COVID-19
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Psychological injury claims after employer-implemented vaccine mandates
14th Sep 2023Two recent decisions by the NSW Personal Injury Commission (PIC) have awarded compensation to workers who suffered a psychological injury as a result of their employer’s implementation of the public health orders that established mandatory vaccinations for education and care workers in 2021. Craig Joshua of Hall Payne Lawyers discusses the details.
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Fines for failing to report positive RAT results: unhelpful and will not work
13th Jan 2022Fining people for failing to report a positive COVID-19 test result is an unhelpful and an unnecessarily punitive approach to managing a public health issue, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Federal human rights charter needed to balance conflicting rights in a crisis
9th Dec 2021A federal human rights charter is needed to help balance the competing rights that have come into conflict in the management of the pandemic, and ensure these rights are protected in future, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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COVID-19 tracing data must be protected by law nationally
7th Oct 2021Federal legislation is urgently needed to ensure COVID-19 tracing data is used only for health purposes in every state and territory, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) as the Greens plan to introduce a bill to Parliament that will ban law enforcement agencies from accessing this data.
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Reduce prison numbers to minimise need for prison lockdowns
30th Aug 2021The use of lockdowns to control the outbreak of COVID-19 in the state’s prison system is inhumane, amounts to solitary confinement and will cause serious harm to families of prisoners, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Government and courts urged to release prisoners and grant bail to minimise COVID-19 risk
17th Aug 2021Government and courts are being urged to activate legislation passed in NSW last year to reduce the number of people in prison, following the impact of COVID-19 at both Bathurst Correctional Centre and Silverwater Jail in recent days.
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Workplace safety must be the priority in vaccine mandate
9th Aug 2021Mandating COVID-19 vaccinations in some workplaces, when vaccines are readily available, is not unreasonable, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Role of ADF to enforce compliance with COVID rules must be well defined
29th Jul 2021Calling on the Australian Defence Force to enforce lock down rules in Sydney virus hot spots sets a dangerous precedent so the role of defence force personnel must be clearly defined, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA)
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Pandemic highlights gaps in consumer law: urgent reform & regulation needed to protect travellers
8th Jul 2021Reform to Australian Consumer Law and further regulation is urgently needed to fix gaps that result in travellers losing money and receiving inconsistent refunds for cancelled travel.
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Welcome protection for patients with govt’s new vaccine indemnity scheme
2nd Jul 2021The Government’s announcement today that a new COVID-19 indemnity scheme will protect patients as well as health professionals is welcome, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Vaccine compensation scheme falls short
30th Jun 2021A vaccination compensation scheme is a step in the right direction but falls short of a comprehensive plan to overcome vaccine hesitancy, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Misuse of COVID-19 tracing data must be punishable with sanctions and liability
25th Jun 2021Heavy penalties are needed for leaders in police, law enforcement and security agencies when they facilitate, or turn a blind eye to, the unlawful gathering and use of COVID-19 tracing data, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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COVID-19 pandemic highlights urgent need for Australian human rights charter
17th May 2021The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for an Australian charter of human rights to protect all citizens from the impact of arbitrary and unfair government decisions, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Bolstering quarantine facilities must be priority to allow more open, safe Australian borders
10th May 2021Improving Australia’s quarantine facilities to allow Australians to come home or reunite with family overseas must be the Federal Government’s urgent priority.
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India travel ban is ‘draconian’ use of Govt powers
3rd May 2021Criminalising travel from India to Australia is an intrusive and severe use of the Federal Government’s powers, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) and the Government must take responsibility for creating better quarantine processes to enable Australians to return home.
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Prison lockdowns cannot be the solution to preventing COVID-19 outbreak
27th Aug 2020As some 7000 prisoners in Queensland are placed into ‘extreme isolation’ to manage the threat of a COVID-19 outbreak, governments and courts are being urged to reduce the number of people in prison and provide for discounts on sentence time served.
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COVID-19 shows the cracks in our aged care system
20th Aug 2020Catherine Henry questions why we are seeing so many COVID-19 deaths in aged care, and suggests that it's not just that older Australians are more vulnerable to the infectious disease. She believes that COVID-19 is, in many ways, just the next thing to expose the systemic problems in an aged care system that demands a major overhaul.
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Urgent action needed to prevent COVID-19 crisis in disability care
12th Aug 2020The federal government and the NDIA need to take urgent action to keep NDIS clients and disability care workers safe from COVID-19 as case numbers grow both in disability homes and amongst residential clients, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Access to justice in Victoria limited by childcare restrictions
11th Aug 2020Injured Victorians may not be able to have their cases heard because of rules that prevent lawyers and barristers in Victoria from accessing childcare despite being able to run trials remotely.
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Grant bail for non-violent offences to help prevent COVID-19 prison outbreak
30th Jul 2020As coronavirus cases lockdown prisons in Victoria and NSW, governments and courts are again being urged to reduce the number of people in prison.
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Concerns re risk of heavy-handed policing in Melbourne hot spots
1st Jul 2020Extraordinary police measures being used to enforce lock downs in Melbourne virus hot spots must be measured and be culturally appropriate.
