Inbrief

Members are advised that, although the Bar Association is regularly updating the COVID-19 page of its website as information comes to hand, please refer to the latest court resources directly as developments are changing quickly at this time. Do not make any assumptions regarding your case without first doing so. Links to the various court and tribunal pages are provided in the body of the guide.

Members are advised that, although the Bar Association is regularly updating the COVID-19 page of its website as information comes to hand, please refer to the latest court resources directly as developments are changing quickly at this time. Do not make any assumptions regarding your case without first doing so. Links to the various court and tribunal pages are provided in the body of the guide.

The Rules will commence on Saturday 26 September 2020.

The amendments delegate additional powers to Registrars and Deputy Registrars of the Family Court of Australia (known respectively in practice as ‘Senior Registrars’ and ‘Registrars’) and Registrars of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

Members are advised that, although the Bar Association is regularly updating the COVID-19 page of its website as information comes to hand, please refer to the latest court resources directly as developments are changing quickly at this time. Do not make any assumptions regarding your case without first doing so. Links to the various court and tribunal pages are provided in the body of the guide.

In this lecture the speaker will address improving the response to miscarriages of justice. Recent decisions of the High Court of Australia, including in Pell v The Queen [2020] HCA 12; (2020) 94 ALJR 394, illustrate that the continuing operation of judicial appeal under the template of the Criminal Appeal Act provides relief for some alleged miscarriages. However, this relief serves only a small fraction of alleged cases. Other instances demonstrate a need for a later facility of judicial appeal not dependent on permission of Executive Government. In the United Kingdom, New Zealand and now Canada, a different avenue of redress has been provided by creation of a Criminal Cases Review Commission. Noting the commitment of Frank Walker to protection of prisoners’ rights, the speaker urges the need for a further appeal right and consideration of a more effective commission to supplement judicial protection.

Join the NSW Society of Labor Lawyers as we celebrate the life and times of the late Attorney-General the Hon Frank Walker QC, MP.

When: 28 October 2020

Time: 6-7:30pm

Where: Online via Zoom (link sent to registrants)

Cost: Free

RSVP: Online at https://www.nswlaborlawyers.com/fw20

Further details regarding the training webinars are provided in the President's Message from last week which is available here.

The Association's Annual General Meeting will be held on on Thursday 5 November 2020 at 5.00pm.

For further details, view the Notice from the Returning Officer here.

Members are advised that, although the Bar Association is regularly updating the COVID-19 page of its website as information comes to hand, please refer to the latest court resources directly as developments are changing quickly at this time. Do not make any assumptions regarding your case without first doing so. Links to the various court and tribunal pages are provided in the body of the guide.

Members are advised that, although the Bar Association is regularly updating the COVID-19 page of its website as information comes to hand, please refer to the latest court resources directly as developments are changing quickly at this time. Do not make any assumptions regarding your case without first doing so. Links to the various court and tribunal pages are provided in the body of the guide.

A panel of male leaders in the legal profession will discuss the culture and structures that permitted this conduct to occur in the past, continue to occur, and what needs to be done to deter and eliminate this conduct moving forward.

The panel members are:

• Tim Game SC, President of the New South Wales Bar Association;

• Richard Harvey, President of the Law Society of NSW;

• John McKenzie, Legal Services Commissioner of NSW;

• Moderator: Michael Roddan, Reporter, The Australian Financial Review

Further information and registration are available here.

Members are advised that, although the Bar Association is regularly updating the COVID-19 page of its website as information comes to hand, please refer to the latest court resources directly as developments are changing quickly at this time. Do not make any assumptions regarding your case without first doing so. Links to the various court and tribunal pages are provided in the body of the guide.

Members are advised that, although the Bar Association is regularly updating the COVID-19 page of its website as information comes to hand, please refer to the latest court resources directly as developments are changing quickly at this time. Do not make any assumptions regarding your case without first doing so. Links to the various court and tribunal pages are provided in the body of the guide.

An edited recording of the event is available here.

2. Indexation of weekly statutory benefits

Weekly statutory benefits payable under the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 are indexed on 1 April and 1 October each year.

For 1 October 2020, the number to be used to vary weekly statutory benefits is 1.033.

The Motor Accident Injuries (Indexation) Amendment Order (No 2) 2020 has been published on the NSW Legislation website.

3. Indexation of legal costs and medico-legal fees

The maximum costs for legal services and maximum fees for medico-legal services remain the same as the previous adjustment year due to negative inflation.

The method of indexation is prescribed in Schedule 3 to the Motor Accidents Compensation Regulation 2020 for the 1999 CTP Scheme, and in Schedule 3 to the Motor Accident Injuries Regulation 2017 for the 2017 CTP Scheme.

To view the maximum legal costs and medico-legal fees calculated for the period of 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2021, click here and select ‘before 1 December 2017’ or ‘on or after 1 December 2017’ for the relevant CTP scheme.

• Form 64 – writ of delivery; and

• Form 66 – writ for levy of property.

A new Form 164 – writ of sequestration has also been created and was published today. This form was created to provide a form of writ to be used should a writ of sequestration be issued.

The Law Council media release is available here.

I would like to thank the National Australia Bank for joining with us in developing this service which has the potential to be an extremely useful tool for barristers. I would particularly like to thank David Ashton, Product Manager, Business and Corporate Institutional Deposits and his team at the NAB who have taken the lead in this project. David also has twice attended our regional conferences to update members on how the project was progressing which is a testament to the NAB’s commitment to the project.

I would also like to thank Justin Hogan-Doran who proposed this idea back in 2015 and who has seen it through all the way to the end. In addition I would like to thank Mark Brabazon SC and the Costs and Fees Committee for their help as well as others who have assisted the Association over several years to deliver this important project.

Members are advised that, although the Bar Association is regularly updating the COVID-19 page of its website as information comes to hand, please refer to the latest court resources directly as developments are changing quickly at this time. Do not make any assumptions regarding your case without first doing so. Links to the various court and tribunal pages are provided in the body of the guide.