After various media reports of tow truck operators engaging in unscrupulous practices, the Queensland government has announced a three-month inquiry into the tow truck industry to be headed by retired District Court Judge Michael Forde. The investigation will advise the Minister for Main Roads and Road Safety on various matters, including whether:
The Queensland Government has announced that it will introduce a new criminal offence of ‘negligence causing death’. This announcement follows an interim recommendation made by Tim Lyons, the Independent Reviewer responsible for the review into workplace health and safety in Queensland, commissioned in response to two tragic incidents in October 2016.
Heavy transport operators, together with all Australian businesses that consign, pack, load or receive goods that are transported by a heavy vehicle, need to be aware of the amendments to the chain of responsibility provisions in the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) that are expected to commence in mid-2018.
An unpaid seller’s statutory right to reclaim goods in transit is called stoppage in transitu. Failing to comply with a notice of stoppage in transitu can have serious financial consequences for transport providers.
The New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission has varied the General Carriers Contract Determination to revise the minimum rates of remuneration and to extend minimum rates obligations to additional geographic areas of New South Wales.
The government has released an exposure draft of legislation that alters how having a superannuation borrowing arrangement (LRBA) in an SMSF will affect transfer balance account credits and the calculation of total superannuation balances in SMSFs (Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Measures No. 2) Bill 2017: limited recourse borrowing arrangements).
Transport operators often ask us about privacy issues. This is usually because they handle sensitive information (such as criminal records and drug and alcohol test results) or because they receive requests from their customers for various personal records for compliance and safety purposes.
In Millard v K & S Freighters Pty Ltd [2017] FWC 105, the Fair Work Commission found that an employer’s decision to dismiss an employee on the basis of circumstantial evidence was harsh and unreasonable.
Two recent court decisions have highlighted the perils associated with failing to register interests on the Personal Property Security Register (PPSR), or failing to correctly register interests.
The National Transport Commission (NTC) is set to launch the new edition of the Australian Dangerous Goods Code (the Code) on 1 March 2017.
As outlined in our November transport update, the Queensland Parliament (as the host jurisdiction) has now passed major changes to the chain of responsibility provisions in the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL).
Have you or your company been given an enforcement notice under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 (SPA)? Failure to comply with an enforcement notice is an offence and can carry a hefty financial penalty.