Recently I have received a favorable decision on my bond refund claim through VCAT. The bond was never lodged with the RTBA and this was acknowledged by the member but their decision was just that the rental provider should refund me the bond in full.

The penalty for this offense according with the VCAT can come close to something like AUD 30.000,00.

I'm asking this because my landlord was a multi-property owner and rented rooms to a lot of international students like myself and I really wished he got screwed hard for acting like this with people that most of the time couldn't even speak english properly and therefore would most of the time probably not be able to go through the hustle of getting a VCAT decision in their favor like I did and just lose their money.

I know there's probably nothing I can do about it now but I'm happy I got the decision in my favour. Still gonna probably have to take the order to court to be enforced but at least any fees a lawyer money will be added to the debt sum.

Hi! Here on behalf of a friend I’m helping. We’re working through the avenues now but just wanted to hear if anyone has any advice we haven’t considered.

Friend has worked a casual job in hospitality for over two years. Gets along well with coworkers and managers generally. He went on a one week holiday and put in his unavailability’s into the schedule two weeks ahead, as he’s supposed to. The schedule gets released and he’s shifted for when he’s supposed to be away. He organises for one of his coworkers to cover the shift and goes to his manager who manages the scheduling, apologises, and explains the situation. The manager checks the schedule and confirms that the unavailability was put in, and tells him “it’s fine”. He goes on his holiday, doesn’t get contacted at all (if people are late or don’t show up, they’re contacted by phone) so he assumed, because of the above, that it had been sorted.

Come today, he gets a text from the big boss saying that he’s not getting anymore shifts because he didn’t show up to the ones when he was away and didn’t offer any explanation or apology. He’s since been removed from the work chats and the internal systems.

One of the coworkers found out about this and confronted the boss, boss says he technically wasn’t ‘fired’ but he just wasn’t going to receive anymore shifts.

He’s messaged back explaining his side and why it’s an unfair dismissal, and all the above info plus more. Boss says he’s received conflicting information and he’s investigating.

I’ve read up on unfair dismissals and from the info I have, he fits the criteria to apply. However, we’re waiting to see if management fixes this first. In the meantime, is there anything else we should be looking at?

Thanks in advance!

Joined a small local gym today. Normally I’m a stickler for reading contracts, but when I asked to see before signing, the girl said there was nothing to read. I asked for a copy to be sent to me anyway. She was very wrong. It was about 6 pages of full responsibly absolve. Below is the gist, and the points I’m most worried about. Is this legal? Should I be going back to them and canceling?

I ACKNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTAND that whilst participating in such activity: I may be injured, physically, emotionally, mentally, or may die. My personal property may be lost or damaged. Other persons participating in such activities may cause injury or may damage my property I may cause injury to other persons or damage their property. The conditions in which the activity is conducted may vary without warning I may be injured or die or suffer damage to my property as a result of negligence or breach of contract by Gym Name. There may be no or inadequate facilities for treatment or transport of me if I am injured I assume the risk and responsibility for any injury, death or property damage resulting in my participation.

Father (75) has met a Filipino lady and been together for a while now (couple of years). They are living together. She is pushing for marriage, we found out today. She has already married one guy and he passed, left everything to her. My Father has 6 kids, will everything be left to her if he decides to marry her? Thanks in advance.

I was done for possession. Going to court with my lawyer and aiming for the section 10. I'm currently on Working holiday visa and was thinking of going home. What would happen if I go home when on a good behavior bond?

My friend let’s call him John was working for his previous boss when he had a car accident in the company vehicle let’s say 6 months ago.

The accident was John’s fault, they exchanged details and proceeded fairly linear.

The issue is his previous boss which was on a holiday at the time has been trying to have him pay and take the costs.

John has refused and told him that it’s his vehicle, his insurance and he was working for his company and his job at the time.

Fast forward to present day John told me that his boss or some debt collector are coming after him as his boss named him and passed his details to “the insurance” which they might claim part of his pay from work.

It’s this even possible ?

Some details about John and his previous boss.

-John was hired as a contractor instead of an apprentice because the boss didn’t want to pay the cost or something.

• the boss was on a 4 months holiday and was 4 months behind John’s payment.

