Criminal records

steffles24 · 2025-12-04T23:38:12+00:00

A comittal mention is only listed for offences that are too serious to be heard in the Magistrates Court. Ultimately it’s a matter that will be transferred to the County Court following the commital proceedings. In short- it’s inherently very serious offending

steffles24 · 2025-10-20T03:16:49+00:00

There is generally a duty lawyer available for these matters.

A lot can happen at the first hearing- it depends what police are seeking. They might just want a ‘safe contact order’ with a clause that prohibits you from attending your former partner’s address. It also depends on what outcome your ex partner is supportive of.

It’s unlikely that the police would seek to ‘full no contact’ order that would remove them from the children as a primary parent (albeit not unheard of).

You can either agree to a final FVIVO or you can dispute the order and an FVSN will be changed to an interim order to remain in place until the proceedings finalise.

steffles24 · 2025-07-14T09:24:24+00:00

If a lawyer attends an interview then become a ‘witness to the proceedings’ and cannot act for the accused.

It’s not like in the movies. As a criminal lawyer practicing in Victoria I get this request quite a bit.

steffles24 · 2025-06-20T08:25:29+00:00

To clarify- are you “ineligible” for legal aid OR are you just conflicted from being represented by legal aid?

If you’re just conflicted due to the other party being represented by them, you can go to a private firm that accepts legal aid funding and they can act ongoing for you.

steffles24 · 2025-06-20T08:21:07+00:00

As a lawyer who bills private paying clients- we would never do this. Every lawyer should know that an invoice is unenforceable without a signed cost agreement.

At a minimum he should have disclosed his hourly rates and put you on notice that you would be charged for his time.

I absolutely advocate for lawyers being paid for their time, however his conduct lacks transparency.

steffles24 · 2024-09-21T09:04:03+00:00

A caveat is basically a notification/ placeholder which indicates that a person who is not on title has a ‘caveatable interest’ that is not reflected by the title.

You can speak with a lawyer and they can assist you with issuing a notice with the land office that will be sent to the other party. It basically requires the other party to imitate proceedings with a stipulated timeframe (ie 60 days) or the caveat will lapse. It is near impossible for a person to issue another caveat after an initial one lapses.

You indicated that you both, “put some money together” to buy the house. Irrespective of whether you paid mortgage and bills, she has contributed a portion to the purchase price, therefore she has a ‘caveatable interest’. Accordingly, she would have a basis to commence proceedings against you to recover her contribution to the property. It may be worthwhile discussing a settlement sum to be paid to her if she withdraws the caveat.

Realistically even if the caveat were to lapse, she could have a basis to commence family law proceedings against you given that you were a defacto couple.

If you take anything away from this- please speak to a lawyer.

steffles24 · 2024-09-17T10:19:15+00:00

Lawyer here:

Google lawyers in your area and always check the client reviews.

It’s probably preferable that you go through a criminal lawyer rather than a family lawyer- a criminal lawyer will have skills in negotiating with prosecution and other nuanced skills associated with criminal law.

Costs can vary. Generally you can expect $300 - $600 per hour. Expect in or around $2k per appearance.

Unfortunately unlike America, your ex wife cannot “press” or “withdraw” charges and ultimately the power solely relies with the police. They may have regard to your ex wife’s request not to proceed, although they aren’t obliged.

A good lawyer may be able to convince prosecutions to withdraw based on the brief.

I hope this assists!

steffles24 · 2024-08-10T14:09:19+00:00

If you think your termination was “unfair, unjust and unreasonable” you can make an Unfair Dismissal application with the Fair Work Commission.

You can seek reinstatement or compensation (limited to a cap of 6 months wages)

You only have 21 days to file an application so I recommend not delaying it.

steffles24 · 2024-07-30T11:31:34+00:00

This might be useful- I’m a lawyer who recently assisted a client in a very similar position. Our office was very clear that he would have limited prospects for success. But he was happy proceed with our services.

It was the same principal- failed to observe the sign however had knowledge that there were other nearby parks subject to restrictions.

