New Special Interest Committee – Legal Technology Committee

Expressions of interest invited

Following the suggestion from Members, at its meeting of 18 June 2018 the Executive resolved to establish a ‘Legal Technology Committee’, the Terms of Reference for which are available here.  

The Society previously had an Information Technology Advisory Group which disbanded due to a lack of interest.

It is presently expected that meetings of the Committee will be held monthly on either a Wednesday or a Thursday at 1.00 pm.

Expressions of Interest in joining the Committee are now invited.  If you are interested please let us know via email by no later than 5pm on Friday 13 July 2018. In doing so please include the basis of your interest, relevant skills and experience.  

If you have an interest in being appointed as either Chair or Deputy Chair of the Committee, please also advise accordingly in that email.

It is expected that there may be a large number of expressions of interest received.  Appointments to the Committee will be made having regard to the role of the Committee within its Terms or Reference and the desired composition including ensuring an appropriate balance of skills, job responsibility, experience, firm size representation and areas of practice.

Urgent Notice - Section 33(21) of the Return To Work Act 2014 (SA)

Members who practice in the area of workers compensation are urged to read and consider the recent decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Australia in the matters of ReturnToWork Corporation of South Australia v Karpathakis; ReturnToWork Corporation of South Australia v Rudduck [2018] SASCFC 45 delivered on 1 June 2018.

The reasons concern applications made pursuant to s33(21) of the Return To Work Act 2014 (SA) to remove the time limit that would otherwise apply under s33(20) of the Return To Work Act 2014 (SA) in relation to medical expenses involving surgery to treat a work related injury.  

The entitlement to claim medical expenses ordinarily comes to an end 12 months after the last day of entitlement for weekly payments.  It is noted that a number of injured workers transitioned to the ReturnToWork Scheme on 1 July 2015.  Their entitlement to weekly payments were for a period of up to 104 weeks thereafter and that period ended on 28 June 2017.  In those cases the entitlement to claim medical expenses (unless involving a seriously injured worker) will end on 28 June 2018.

Members are urged to review all their workers compensation files to determine whether the relatively informal process referred to by the Full Court should be adopted and an application be made for the time limit that would otherwise apply with respect to surgical treatment, to be removed.

Any such application should be made in writing to the compensating authority and before the entitlement period to claim medical expenses under s33(20) of the Return To Work Act 2014 (SA) comes to an end.

Standard Property Documents

Updated Standard Contract Incorporating GST Withholding Changes

The Society has released to its Standard Property Documents Suite updated versions of its standard “Residential” and “Non-Residential” Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Land.

This update incorporates a number of minor revisions but the major changes relate to the new GST withholding requirements which take effect in relation to contracts entered into on or after 1 July 2018.

From that date, as a result of changes to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth), every vendor of “residential premises” or “potential residential land”, as defined in that Act, is required to give a written notice to the purchaser stating whether or not the purchaser will be required to make a GST withholding payment to the Australian Taxation Office in accordance with the Act.

If the sale relates to or includes “new residential premises” or “potential residential land”, the vendor’s notice to the purchaser must include additional information, including the amount the purchaser will be required to withhold and pay to the Australian Taxation Office.

Item 17 in the Schedule to the new Contract, in conjunction with new Clause 64, is designed to constitute the vendor’s notice to the purchaser regarding GST withholding, so as to avoid the need for the vendor to give a separate written notice.  The Contract also allows for the notice to be given separately to the Contract, if that is the preferred option.

The new Contract also deals with the notifications the purchaser is required to give to the ATO and the manner in which the GST withholding amount is to be paid.

Practitioners should now use the updated Contract for all land transactions because the earlier versions do not allow for the GST withholding requirements.

Please refer to the Instructions for Users which are issued with the Law Society Property Documents Suite.  Practitioners must also familiarise themselves with the new requirements under Sections 14-250 and 14-255 of Schedule 1 of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 as to when a GST withholding amount is applicable and how it is to be calculated.

Subscribers to the Standard Property Documents have been informed via email this week about these changes and updated Contracts.

BILSBOROUGH Monique Jane
DOUVARTZIDIS Lara
ELSEGOOD Lauren Emma
HUTT Anthony Robert
LESIUK Claire Virginia
LIN Dandin
MARKS Chelsea Lois
MARTIN Katrina Rhenee
MASCIONE Diana Virginia
MEYER Jason Edward
MORTAZAVI Naysan
PHILLIPS Rachel Joan
PILLAY Preesan
POTEZNY Jemma Eliza
SATCHELL Edward Wilson
SINGH Divia Pal
TOMASEK Nicole Christine

We welcome them to the profession. 

The delegations to, and other functions performed by the Ethics and Practice Committee are available here.  The Terms of Reference of the Ethics and Practice Committee are available on the Society's website, here. 

A couple of vacancies on the Committee presently exist. 

With a view to succession planning, expressions of interest in joining the Committee are invited and should be sent to the Chief Executive by email by no later than 5 pm on Friday, 6 July 2018.

Members should note the desired composition of the Committee as set out in Section 3 of the Structure and Terms of Reference document which will influence the selection of candidates, in addition to merit, of those applying.  It is therefore possible that some meritorious applicants may not be successful due to the need to ensure the appropriate representation of the profession, skills, field of practice and employment.