• the car belongs to the boss, name, company and insurance. John was using the vehicle for a contract job that his boss took and was unable to do since he was on holiday.

-Definitely, not a case of John taking the car without permission to do his own thing.

I entered a competition through a major Bread company on Sunday the 26 October and was told instantly that I was the provisional winner of $1000, I also received an email to back that up. The email stated I would be contacted by a representative within 3 business days after they confirmed my copy of the receipt. I never got a call and I had to follow up with a phone call to the company involved myself, I spoke with someone there and she logged my details and said someone would ring me soon. I then received an email stating that due to a “small hiccup” with their website that I was not the winner of $1000, but they would give me $100 as a goodwill gesture.

I went to their FB page and saw many other people were also declared winners and then advised that they hadn’t won after all. The company deleted all these comments and continue to delete comments as they come in.

Part of their terms and conditions states “quality control errors will not invalidate an otherwise valid prize claim. Unless otherwise due to fraud or ineligibility under these Terms and Conditions, all prize claims in excess of the advertised prize pool will be honoured. Instant win game materials void if stolen, forged, mutilated or tampered with in anyway”. I read this as the prizes should be honoured and paid in full to those affected.

Is it the ACCC that I contact to take this further.

I work in the APS and had a transplant about 9 weeks ago. I submitted a wfh request and supplied a med certificate recommending wfh full time for 12 months due to immunosuppression

The wfh request was rejected based on reasonable business grounds I.e. "The new working arrangement does not allow for the employee to fulfil their obligations to contribute to the xxx culture and/or their xxx site"

I'm wondering would I be able to apply for a flexible working arrangement under the Fair Work Act?

I thought my request would be a nobrainer considering we recently got a new EA which is meant to lean towards approving wfh requests, and my circumstances warrant such a request.

I purchased a rather expensive chair for my home office from an online furniture retailer.

It arrived whilst I was away and my wife put it together and chucked out the box so it would be ready when I returned.

I got home was excited to see the chair sat in it and immediately asked where the arms were as I like to have arms on my chair.

They weren't there and my wife said no arms were with it.

A bit miffed I contacted the retailer asking what was going on to be told that item didn't come with arms even though the description states

"Arms, yes" and "removable arms, yes" with a graphic that also says "removable arms".

At this point I told them I didn't want the item because it was not as described. The retailer told me that there were pictures and thus that should tell me that it didn't have arms, and I could return it for "change of mind" but would require the box and they would only refund the what I paid minus the delivery fee, minutes the return fee which is ludicrous since I had a special which meant delivery was free. Meaning I'd lose over $150.

They then said it would only be store credit and not the money.

I asked for it to be escalated and I provided screenshots of all of the description showing where they described it in a way different to what was delivered.

I'm pretty miffed as I'm currently roughly $500 out of pocket here and my only option from them is to lose $150 in the turn around but they won't even take it without the box.

I guess I'm looking for some basic guidance around this as from my understanding if they have delivered a product that differs from the description they are liable.

Any advice or guidance here would be appreciated.

A family member is unwell right now, is likely going to die or if not likely to be incredibly disabled.

They are married and have been for 13 years and together for 17 or more.

He has not written a will, refused to in fact. 100% thought he was invincible and would live to be well over 100 despite the fact he had many health conditions.

He managed all of the finances and the house was in his name completely and purchased and paid for before he was with his wife of 17 years.. He also has close to $1 million in super and cash. And a house worth as much as well.

I’m worried for his wife.. he managed all of the finances, she does not have names on any bills, and he put money into her account fortnightly. So very little paper work with her information on there. I think family members could go for his money if something happened. I think some think she’s with him for his money, stupid jealous people.

What happens legally in these circumstances when somebody passes? Common sense says of course it all goes to his wife. But the law sucks and I bet they could somehow..

Anyway. Any advice?

TLDR; what happens when a husband dies without will does everything automatically go to spouse? Or can family contest?

I entered a radio quiz show yesterday morning to win $20k. I needed to name 10 things starting with "S". I flew through the first 9 questions but the last question was, "An F1 driver?".

I have never watched F1 before so I said a generic name, "Steven Smith", thinking there must be some random guy by that name who has driven one before.

The radio station says there isn't one, but I have found a guy by that name who races Brisca F1 cars (from what I understand it’s a heritage F1 car).

