The Local Court website has now been updated with the new sitting arrangements for Bankstown, Burwood, Hornsby and Manly which will commence on or from 1 February 2021. View the sitting arrangements here.

There have been no recent locally acquired COVID-19 cases in NSW in the last 24 hours. NSW has reported one case, believed to be an old case, which will be added to the total number of cases today. Two cases of returned travellers in hotel quarantine were also diagnosed. View latest information here. 

A six-month extension will be put in place for NSW residential tenants and landlords experiencing financial hardship during COVID-19. More here.

Theatres, cinemas and concert halls across NSW are now able to increase their capacity by up to 50 per cent to a maximum of 1,000 people. View what you can and can’t do under the current rules here.

A Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment is available if you live in NSW and can't earn an income because you must self-isolate or quarantine at home, or are caring for someone with COVID-19. Read more about who can get the payment.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) recently reviewed the way it engages with legal practitioners who are representing their clients in relation to tax and superannuation matters. As part of this review, it consulted with legal practitioners to better understand the role they typically play with respect to taxation and superannuation and their priorities and timelines when dealing with the ATO. View the methods for nomination of legal practitioner with associated timeframes here. Additional information including proof of identity requirements can be found here.

Turnover tests for the JobKeeper Payment are now based on actual turnover for eligible businesses, not projected turnover. Eligible businesses will also need to submit their business declarations by the 14th of each month. More here.

As a result of COVID-19, a significant number of employees and business owners are working from home and incurring additional running expenses in relation to their income-producing activities. Additional running expenses include lighting, heating, cooling and cleaning costs, electricity for electronic items used for work, the decline in value and repair of home office items such as furniture and furnishings in the area used for work, phone and internet expenses, computer consumables, stationery, and the decline in value of a computer, laptop or similar device. The Law Administration Practice Statement PS LA 2001/6 Verification approaches for home office running expenses and electronic device expenses states that taxpayers can calculate certain additional running expenses by using a fixed rate of 52 cents per hour (current fixed rate per hour) or by keeping records and written evidence to determine their work-related proportion of actual expenses incurred. View the updated guidelines here.

The number of job vacancies in Australia increased by 59 per cent over the August 2020 quarter, according to new seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. More here.

The Federal Government will invest almost $800 million to enable businesses to take advantage of digital technologies to grow their businesses and create jobs as part of the COVID-19 economic recovery plan. More here.

Prime Minister, Scott Morrison has delivered his pre-Budget address at the National Press Club in Canberra today. Read the speech here. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot, but one thing still remains and that’s daylight saving. Daylight saving commences again on Sunday, 4 October at 2am so don’t forget to turn your clocks forward one hour.