The following Subtitles were updated in September 2014 and are now available on Westlaw AU.

Administrative Law Subtitle 2.7 “Other Forms of Review and Appeal”

Updated by John D Fitzgerald, Solicitor, Supreme Court of New South Wales

This Subtitle has been updated to account for the establishment of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal on 1 January 2014. This Tribunal has consolidated the work of 22 former tribunals in New South Wales, including that of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal and the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.

Contracts: Specific Subtitle 8.7 “Insurance Contracts”

Updated by Fred Hawke, Partner, Clayton Utz and Irene Drossinos, Solicitor, Clayton Utz

This Subtitle focuses specifically on the contractual issues surrounding insurance contracts. Since its last update, the Insurance Contracts Amendment Act 2013 (Cth) has introduced a raft of reforms to the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) including duties of utmost good faith, disclosure and new rights for third party beneficiaries. The most recent of these changes came into force on 28 June 2014, with the final tranche to be implemented from 28 December 2015.

Criminal Offences Subtitle 10.11 “Administration of Law and Justice”

Updated by Professor Mirko Bagaric, Dean of Law, Deakin University

The largest and most notable area of the administration of law and justice is the area of “contempt of court”. This is a distinct regime of rules to punish those who conduct themselves in ways that interfere with the proper administration of justice. This covers a range of offences such as disobeying court suppression orders (eg R v Hinch (No 2) [2013] VSC 554 and associated cases), abusing court officers (eg Slaveski v The Queen [2012] VSCA 48), or refusing to answer commission questions or take an oath or affirmation (eg Allbeury v Corruption & Crime Commission [2012] WASCA 84). It is an area constantly being built on and defined by judicial decisions: see, eg Kennedy v Griffiths [2014] QSC 43.

Contracts: Specific Subtitle 27.2 “Health Practitioners”

Updated by Dr Bernadette Richards, Associate Professor, Adelaide Law School

Health practitioners cover a wide scope of professionals from dentists to psychologists. A “health practitioner” is defined by the National Law (found within the Schedule to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (Qld)) as anyone who practices a “health profession”. It is an area of extreme importance due to the duty of care owed by practitioners to their patients, as well as to those outside of the doctor–patient relationship, such as partners (who may be exposed to sexually-transmitted diseases), or children of unwanted pregnancies. Legislative protection ensuring a right to refuse treatment has found recent force in the Northern Territory, while it has recently been repealed in South Australia.

Revenue Law Subtitle 31.15 “Stamp Duties”

Updated by Ivy Ling, Legal Editor, The Laws of Australia

This Subtitle discusses the imposition of stamp duty on various instruments and transactions in the States and Territories. The commentary has been updated to include the High Court’s decision in ALH Group Property Holdings Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue (NSW) (2012) 245 CLR 338; 86 ALJR 287; 82 ATR 262; [2012] HCA 6 which considers the operation of refund of duty provisions in New South Wales. The commentary has also been updated for recent changes in the stamp duty legislation, including the replacement of the “land rich” duty provisions in Victoria with the new “landholder” rules (from 1 July 2012), the abolishment of life insurance duty in Victoria (from 1 July 2014) and the Australian Capital Territory stamp duty provisions which impose duty on commercial leases with a premium (from 29 April 2014). This update also incorporates various amendments dealing with the deferral of the abolition of stamp duty on transfers of unquoted marketable securities and mortgages in New South Wales and South Australia.

Torts Subtitle 33.7 “Nuisance”

Updated by Jeremy Masters, Barrister, Victorian Bar

This Subtitle has been updated to include references to Onus v Telstra Corp Ltd [2011] NSWSC 33, Southern Properties (WA) Pty Ltd v Executive Director of Department of Conservation & Land Management (2012) 42 WAR 287; (2012) 189 LGERA 359; [2012] WASCA 79 and Marsh v Baxter [2014] WASC 187.

Transport Subtitle 34.2 “Aviation” Chapters 1–3 

Updated by Dr Gary N Heilbronn, Consultant, Aviation Law and Research

This Subtitle provides a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of civil aviation law. This update features commentary on the recent addition of Annex 19 (Safety Management) to the International Civil Aviation Organization Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program which aims to merge various safety management requirements.

October 2014 currently scheduled updates (subject to change):

• Equity 15.1 “History and Nature of Equity”
• Equity 15.2 “Fiduciaries”
• Equity 15.13 “Trusts” Chs 4-6
• Family Law 17.1 “Jurisdiction”
• Health and Guardianship 20.4 “Health Care Authorities and Administration”
• Revenue Law 31.6 “Capital Gains” Chs 1-2
• Revenue Law 31.17 “Goods and Services Tax”
• Transport 34.2 “Aviation” Chs 4–7
• Wills and Estate Administration 36.3 “Administration of Assets”