What is my recourse is this situation? Do I reach out to them or find a lawyer?

Note: the questions are allowed to be open to interpretation. For example if they ask, “Name a UK actor”, it doesn’t need to be someone famous. It can be just some random actor from a tiny village in the UK.

I have received the below from lawyers acting on behalf of Westpac. What are my rights, do I need to start looking for somewhere else to live?

The Occupier,

Dear Occupier, Westpac banking corporation

We are the solicitors acting for Westpac, who holds a first registered mortgage on title over the property given by landlords name.

A copy of title search attached and we request that you provide our office with a copy of the lease agreement with the owner.

Westpac intends to exercise its rights under its mortgage to secure possession of the property as a mortgagee in possession.

In order to reduce further costs being incurred, and the need for the sheriff to schedule an eviction to hand over possession to Westpac we kindly request that you hand over voluntary vacant possession of the property to Westpac to allow Westpac to secure vacant possession.

Westpac is willing to provide $3000 in relocation costs subject to you agreeing to vacate and provide satisfactory tax invoices.

Please confirm in writing within 14 days if you will provide a copy of the lease and agree to hand over vacant possession to allow Westpac to secure possession.

We look forward to hearing from you.

I have not spoken to my letting agent and will do tomorrow. As for $3000 to move I'm aware I do not pay rent if a sheriff gives me eviction notice.

Challenge is I'm away for a month in December and wife away for 2 months. I have just paid rent for November upfront.

What do you think?

Hey all, I have a weird question that I'm unsure of the answer to, sorry if it's slightly long.

I work with proprietary software/systems manufacturing and fabricating "things". I have been talking with a colleague about using a script or modifying code for the software we use to automate specific aspects of this process. I don't have access to the specific end user agreement or contract, I can only go off of the developers website and I'm unsure of what exact issues we would run into moving forwards with this.

1.) Using proprietary code/systems is copyright infringement at the very least because we are using someone else's work to make a profit, however we have already paid for the licence, but I'm sure there's a stipulation in the contract that would forbid modifications to code/software/systems. ( I thought about it eing similar to a physical modification to fabricating systems not breaching any laws, but voiding warranty instead which is a different aspect entirely I think. Idk)

2.) As long as no code is ripped and outright stolen, is it acceptable to utilise aspects of the software in a way that doesn't break any laws or regulations? Is this a grey area?

My concern is that I could end up breaching something that either brings a legal issue up (copyright mostly I think) or that leads to the developer pulling our licence.

Any insight would be useful, thanks.

I bought a car brand new only for it to have an issue a few weeks later. The drivers side window has been rattling super loud. I took it back to the garage 5 times before they found the real issue. They came up with 4 different possible reasons for the rattle and 4 apparent solutions which all failed. Until finally they discovered that the entire door needs replacing. They’ve had my car for 3 months now and I’ve requested a refund many times throughout this process. I’ve owned the car since April they’ve had it for 1/3 of the time.

They gave me a loan car which is not a 4WD like my own car, and I am not allowed pets in the car. One of the main reasons for having the car was for my cats and friends dogs.

I bought a brand new car because I wanted a clean service history, and now it has a new door? Seems consistent with an accident and I don’t want that kind of service history on a brand new vehicle.

They rejected my ask for a refund and offered me a free service, again something I’m not worried about with a brand new vehicle.

I believe they are allowed to reject my refund if it is fixed in a reasonable time, I don’t think it’s reasonable.

Am I over reacting or should I seek legal advice?

Hello I am Yannick, I am born in FNQ and I am 27 years old.

I have finally saved enough money to try and apply for a passport but the requirements are so stringent I think I may go insane.

Referee requirements

• be an Australian citizen who is 18 years of age or over;

• not be related to the applicant by birth or marriage;

• not be in a de facto or registered relationship with the applicant;

• not live at the same address as the applicant;

• have known the applicant for at least 12 months; and

• either hold a current (unexpired) Australian passport issued with at least 2 years validity or be registered on the Electoral Roll.

This basically rules out every single person I have known for 10 years or more.

I live and work at a caravan park, so everyone I have known here for years is already exempt (same address).

None of my relations, aka the people I know outside the caravan park are not applicable as we are related...

There are a few more trustworthy people I know from outside the park, but they certainly do not have passports and aren't allowed to be on the electoral roll due to time in prison.

I do not understand, who exactly am I supposed to nominate for this position? I can't go and ask random people because I have to know them for at least 12 months...

Some other posts I have read state that one should ask their doctor or lawyer or something like that, I don't go to either. No idea what to do here. Why is it so hard to escape this god forsaken country ?

Hi,

So I woke up this morning to find that there was a wet spot on my carpet near my kitchen with no source of water from anywhere, realised after a few minutes of investigating that it was coming from between the floorboards in the kitchen. I figured there must be a burst pipe, so I immediately sent an email to my property manager. My actual property manager was away on leave so they had someone else take up the maintanence request.

The actual owner lives overseas, but does have someone in Aus who can action things. They sent a request to have a plumber come by and he got there around 1pm. Unfortunately, my unit is made out brick and the pipes run through the brick with no way to access under the unit. The plumber highly suspected the leak was coming from the hot water system because of a sound coming from there, so he shut it off and the sound stopped. However he basically said that because of how much they would need to do to repair this, the owner would need to contact their insurance because its going to cost a lot (not to mention water damage to carpets & the floating boards in the kitchen which are definitely flood underneath). he also didnt have the manpower to do it today and called the agency to let them know what was going on.

I called the agent back around 2pm and they informed that they had to let the owner know to contact the insurance and would get back to me, but they did not today and now they're closed over the weekend, so most likely, I wont have someone come in to fix this til Monday. Luckily I have a wet/dry vacuum and the water patches on the carpet arent that big, so ive sucked up most of the water and it seems to be drying okay (but ive seen flooding before with carpet so i know it can still be wet underneath). My main question is I just want to make sure that if there is any damage to the floorboards (e.g. lifting) and they need to be replaced, I wont be held at any fault. Ive gone through all the right procedures (e.g. letting the agent know via email, calling and updating, etc). I literally cant do anything else because in this case I believe the rental agency has to be the one to initiate the repairs.

anything else I should do in the meantime? (also ive kept an eye on the floors and I think the leak has stopped, so we have cold water, just no hot water, but im tempted to close the main water valve overnight just in case).

Hey all,

If anyone can steer me in the right direction, that would be great.

In short, I signed a contract with my builder, and a contract with their subcontractor (it was not extensive, simply noted what they were going to do, and the products used)

Payment went through the builder.

There is faulty workmanship.

I know I can go after the builder, but can I separeately go after their sub-contractor since we signed a contract albeit payment was made to the builder, who then paid the subby?

I understand s 37 of the DBP Act could apply - but I don't think it covers these works, as they may not be classified as residential building work (the subby provided and installed laminate flooring).

However, I was thinking from more of a contractual perspecrtive.

Thank you!

I'm a sculptor and someone commissioned me for a welded metal outdoor sculpture. They owe $1000 on it and it's been sitting here for 10 months. They repeatedly ask for new dates, promising to pick it up but they never show up and then text me asking for a new pick up date in 3 weeks. I'm sick of dealing with them and making appointments just for them to not show up and then ask for a new date.

I have a contract stating that any work left after 6 months is mine and can be resold but when checking the form I realised they never actually signed it. That's my fault for not checking.

What can I legally do? I want this thing to be gone so it's not taking up space and so I don't have to maintain it or deal with this person anymore.

Hey all,

I have been charging my Tesla using a common area GPO. It was fine for about 4 months, and now is an issue.

I would say another resident got upset or similar. The OC has now, at a far greater expense than the $50 of power I have used, installed a lockbox over the power point.

So the question is, do I have any rights over a common area GPO?

There is nothing in the OC rules preventing such action, but nothing allowing it either.

TIA ❤️

It’s in the title. I’m a full time employee (shift manager) at an undisclosed blue and red pizza shop chain and my store manager has called us all in tomorrow after my shift is over to tell all of the shift managers off essentially. My manager has said that if we aren’t showing up we’re not getting rostered next week, and that since I’m a full timer it’ll be taken out of my annual leave in lieu of not being rostered.

What are my options? Can they do this?

Oh by the way, we don’t get paid for our paid breaks (we don’t even get them) and unpaid overtime (sometimes up to 3 hours past finish of shift) is the expectation. Just to clarify what type of workplace this is.

So I started a new job this past week, first shift on a Sunday. The job is pretty straight forward, picking and Packer orders for a supply depot and loading the truck to be sent off in the morning. Advertised pay rate is $30-$33 an hour but apart from tax file number/super paperwork I've seen nothing or signed nothing about employment, payrate ect.

After a couple shifts I was informed my Sunday shift (4 hours, and should be double time) was only going to be paid at a $25ph training rate and no penalty rates. I met my boss several days later to be informed until I'm "up to scratch" I'll be paid this trainee rate and no penalty rates.

The shifts can also be extremely short. I've done a 2.75hr shift and a 1.5hr shift already this week.

I've done some research that without being on a state recognised traineeship paying a lower rate is illegal. I am unsure what my title falls under as far as my rights for a minimum hours worked per call in.

Should I be contacting the Head boss or my answering supervisor about being paid correctly? It'll only be a couple weeks of power pat but this week alone looks like nearly a $200 difference and the 2 hour shifts look like they'll continue.

Advice?

I currently have an interim PSIVO on an individual who threatened me. The person was known to police, and has firearms.

The person has denied the allegations, got a lawyer, and it is going to a contest hearing. The police prosecutor has advised they don’t believe they will be successful in keeping it in place.

The police prosecutor said that because he didn’t threaten to kill me, it’s almost not serious enough. But I still have concerns for my safety.

My options are to drop it, or get my own lawyer and try to keep the PSIVO in place.

I’ve reached out to some lawyers but haven’t heard back as yet.

I am wondering if anyone has been in this position, what did you do, how did it go?

I don’t know what to do. As long as it just goes away I hope it will be fine, but I don’t know that the person will stop. If they don’t, I’d have to go back to police and restart the whole process. It’s been an ordeal so far. Do I just be hopeful it will be ok? Really conflicted about what I should do.

Anyone that has expertise or experience in this area, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thank you in advance. 🙏🏼

I was wondering if there was anything I can do about a REA and landlord claiming I had a pet (I genuinely never did) to refuse my bond? They are claiming a "pet urine odour" on carpets that are more than 15 years old, I've lived there for about 5 years and never had a pet in that time.

I work with animals, and as such have had pet hair on my scrubs/uniform, which inevitably ended up in front of the washing machine (mine that I moved in and out with). They pointed out the stray hairs during an inspection years ago, and I explained my work, that I've never had time to look after a pet of my own due to the demands of my work, study and my desire to travel.

A few years ago they even accused me of having a "pet toy" - which was a heat pack cover. I showed them the label with heating instructions inside and they never apologised, nor took any further action, because they couldn't prove the existence of an imaginary, unspecified animal.

Is there anything I can do? Obviously we can't photograph the lack or existence of a smell, and I have already provided evidence that the carpets were steam cleaned.

Hi all,

I own a house in Canberra which I bought about 3 years ago. My neighbor and I's house were both built at the same time in the 80s, separate title.

Both houses were built on the boundary with theirs sitting a little higher. The issue is that their roof line overhangs ours, and their gutters literally sit inside mine and purge onto my roof / my gutter. They do not have a down pipe which eventually leaks into my roof causing water damage.

I've checked the original survey and we are 0.1 from the boundary. My question is, if I get a survey done and it turns out my house is the one encroaching, will title insurance save me from a big headache?

Going down the boundary dispute path is a last resort but I'd like to have something in my back pocket.

Thanks!

I've been on the phone with Department of Communities at least a day every week for months and they've basically just told me they can't do anything to make sure my siblings are cared for.

For context: I live independently and my mother is a drug addict with neglectful and emotionally abusive behaviour towards the kids.

DCP won't make her do anything. They've basically said they can "suggest" she do better but not enforce it in any way. And they refuse to take the kids off her because they aren't being beaten on the daily 🙄.

They aren't going to school (maybe 20% of the time they are), they live in mess and filth, she leaves them home alone all the time (but because they're like 12-13yrs old DCP said it's fine) and they don't eat very often. On top of that, their mother screams abuse at them daily, guilt trips them and smokes meth in front of them.

If you can't tell, I'm furious. So, why can't DCP to anything? And what will it take for them to be able to?

First time posting and I live in Australia. Any advice is welcome.

My roommate, 20 , was recently released from the hospital from the mental health ward and is returning to old habits.

I was the person to get him admitted to hospital the first time because he was extremely erratic and was being aggressive. He was banging on the doors of my room and our two other roommates' doors. He would stay up for 5 days with no sleep. One particular time they thought the world was ending because the sun wasn't coming up at 7pm(at night).I called the cops after that incident because we were all afraid for our health. He has also stated that he hates gay people and would hurt one if he found them. Unfortunately I am pansexual and am very open about it. I don't think he knows but I am worried about the retaliation if there is any.

He was admitted to the hospital for 9 weeks but during that time he would have 1 hour unsupervised leave and during that time he was returning to the apartment to do drugs. I would call the hospital but they still released him. He was released last wednesday and is doing the exact same thing.

Me and my other roommates wish for him to be evicted from the apartment but there are some issues.

I spoke to the owner and they said they cannot remove him without legal evidence that he is using. Due to this I called the cops to see my options but they said there is nothing that they can do and they cannot release any information that they discover to the public. I was directed to call crime stoppers and begin to file? (i don't know the actual name) but there is nothing else they can do.

I am out of options and just need some help.

I am in the initial term of an ongoing agreement, my member club is in Melbourne, and I want to cancel my subscription as I moved to a regional area without any AF fitness in a 15 km radius. They are being dodgy and avoiding my enquires. They asked me to prove I moved PERMANENTLY and I can't do that as I am in the country with a temporal visa doing casual jobs so I will never have any PERMANENT address or job in this country.

I would like to have advice of what is the best way to get rid of these vampires. I don't want to keep paying 20$ weekly til December 2025 when my initial term will finish. I don't want either to pay 50% of the membership fees as they say in the contract. I also don't want just to tell my bank to block them because I don't want to have credit problems in the future.

Do you think showing them a (fake) one way flight ticket to my country will be enough? Or should I contact any Victorian law institution to have advice for unfair contracts conditions Thanks in advance!

If a company lodges court documents for a judgement on an unpaid debt and they debt is then paid in full, as a business are we liable to pay their court disbursement fees?

I got a letter today addressed to me with an intent to sue for a traffic incident 4 years ago. The problem is that I was not even involved in the accident. I am pretty sure that the law office used my registration plate and reversed looked up the details which lead to me receiving the letter.

There was no details about the accident except for an incident date 4 years ago, and I am pretty sure that I would have been at work and was not using the car at all.

The letter seems like it came from a legitimate legal firm, but there have been no other details on the on it.

Should I just ignore it? If not, what are my next actions?

EDIT: The letter also includes the location of the accident which is a popular suburb and popular road. No time just date.

Here's what the letter says:

"HEADER"

21st October 2024

"My details" "Reference number"

NOTICE TO SUE

Without prejudice Save as to Costs

Re: Motor Vehicle Accident

Our Client: XXXXX

Our Client's Registration: XXXXX

Your Registration: XXXXX

Date of Loss: XXX of January 2020

Accidental Location: XXXXX

--------------------------

Dear XXXXX,

We refer to the abovementioned accident and confirm that we act on behalf of the client mentioned above.

We are instructed that you were involved in a collision with our client's vehicle and that liability lands with you in relation to this collision. We are instructed to pursue you for our client's damages resulting from the collision.

Please be advised that we hold instruction to commence legal proceedings with 7 days of this letter, should you of your insurer fail to contact our office to resolve our client's claim.

We note that should legal proceedings be commenced the resultant legal costs and interests will be claimed.

We look forward to your timely response

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact our office on XXXXX or give us a call on XXXX.

Yours faithfully,

XXXXX
"FOOTER"

Follow up to last post. High range DUI of 0.175 first offense for anything. Used a lawyer, prepared 3 character references and a mental health check. Magistrate granted my request for a spent conviction and minimum 10 month and minimum $1700 fine. Magistrate advised one and only chance, will not be repeating so no problems.

If you take it seriously, get help and prepare yourself to the max it is possible to make it through. Thank you