The President of the Law Society has today announced that 2020-21 membership fees will be dropped to $10 + GST for all practitioners, as a one-off measure. Please note also that the date for renewal of practising certificates and membership has moved to 7 April 2020 (from 1 April). Read a message from Law Society President Richard Harvey here.

Practising certificate renewals will launch on 7 April. During this time, we may experience a higher than usual number of calls and we ask for your patience while we process more than 35,000 renewals. Read more updates about PC renewals here.

The Law Society’s Professional Standards Department has compiled a list of the most frequent queries coming in from the profession regarding COVID-19. They are updated regularly.

The Federal Government has announced a wage subsidy to around six million workers who will receive a flat payment of $1,500 per fortnight through their employer, before tax. The $130 billion JobKeeper payment will help keep Australians in jobs and tackle the significant economic impact from the coronavirus. The payment will be open to eligible businesses that receive a significant financial hit caused by the coronavirus and provide the equivalent of around 70 per cent of the national median wage. Find the JobKeeper information fact sheet for employers here.

This order gives Ministerial directions to deal with the public health risk of COVID-19 and its possible consequences. It directs that a person must not, without reasonable excuse, leave the person’s place of residence. Examples of a reasonable excuse include leaving for reasons involving: (a) obtaining food or other goods and services, (b) travelling for the purposes of work or education if the person cannot do it at home, (c) exercise, (d) medical or caring reasons. In addition, the order directs that a person must not participate in a gathering in a public place of more than two persons. Exceptions include: (a) gatherings of members of the same household, and (b) gatherings essential for work or education.

The FCA and FCC have published a series of Q&As for parents who may have concerns relating to parenting arrangements amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Q&As are available from the Family Court of Australia website and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia website.

The following procedures for all applications to vary bail will commence in the District Court from 1 April 2020. Read more here.

There are new additional requirements for the filing of appeal books and White Folders. Read more here.

The Chief Magistrate of the Local Court, the Hon Graeme Henson AM, has issued an update on Management for AVO proceedings.

Chief Justice of the Federal Court, the Hon Chief Justice James Allsop AO, has issued the following update.