Category: Legal Advice

No matter whether your relationship with illegal drugs is you have never used them and never will, you are someone who has gone through drug rehab, you have helped a loved one escape their drug addiction, or you may even have been in prison for drugs offenses,  your knowledge of drugs laws is going to be different to everyone else’s.

It is true to say that if most people were to be quizzed on drug laws in Australia, most would fail the test. That is not said as a criticism but to point out the fact that unless you or someone you care for has an issue with drug use or addiction or you work within the legal profession, there is little need for you to know the intricacies of drug laws in this country.

However, as with any subject, it does no harm to know the basics, so we have created a simple and easy-to-follow guide to drug laws in Australia. We hope you find it helpful, and even more so, we hope you are never on the wrong side of any of those laws. Read More

When a family court issues a family order, it needs to be regarded with extreme seriousness. As your family lawyer, and even a criminal lawyer, will tell you, the repercussions of breaching family orders can be severe.

If you do not have children, nor have ever divorced, you may be wondering what a family order is, so let us explain. They are issued by a judge in the Family Court as rulings on matters that relate to a child, or children, normally when that child’s parent separate or divorce. Family orders apply whether the child’s parents were married, or in a de facto relationship.

The sorts of ruling that a family order will apply to, includes which of the two parents the child will live with, the criteria that apply with regards to the absent parent’s visitation rights, and one of the most important, is who has parental responsibility which, unless there are other factors which exist, will normally be held jointly by both parents.

In many cases, a Family Court will issue a family order when, despite the best efforts of their respective family lawyers, the couple has been unable to reach an agreement as it applies to their children. For this reason, it will undoubtedly be made clear to each parent that they must abide by the family order.

As the family order applies to both parents, then theoretically it is possible that both of them could breach it, in different ways. The reality, however, that in cases where a family order has been breached, it tends to only one of the parents which do so. Read More

One aspect of law in Australia which criminal lawyers are often asked about relates to police searches, and in particular, what an individual’s rights are if the police wish to search them.

Queries relating to when the police can search you, what they can search, and what the rules are, are most common, so we shall try to answer these as best we can.

First, we need to outline the differences between the types of searches the police can conduct, as each has a specific set of regulations. The two distinct search types are personal search, and property search, and whilst they might seem self-explanatory, let us try to eliminate any confusion as to what they each mean.

Personal searches are those which the police conduct with respect to the clothing you are wearing, and as well as requiring you to remove clothing in order to search you, body cavities can also be searched. Property searches are those which are conducted in your home or your vehicle.

Whether the police wish to carry out a personal or a property search, you do have rights, and one of the core ones is the right to remain silent. Other than providing the police with your name and address, you do not need to say anything, and that includes answering questions, which police often ask as searches are being conducted.

Another important principle is that the police cannot simply demand that they search you, your home, or your vehicle except in specific circumstances. These include when they have a warrant to conduct the search, or in scenarios where the law grants them the right to search without a warrant.

For personal searches, these scenarios include when they suspect that you are about to commit an offence, to protect a young person, to look for items associated with a crime, or to ensure the security of public places.

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