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Background The 2026-27 Federal Budget was delivered on 12 May 2026. It introduced three reforms affecting trust properties. These apply to both testamentary and discretionary trusts. The reforms cover abolition of the 50% CGT discount, restrictions on negative gearing, and a 30% minimum tax on discretionary trust income. Each reform has a different commencement date. …

2026-27 Federal Budget Trust Properties: What You Need to Know Read More »

Every litigator who briefs experts has had the experience of opening a draft report and feeling a quiet drop in the stomach. The opinion is fine but the reasoning is gone. Or the assumptions are wrong. Or the witness has wandered into a paragraph that no person in their field could give. Thankfully, there is …

Briefing the expert: what the judges actually say Read More »

Michael Meek J was appointed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in late 2022 after more than two decades at the equity bar. 138 published judgments since. No decision overturned on appeal. Several already cited as authority by the Court of Appeal. “When you’d buy vinyl, you’d have this lovely-sized object with a …

Appearing before Justice Michael Meek in the Equity Division: what solicitors should know Read More »

A $3 billion company is being forced to rebrand in its home market after years of trademark infringement, and the honest concurrent use defence it relied upon has been decisively rejected by the High Court. This decision isn’t just a corporate cautionary tale; it’s a warning to any business that has ever assumed a name …

Trademark Infringement and Honest Concurrent Use: What Zip Co’s High Court Defeat Means for Your Business Read More »

There is an old joke among insolvency lawyers that the only people who profit from a winding up are the liquidators. The recent decision of Brereton J in Segal v Sharma; In the matter of South West Radiology Pty Ltd (No 3) [2026] NSWSC 543, handed down on 18 May 2026, does little to dispel …

Trust Me, You Don’t Want Your Trustee Going Broke: Set-Off and the Mutuality Trap Read More »

When relationships break down, many parents understandably worry about the impact of separation on their children. Research on children and divorce conflict consistently shows that the focus should not be on whether separation occurs, but on how its consequences are managed. Under Australian family law, the guiding principle in s 60CC of the Family Law …

How Children and Divorce Conflict Shapes Outcomes More Than Separation Itself Read More »

It’s not the end of the world but it is a legal earthquake that reshapes almost every corner of your financial life for years to come. A guide to the real-world effects of bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth). What happens the moment you’re declared bankrupt Bankruptcy in Australia is a formal legal status …

Bankruptcy in Australia: What It Really Means for Your Money and Future Read More »

When the photocopier turned up, there was no Procedural Direction requiring disclosure that a brief had been duplicated rather than transcribed by hand. The fax machine, the word processor, email, electronic filing – each one quietly revolutionised legal practice, and each time the profession absorbed the change without requiring an entirely new regulatory apparatus. The …

Generative AI in Australian Courts: Why the Federal Court’s Practice Note Gets the Balance Right Read More »

An early inheritance advancement in Australia has become an increasingly popular concept, particularly due to high cost of living in Australia. Parents, grandparents and extended family members may be more willing to help their loved ones by allowing an advance on accessing their inheritance. Although it sounds ideal and complication free, it introduces different concerns …

Early Inheritance Advancement Australia: The Hidden Trigger Behind Estate Battles Read More »

Your parent has died. A few days later, a will surfaces. You are not in it. The family home, the savings, the investments, all of it has gone to a spouse your parent married a few years ago. You receive nothing. Is that legal? And if it is, what can you actually do? In New …

Disinherited by a New Spouse? Family Provision Claims in NSW Read More »