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Death sentence for poverty? Why the over-representation of First Nations women prisoners matters during the pandemic
27th May 2020ALA member and a leading advocate for the protection of criminalised women's human rights, Debbie Kilroy OAM, has had her own frightening encounter with the COVID-19 virus. Debbie is desperately worried about the threat to lives if there is an outbreak of the virus in an Australian women’s prison, particularly for over-represented First Nations women, many of whom have chronic health conditions. In this article, Debbie explains the key issues and provides a compelling list of immediate action priorities.
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Gender issues for lawyers during and after the pandemic
21st May 2020In this article, Emma Dawson explores the disproportionate impact on women's careers, remuneration and superannuation both during the COVID-19 shutdown, and in its economic aftermath. Although working remotely during the shutdown period has no doubt been somewhat of an ‘eye-opener’ for some of the domestic partners of female lawyers about the unpaid work so many do, it may be too early to hope for a permanent shift in the division of unpaid domestic work. Nevertheless, the building blocks have been laid. Post-COVID will offer many challenges, but also many opportuntities to do things differently.
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Border Force search and seize laws will dangerously increase security staff powers
14th May 2020The powers of Australian Border Force staff will be significantly increased if proposed laws introduced today by Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge are passed, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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A spotlight on the Newmarch House tragedy: Where to next?
14th May 2020In this article, Catherine Henry argues that the rampant, nationwide failures in governance, accountability, policy and the regulatory framework of aged care have been laid bare in the tragedy that has unfolded at Newmarch House. Catherine attributes these failures to the flawed Aged Care Act 1997 (Cth), whose provisions prefer the interests of providers over those of residents and their families. She calls for a dedicated inquiry into the Newmarch House tragedy and for the enactment of a new Aged Care Act which addresses the shortcomings of the current aged care system.
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Excessive amendments to national security laws avoid scrutiny due to COVID-19
13th May 2020Changes to national security laws governing ASIO's powers to question terrorism suspects, introduced into Parliament today, excessively increase ASIO’s powers and are not necessary, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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COVIDSafe legislation welcomed but needs to better protect our right to opt in or out
11th May 2020The COVIDSafe tracing app needs a strong legal framework to safeguard our rights and privacy and the release of draft legislation is welcome, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Swapping silks for trackies
7th May 2020While there may be some of you who won't agree, for many lawyers running their own practices, working from home may well be better than planning and taking a holiday. In this engaging article, it is clear that Tom Percy QC is relishing working from home during the COVID-19 shutdown and has enthusiastically embraced the new ways of engaging with courts and clients.
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Inquiry into Newmarch House needed: tragedy highlights urgent need for aged care reform
6th May 2020An inquiry into the COVID-19 tragedy at Newmarch House is urgently needed as the situation has tragically highlighted the desperate need for reform in the sector, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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VIC emergency plans for prisoners are inhumane Bill needs careful scrutiny: ALA
22nd Apr 2020Careful scrutiny of the Victorian COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Bill 2020 is needed as the scope is broad and the powers are significant, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Legislation needed to manage privacy & data abuse concerns of COVID-19 tracing app
21st Apr 2020The COVID-19 tracing app needs a strong legal framework to safeguard our rights and privacy, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Non-compliance with COVID-19 rules in immigration detention breaches WHS Act
17th Apr 2020Reported failures to enforce COVID-19 social distancing rules in immigration detention centres is a breach of Commonwealth workplace health and safety laws, according to the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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COVID-19 financial losses highlight urgent need for Compensation Scheme of Last Resort
16th Apr 2020Consumers who have received negligent financial advice need a Compensation Scheme of Last Resort now more than ever as financial losses are amplified by the COVID-19 economic crisis, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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ALA welcomes release of human rights report as COVID-19 response highlights inequalities
14th Apr 2020A scorecard tracking Australia’s record on human rights principles has been released by the Universal Periodic Review NGO Coordinating Committee.
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Why releasing some prisoners is essential to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19)
9th Apr 2020To prevent prisons becoming COVID-19 hotspots, Prof Thalia Anthony argues that the only logical response is decarceration; an emergency measure that is necessary to protect both the health and wellbeing of prisoners and the wider community. Thalia highlights the particular vulnerability of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners, and eventually their families and communities. Indigenous people who are exposed to infection in prisons will return to communities that are ill-equipped to respond to a COVID-19 outbreak; especially communities in regional and remote areas where there is a glaring lack of health services and resources.
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Moratorium on minor offences needed to help keep community safe
3rd Apr 2020A moratorium on the prosecution of low-level street and drug offences should be implemented immediately so that police can focus on assisting the community to keep well and safe, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Disadvantaged & vulnerable Tasmanians need support - not prosecution – in health crisis
2nd Apr 2020A moratorium on drug offences and help for the homeless are needed to keep all Tasmanians safe during this public health emergency, according to the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Coronavirus and important insurance questions
2nd Apr 2020Kim Shaw explores some of the common questions lawyers might be asked about insurance coverage – travel, business, mortgage and disability insurance – as their clients feel the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their lives and livelihoods. Kim provides some helpful tips about how lawyers can respond to these.
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COVID 19 risks in immigration detention: calls for clarity re social distancing & hygiene guidelines
27th Mar 2020Lawyers are calling on government to publicly explain how COVID-19 health guidelines are being followed in detention centres after several asylum seekers have expressed serious concerns about their safety.
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