fee service for consent orders where the parties have come to an agreement and negotiation is not required. Call us to discuss how we can help you.

22/11/2015

In preparing a will most people incorrectly believe that assets held by them as trustees of a trust funds form part of their estate. In fact, unless the trust deed contains provisions to the contrary the trust will probably continue after the death of the trustee and the assets will be distributed in accordance with the terms of the trust deed and not the terms of the will. It is important to have your family trust deed checked at the time you make a will to make sure that gifts you make in your will take effect. Contact us for a full review of your circumstances.

11/10/2015

Dying without a will means that you die intestate. The result will be that your estate will probably take longer to administer and possibly cost more in legal fees. Even worse your estate will be divided in accordance with the intestacy laws, rather than in accordance with your wishes. If there are no relatives your estate could wind up with the government. Don’t wait until the last minute to make a will. Contact Catton Roderick for advice and set your mind at rest.

25/09/2015

Power to Force a Sale
Where a person owns property jointly with others and that person wishes to sell their share but the other parties refuse to co-operate, then there is a remedy available at law.
S38 of the Property law Act allows a co-owner to apply to the court to obtain an order that a statutory trustee be appointed for the sale of the property. The statutory trustee can exercise all the powers of an owner including the ability to remove occupants from the property and to sell the property. The proceeds of sale are held by the statutory trustee and are used to pay for any expenses arising from the sale and funds left over are payable to the co-owners.
If you’re unable to convince your co-owners to either buy you out or agree to sell the property, contact us and we can advise you of your rights under the Property Law Act.

21/09/2015

Self-managed super funds are becoming more popular. It is, however, important to ensure that the trustee abides by rules regarding such funds including the rule that funds are accumulated for the members’ retirement.
In Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Lyons the trustee of a super-fund loaned funds to a relative who then gave the money to the trustees ailing business.
The Court found that super funds were being misused and ordered the trustee to pay $32,000.00 in penalties plus costs.
Always take professional advice regarding decisions about super funds and, obviously, always contact a lawyer if the Tax Office comes calling.

05/07/2012

Queensland property buyers are set to save thousands from transfer duty changes from 1 July with the reintroduction of the previous regime.

Last year, the then-Queensland government cancelled the concession for transfer duties for purchases of homes, resulting in significant cost increases for some consumers.

Following an election promise, the Liberal National Party government has reinstated the concessions for those purchasing a residential property as a principal place of residence.

This means that, if the property will be owner-occupied, and the contract is formed on or after 1 July, buyers can save up to $7000.

29/05/2012

The Attorney General has announced a review of Australian Contract Law. Driving the call for reform is the desire to reduce complexity and to get rid of some of the 150 pieces of legislation that govern contract law both state and federal including UN Conventions.
A reduction in complexity will result in better accessibility and improve the efficiency of contract law thereby reducing disputes.
The other reasons for reform is the fact that our contract law system diverges from our major trading partners and the need to keep up with the digital economy.

Submissions must be lodged by the 20 July 2012 at Assistant Secretary
Business Law Branch
Attorney-General’s Department
Robert Garran Offices
3-5 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: 02 6141 3488.

Go to this website for further information.
http://www.ag.gov.au/Consultationsreformsandreviews/Pages/Review-of-Australian-Contract-Law.aspx

On 22 March 2012, Attorney-General Nicola Roxon released a discussion paper to explore the scope for reforming Australian contract law.

19/05/2012

I received my 25 years in practice pin from the Queensland Law Society on thursday. Looking forward to another 25 years.

15/05/2012

The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) came into effect in January 2012.The new legislation harmonises the law regarding registration of security interests over personal property. It does not apply to real estate.
The security can be a company charge, hire purchase, lease agreement etc. Importantly retention of title clauses can now registered. These clauses appear in sales agreements and provide that the property sold can be repossessed if the full price is not paid.
Although the reform is mostly of interest to lenders it should also be considered by businesses who provide goods on credit or provide goods to sell on consignment.
For further information, consult your solicitor or go to the website of the Personal Property Securities Register http://www.ppsr.gov.au/Pages/ppsr.aspx

The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) is the register where details of security interests in personal property can be registered and searched. The Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia (ITSA) is the Australian Government agency responsible for administering the PPSR.