Death benefit dilemmas: trustee discretion and AFCA’s approach to law and fact
Recent cases demonstrating how AFCA re‑weighs evidence, wishes and dependency with less formal fact-finding processes.
By Darryl Browne - 1 min read
Agencies take heed: disclosure lessons from Farrell v NSW Police Force
A close analysis of how public interest considerations must be proven, not presumed, when NSW government agencies resist disclosure.
By Bianca Gallifuoco and Sonia Patel - 2 min read
Cullen: a dispute over a 144-year-old Parliamentary power to compel witnesses
The Court revisited the Kable doctrine and struck down an ancient law, highlighting the cost of legislative inertia and delayed statutory reform.
By Gad Coffie - 2 min read
The meaning of ‘unacceptable risk’ in care and protection proceedings
Recent decisions illuminate the issues of predictive judgment, evidentiary uncertainty and child safety in care cases.
By Cassandra Bennett and Matthew Levy - 1 min read
Outcome and conduct: the test of reasonableness in professional negligence
Solicitors are not expected to be infallible or guarantee an outcome, but they must not be doomed to fail in adversarial contexts.
By Sophie Duffy and Thomas Cavanagh - 1 min read
A painful day at the office
An illustration of the severe tax and duty risks that arise when wills purport to deal with assets held through companies and trusts.
By Amanda Tully - 1 min read
The latest developments in law reform & advocacy: April 2026
Should long service leave be nationally uniform? Is a will different from a testamentary trust? What is ‘child-related work’? Our committees answer these and more.
By The Law Society Policy and Practice Department - 1 min read
Federal Court: April 2026
The Court draws the line between factual error, legal unreasonableness and appellate intervention in judicial review.
By Hugo Wilesmith and Michael Morgan - 8 min read
Family law: April 2026
Recent authority discussing the nuances of parenting risk, property restraint, wastage and international children.
By Craig Nicol and Keleigh Robinson - 1 min read
Criminal law: April 2026
Must judges still rank seriousness on a notional scale? How should moral culpability be assessed? And what must be explained when these questions are raised?
By Thomas Spohr - 1 min read
Elder law & succession: April 2026
Influential decisions highlighting how flexibility, discretion and restraint define contemporary estates practice.
By Darryl Browne - 1 min read