Employment Workplace Relations

Director, Philip Brewin is a specialist in Workplace Relations and heads our Workplace Relations Work Group.

Corporate and Business Law

The Nevett Ford Corporate and Business Law team has a wealth of experience and expertise and have established quality relationships with clients, including many small and medium business enterprises, across a wide range of industries.

Dispute Resolution ( Litigation)

Nevett Ford has wide experience in all manner of litigation.

Mediation

Mediation is a process and set of principles designed to manage and resolve disputes between parties. It is an efficient and effective method of dispute resolution that can help to preserve relationships through the intervention of a third party, known as a mediator.

Property Law

Nevett Ford has been conveying Victorian property for more than 150 years.

Friday 1 August 2014

HIGH COURT decision - refusal of protection visa where "serious reasons for considering" applicant had committed serious non-political crimes

In FTZK v Minister for Immigration & Border Protection [2014] HCA 26 (27 June 2014) Article
1F(b) of the Refugees Convention excluded from the grant of refugee status a person of whom there were "serious reasons for considering" had committed serious non-political crimes. In reviewing a decision to refuse a visa the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) referred to various factors that combined to satisfy it that there were serious reasons for considering the applicant had committed a crime in China.

An appeal to the Full Federal Court was dismissed but the appeal to the High Court allowed: French CJ with Gageler J; Hayne J; Crennan with Bell JJ. The members generally concluded that most of the factors referred to were actions in Australia and had been referred to by the AAT as showing "consciousness of guilt" but were not logically probative of what had happened in China.

HIGH COURT decision - whether designation of overseas processing centre 'proportional

In Plaintiff v Minister for Immigration & Border Protection [2014] HCA 22 (18 June 2014) the High Court held s198AB of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (that authorised the Minister to designate another country as a regional processing centre for unauthorised maritime arrivals) was supported under the aliens power (Constitution s51(xix)).

The Court rejected a submission that legislation needed to satisfy a "proportionality test" to be supported by a power and be valid: French CJ, Hayne, Crennan, Kiefel, Bell and Kreane JJ jointly. The Court observed it was not necessary to consider any other head of power.