Justice Robert Beech-Jones

Two alleged victims of a former Sydney doctor who pretended to be a plastic surgeon and performed breast augmentation surgeries that left them injured cannot make claims against Avant Insurance, an appeals court has ruled. 

Irish insurer Zurich Insurance has appealed a judge’s finding that a class action filed against it in the NSW Supreme Court over a defective New Zealand apartment block could go ahead, arguing the finding was the result of federal overreach.

A NSW barrister who continued to practice in local courts without a valid certificate has received a suspended prison sentence for criminal contempt, after a judge found the prospect of imprisonment was “the last remaining means of deterring him from contravening court orders.”

A judge has upheld the Council of the NSW Law Society’s decision to ban a solicitor for making posts from his firm’s social media accounts representing that a judge condoned murder and rape, and encouraging people to flout mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

The New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal has struck down another challenge to a public health order mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for healthcare workers, saying it lacked the necessary jurisdiction to review the order’s merits.

A court has dismissed challenges to the New South Wales public health orders that made it mandatory for certain workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, declaring they did not breach workers’ rights to bodily integrity.

The applicants in the Queensland floods class action have asked the High Court to overturn a judgment which found dam operator Seqwater was not liable because it was functioning as a public authority when operating two dams during the 2011 floods, arguing the case raises important issues about appeals in ‘mega’ litigation.

The New South Wales government has accused anti-vaccination advocates of having a “misguided” and “one-dimensional focus” on the fundamental rights of the individual over those of a community contending with the highly-contagious Delta variant of COVID-19. 

A judge has ruled legal challenges to orders requiring COVID-19 vaccines for certain workers in New South Wales are not exceptional enough to warrant the disclosure of cabinet documents, with the judge noting he did not think the state health minister’s orders made vaccines “mandatory”.

Thousands of emails have inundated the inbox of the judge overseeing legal challenges to the NSW health minister’s orders mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for certain workers, prompting a public warning against interfering with the administration of justice.