Nominations are now open for the 2018 Law Society Awards

Justice Award
The Justice Award recognises the contributions that legal practitioners have made to promoting access to justice in South Australia, particularly for socially and economically disadvantaged people. Please click here to view the criteria / make a nomination. 

Gender Equity in Law Award 
The Gender Equity in Law Award recognises a contribution to the advancement of the interests of women lawyers, and/or a recognisable contribution to issues in legal practice which affect women. Please click here to view the criteria / make a nomination. 

SA Young Lawyer of the Year Award 
The South Australian Young Lawyer of the Year Award annually recognises a Young Lawyer who provides an outstanding contribution to the legal profession and the community. Please click here to view the criteria / make a nomination.

Nominations close Tuesday, 17 July 2018. The Awards will be presented at the Annual Dinner on 10 August 2018. 

The Society is very pleased to invite enrolments in its inaugural Practice Management Course.

The Practice Management Course has been specifically designed for employed legal practitioners taking the step to becoming law practice principals, whether as partners or directors of multi-practitioner law practices or as sole practitioners. The Course will provide instruction and guidance on a range of law practice management issues from regulatory requirements to financial and risk management.

The Course presenters are all experts in their fields. Trust accounting, ethics and risk management modules are presented by Law Society staff and Committee members with first-hand experience in the obligations and the needs of the South Australian legal profession. Other modules are presented by South Australian legal practitioners with special expertise in the areas covered.

The inaugural Course will be presented over three days and will entitle attendees to claim more than 20 MCPD units which includes multiple units in each of the required categories. Some modules may also be offered on a stand-alone basis subject to capacity.

For more information about the Course please click here.

As it is coming up to three years since the Society reviewed its nominees to the Federal Court Liaison Committee, Members who are interested in representing the Society on the FCLC are invited to express an interest in doing so.  

The Committee is convened by the Judges of the Federal Court, with a view to providing an opportunity to discuss, in an informal setting, matters of mutual concern or interest to the Court and the profession.  It is therefore appropriate that the Society’s representatives on the Committee are able to either represent a segment of the law or profession, or have a close connection to an aspect of the work of the Society, that is particularly relevant to the work of the Federal Court.  There are positions for six representatives (in addition to the President and the Chief Executive, a representative of the Civil Litigation Committee and a Member of the Law Council’s Federal Court Liaison Committee). 

The Federal Court Liaison Committee has traditionally met twice per annum, for approximately an hour.  

Members who wish to be considered for appointment to this Committee are invited to submit an expression of interest (attaching a Curriculum Vitae) to the Chief Executive, Stephen Hodder by cob on Monday, 6 August 2018 via email.  

Current representatives have separately been invited to express an interest in continuing.

Please note that the following items are now available for download directly from the Society’s website. Click here to access them.

• Cost Agreement for estimate up to $1500.
• Cost Agreement for estimate above $1500.
• Cost Agreement for estimate above $1500 for Sophisticated Clients.
• A Solicitor's Guide to the Law Society Precedent Retainer Agreements.
• A Solicitor's Guide to the Costs Provisions of the Legal Practitioners (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2013.
• Notes on Using the Precedent Standard Cost Agreement.
• Disclaimer.

Please also note that the Supreme Court Scale Adjustment Table, which is prepared and maintained by the Society as an easy guide for practitioners to changes in rates, has been revised to include a link to the complete version of Schedule 2 of the Supreme Court Civil Supplementary Rules 2014.  Click here to access the Table and Schedule 2.

The Young Lawyers' Committee invites young lawyers who are interested in attending this year’s Legal Profession Dinner to join them on their table. If you are a young lawyer or law student and would like to do so, please make a note on your registration form or email to ensure you're placed with Committee Members. 

The Contracts Officer is responsible for providing research contract administration and management services to the Flinders University researchers. This includes working closely with researchers in the preparation, review and negotiation of various types of standard form research contracts: research project variations, confidentiality agreements for research purposes and IP sharing with external parties, memoranda of understanding with industry or other research institutions, material transfer agreements and subcontracting arrangements with government, industry and other research institutions. Please click here for further information. 

EMA Legal is a leading law firm specialising in all areas of Employment Law, Industrial Relations and Workers Compensation. Voted in the Doyle’s Guide for nine consecutive years as the First-Tier Employment Law Firm from 2010-2018 this is a unique opportunity to work alongside EMA's nationally highly respected Partners.  EMA's focus on workplace and industrial matters is exclusively from the employer’s perspective. They have a diverse range of clients across all sectors and industries and client relationships are their priority.

You will provide comprehensive legal advice to clients on a range of complex and interesting issues in industrial relations and employment law.  Reporting direct to the Partners you will receive some autonomy to manage files and mentor junior lawyers.  You will be joining a fast paced and growing legal team.

You will have a minimum of 4 years PAE, preferably with strong experience in this area. You may already be a Senior Associate, or at an Associate level wanting to take the next step up in your career.  You will be driven, work well under pressure and be able to communicate effectively.  You will possess excellent client management and interpersonal skills, together with having exceptional technical knowledge.  A competitive salary is on offer.

Please apply by email with your cover letter, CV and transcript.

Career Centre



The Career Centre is a valuable resource designed for and specifically catering to Members. Use the Career Centre to search and apply for employment opportunities, promote employment opportunities directly to the legal profession or search the resume bank for suitable candidates. Members can use the Career Centre to advertise Internships, Graduate Positions and Clerkships free of charge.

For more information, please click here or contact Member Services on 8229 0200 or via email.