Distress and humiliation suffered after adverse action

The Federal Circuit Court has found The Monitoring Centre (TMC) took adverse action against their general manager who had...

The Federal Circuit Court has found The Monitoring Centre (TMC) took adverse action against their general manager who had made a workplace complaint when the company asked employees to provide negative feedback about the general manager and ultimately used this feedback to terminate her. The former employee made a formal...

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$1.3million in damages ordered to be paid for bullying and harassment

Safe Work Australia has published the Second Annual National Statement which identifies emerging trends in psychosocial health, safety and...

Safe Work Australia has published the Second Annual National Statement which identifies emerging trends in psychosocial health, safety and bullying in Australian workplaces. The data in the statement is based on data from accepted worker’s compensation claims involving mental stress. The statement highlights some interesting workplace trends: • the median direct cost of...

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Health assessment appeal overruled

The recent case of Hail Creek Coal Pty Ltd v Haylett & Anor QCA 259 (4 December 2015)...

The recent case of Hail Creek Coal Pty Ltd v Haylett & Anor QCA 259 (4 December 2015) has provided guidance on the limitations of an employer seeking health information from an employee. The employee began as a Drill Rig Operator at the Hail Creek Mine and in 2010...

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Amendments to Work Health and Safety Act 2011 come into effect

As part of its commitment to improving safety for Queenslanders at work, the Palaszcuk Government has introduced a number...

As part of its commitment to improving safety for Queenslanders at work, the Palaszcuk Government has introduced a number of changes to the State’s work health and safety (WHS) laws. Legislation that was recently passed to restore elements of the original Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), which were...

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Scholarship funding available to female leaders in the VET sector

Scholarship funding available to female leaders in the VET sector The National Excellence in Educational Leadership Initiative (NEELI) recently announced...

Scholarship funding available to female leaders in the VET sector The National Excellence in Educational Leadership Initiative (NEELI) recently announced that $3,500 scholarships are now available to women in the Vocational Education & Training sector to assist them to participate in the Advanced Leadership Program (ALP) Created to provide tailored development...

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IR Update: Fair Work Commission unable to hear anti-bullying claims from volunteers

In a recent decision before the Fair Work Commission, it has been held that volunteers are unable to make...

In a recent decision before the Fair Work Commission, it has been held that volunteers are unable to make anti-bullying claims against their employers, as they do not satisfy the definition of “worker” under s 789FC of the Fair Work Act 2010 (Cth). In the facts of this case, a...

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Beware of misleading ‘drip pricing’ practices

‘Drip pricing’ is a practice used by some retailers during online purchasing, where a headline price is advertised up-front,...

‘Drip pricing’ is a practice used by some retailers during online purchasing, where a headline price is advertised up-front, but other fees and charges are added throughout the purchasing process. Often the extra fees and charges are unavoidable or are applied in most transactions, making it difficult for consumers...

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Big Insight #1 – Data-backed decisions define retail’s future

While retailers grapple with offering multichannel shopping experiences, the industry’s next big hurdle emerges: data deluge. “Retail has an opportunity...

While retailers grapple with offering multichannel shopping experiences, the industry’s next big hurdle emerges: data deluge. “Retail has an opportunity to completely transform itself using data. It’s all about understanding your business and making decisions that are better,” claims 2016 NRF Big Show headlining speaker, Steve Brown from Intel. Brown’s Big...

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Message from the CEO: 22 January 2016

News this week of Woolworths’ decision to abandon its failing Masters chain has come as no surprise to the...

News this week of Woolworths’ decision to abandon its failing Masters chain has come as no surprise to the retail and business community, after widely-publicised losses. Post-Christmas is a time that traditionally sees retailers assessing their performance, with similar announcements having occurred in January in previous years. While we now...

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Research continues to show the power of catalogues

The Australasian Catalogue Association (ACA) recently reported that catalogues continue to perform strongly, holding their own against other media...

The Australasian Catalogue Association (ACA) recently reported that catalogues continue to perform strongly, holding their own against other media channels. In the latest quarterly ACRS Shooper Reports, catalogues demonstrate their value, tracked in terms of audience readership, channel usage, channel purpose and drivers of shopping behaviour. When making purchasing decisions...

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Big Ideas from Retail’s Big Show

Fresh from New York, 2016 NRF Big Show Exhibitor and National Retail Association (NRA) Event Partner, CloudFirst, are pleased...

Fresh from New York, 2016 NRF Big Show Exhibitor and National Retail Association (NRA) Event Partner, CloudFirst, are pleased to bring you the big insights from retail’s largest global conference at the next round of Innovation and Technology Committee (ITC) breakfasts across Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Interested in: Delivering a...

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IR Update: Special purpose employees ineligible for redundancy pay

In a recent case before the Fair Work Commission, it was decided that employees working under “special purpose contracts”...

In a recent case before the Fair Work Commission, it was decided that employees working under “special purpose contracts” were not eligible for redundancy pay on termination of their employment. Special purpose contracts include agreements whereby the employee has been contracted to perform a particular task or for a...

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Do you know your lay-by obligations?

The Queensland Office of Fair Trading recently conducted a state-wide compliance operation which highlighted that several businesses were unaware...

The Queensland Office of Fair Trading recently conducted a state-wide compliance operation which highlighted that several businesses were unaware of their lay-by obligations.  Businesses mistakenly offer customers the opportunity to pay by instalments and do not realise that under law, such an agreement constitutes a lay-by which means there...

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Grants to help businesses grow and create jobs in Tasmania

The Tasmania Jobs and Investment Fund (TJIF) offers grants to help businesses looking to invest, grow and create jobs...

The Tasmania Jobs and Investment Fund (TJIF) offers grants to help businesses looking to invest, grow and create jobs in Tasmania. Some facts about the grants: • Grants are for up to a maximum of $1 for every $2 you provide • The minimum grant amount is $50,000 • There is not maximum grant amount but...

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Review of card payments regulations

As a result of a review of the regulatory framework for card payments conducted last year by the Reserve...

As a result of a review of the regulatory framework for card payments conducted last year by the Reserve Bank, the Federal Government recently announced draft legislation that will insert a ban on surcharging in excess of merchant costs into the Competition and Consumer Act (2010). The Reserve Bank recently...

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Have your say on country of origin labelling changes

The Australian Government is proposing a new system to deliver clearer and more consistent country of origin food labels...

The Australian Government is proposing a new system to deliver clearer and more consistent country of origin food labels without imposing excessive cost on industry. Consumers have been reporting for some time that they find current labels on food confusing and that they don't provide the kind of origin...

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