Page 2643 - Week 08 - Thursday, 30 June 2005
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
claim for workers compensation was originally made under the Workers Compensation Act. To ensure that claimants do not re-lodge notice or duplicate notice procedures, an amendment to section 50 of the Civil Law (Wrongs) Act 2002 states that the pre-court procedures need not be complied with if a claim for compensation has been made under the Workers Compensation Act 1951.
Corrections Reform Amendment Act 2004
The Corrections Reform Amendment Act 2004 contains a rudimentary form of combination sentences and sets some criteria for sentencing courts to apply. Due to an automatic commencement provision in section 2(2), the Act is due to commence on 6 September 2005.
Since the passing of the Act, the Government has formulated a more comprehensive sentencing policy which will consolidate all sentencing legislation into three bills. Part of the sentencing policy is to repeal the Corrections Reform Amendment Act 2004 as part of a consequential amendments bill. However, the consequential amendments bill will not commence before the Corrections Reform Amendment Act 2004 is due to automatically commence.
To avoid unnecessary complication of ACT sentencing laws, the amendment to section 2(2) of the Corrections Reform Amendment Act 2004 extends the commencement date of that Act to 6 September 2006.
Domestic Relationships Act 1994
Section 33 of the Domestic Relationships Act 1994 deals with domestic relationship agreements. In particular, under section 33(1)(d) the court must be satisfied that the parties sought independent advice from a solicitor before signing such agreements dealing with factors such as the effect of the agreement, the financial advantages, whether it was prudent to enter the agreement, and whether the agreement was fair and reasonable in light of reasonably foreseeable circumstances.
As a matter of principle, solicitors should only provide advice on matters about which they have expertise. Solicitors are not generally equipped to provide financial advice. The onus on solicitors to provide advice on whether a matter is prudent or fair and reasonable is also inappropriate, as it requires a solicitor to provide subjective advice that looks to the future. Accordingly, the amendment to section 33 removes these factors from the independent advice given under the section.
Partnership Act 1963
In 2004, the Commonwealth made a series of amendments to the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cwlth). In particular, it repealed three types of administrations (deeds of assignment, deeds of arrangement, and compositions), replacing them with a single ‘personal insolvency agreement’. Consequently, the amendment to the Partnership Act 1963 replaces references to the repealed administrations with references to ‘personal insolvency agreement’.
Powers of Attorney Act 1956
There is currently no provision in the ACT for the recognition of enduring powers of attorney made in other Australian jurisdictions. This is causing difficulties for some people from New South Wales ending up in ACT hospitals who have made valid arrangements for substitute decision-making, yet they cannot be used in the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .