The home of news, views and analysis for the WA legal profession

Practice updates - Page 2

The latest in case law, legal analysis, law reform and more.

High Court judgments: October 2026

October 9, 2026

Chaplin v Secretary, Department of Social Services [2026] HCA 22 and Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Web3 Ventures Pty Ltd [2026] HCA 21 and Cullen v New South Wales [2026] HCA 19

Practice updates·Risk management

Risk alert: AI and increasing risk factors for legal practitioners

October 8, 2026

Jehan-Philippe Wood and Johnathan Edgelow discuss how AI adoption is increasing among Australian legal practitioners, but inadequate supervision, verification and governance create significant professional, ethical and regulatory risks.

October 5, 2026

The Singleton decision: High Court quashes NT water licence in landmark Indigenous rights decision

Gwynette Govardhan examines the Singleton Station, NT groundwater license decision in the recent High Court ruling.

October 2, 2026

Simplified initial client due diligence (ICDD): An excellent opportunity to reduce client friction

Fiona Halsey explains how to reduce client friction, compliance costs and staff burdens using simplified ICDD under AML CTF rules.

Legal updates

Franchising law updates: The latest reforms, enforcement trends and case law

Steve Pynt and Isobel Millward consider several recent judgments in the Australian franchising sector including Bakers Delight v Fair Work Ombudsman [2025].

August 25, 2026

Legal updates

Victoria’s 2026 bail reforms and their impact on criminal defence practice

Victoria’s tougher 2026 bail reforms raise the threshold for release, requiring criminal defence lawyers to prepare stronger evidence addressing risk, stability and rehabilitation says Zara Garde-Wilson.

August 20, 2026

Case notes

Case note: Four properties, millions of debt and a lender’s bid for recovery

Keleigh Robinson and Craig Nichol from the Family Law Book summarise O Pty Ltd v Calvo [2026].

August 18, 2026

Legal updates

The Sword of Damocles: recent and pending tax litigation

Matthew Plint considers Commissioner of Taxation v Bendel [2026] with an ancient Greek mythology lens.

August 17, 2026

Case notes

Case note: Court places newborn with intended parents pending parentage determination

Keleigh Robinson and Craig Nichol from the Family Law Book summarise Taggard & Gowden [2026].

August 13, 2026

Legal updates

Transfer duty bracket creep: An unacknowledged burden

Grahame Young considers how WA’s failure to index transfer duty thresholds has created significant bracket creep, increasing property buyers’ tax burden as values rise.

August 12, 2026

Legal updates

Law update: Implied good faith and development obligations in complex commercial contracts

Kealeigh Barker considers why the Supreme Court of NSW reaffirmed that courts rarely imply good faith or development obligations into sophisticated commercial contracts in Les & Zelda [2026].

August 11, 2026

Case notes

Full Court clarifies key federal sentencing principles

Nicholas Hodgkinson considers why the Federal Court reduced an insider trading sentence in Forrest v Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions [2026].

August 10, 2026

Legal updates·Opinion

Resetting Australian corporate governance best practice?

Tim Bowley considers the proposed changes to Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations recently released by the ASX.

August 6, 2026

Legal updates

Finding its place: The new statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy

Simone Basso and Daniel Kiley consider how Australia’s new privacy tort empowers individuals to pursue serious privacy invasions, with courts now shaping its practical application.

August 5, 2026