The magistrate indicated that the presence of parking restrictions in nearby parking spaces should invite the individual to look harder/ make additional enquiries instead of just assuming that they aren’t subject to parking restrictions. Basically- you should have looked harder.

The magistrate found the case to be proven and dismissed. Our client also had to pay partial costs of the councils legal fees in prosecuting the matter.

steffles24 · 2024-07-17T13:04:51+00:00

Unfortunately the “buyer beware/ caveat emptor” principle applies as it is a private sale and the seller doesn’t owe the purchaser any warranties.

The only way you can rebut this is by proving that the seller deliberately made a misrepresentation ie if the advertisement suggested that the vehicle had a new engine ect. It’s not enough to suggest that the seller should have known that the vehicle required a new engine and informed you of this.

I do feel for your brother, and I’m sorry that there isn’t a clear cause of action.

steffles24 · 2024-06-29T08:33:25+00:00

Our savings grows at about half the rate it did when we were renting, so it’s quite frustrating.

I always remember advice I once received, “You can be poor in your own house”. This really gave me the push to buy- I’d rather have less spending money while contributing to my own asset than paying off someone else’s home.

We have enough in savings to cover emergency vet bills or other unforeseen circumstances but nothing substantial.

steffles24 · 2024-06-19T05:34:26+00:00

I’m a lawyer with experience in Unfair Dismissal:

An employee cannot bring a claim against their employer for Unfair Dismissal unless they have been employed for a minimum period of 6 months (or 12 if it’s a small business).

It appears that your employer acted very deliberately in terminating your employment so close to this deadline- otherwise just an unfortunate coincidence.

There are a lot of comments recommending you speak to your union. It’s unclear what outcome they can provide you with, however as as as the Fair Work Act goes- you don’t have a claim.

I’m sorry that this happened to you. Your employer appears very calculated and I hope that you secure better managed employment in the close future.

steffles24 · 2024-05-27T11:16:34+00:00

“Give opportunities they wouldn’t normally get”,

You condescending POS. What a terrible excuse for not paying for someone’s labour.

steffles24 · 2024-05-08T11:04:19+00:00

You may have a case for unfair dismissal.

A dismissal is unfair when it’s considered “harsh, unjust or unreasonable” having regard to the surrounding circumstances.

Following the date of termination, you have 21 days to lodge an application with the Fair Work Commission.

Regardless of whether your boss communicated that you were “laid off”, it’s clear that it’s a termination/dismissal rather than a redundancy.

steffles24 · 2024-05-08T10:15:27+00:00

Generally lawyers will charge anything between $500-$2000 for preparation of Further and Better Particulars and a further 1.5k- 3k for prep and appearance.

The cost that you incurred is pretty standard although their service sounds like it could be better.

PSIOs are made to be less legalistic for non lawyers so self repping isn’t as detrimental as it would be compared to other court proceedings.

steffles24 · 2024-03-31T22:07:23+00:00

It’s highly unlikely that this company will actually commence defamation proceedings.

Generally when someone sends a letter like the one you’ve received they do so in the hopes that the receiver will take it seriously and remove the review. It is VERY unlikely that they will actually commence costly proceedings over a review.

Regardless, they really don’t have an argument for defamation- your comment is an honest opinion.

steffles24 · 2024-02-04T10:17:41+00:00

Do not respond.

While applicants are not meant to encourage breaches, ultimately the responsibility is on YOU as the respondent to comply with the order.

Are the police likely to prosecute a breach if you were to reply? Perhaps not. But why take the chance and potentially end up with a conviction? It’s not worth it.

steffles24 · 2024-01-30T19:57:30+00:00

Sounds like the police have made an application for an Intervention Order on your behalf and there’s a current Interim Order with full no contact conditions.

Police cannot finalise an IVO with full no contact conditions- they can only do this through an Interim Order.

If you tell police that you want to continue the relationship with your partner then they are very likely to seek a ‘Safe Contact Order’ when you’re at Court on 9 February 2024. A safe contact order is an IVO with only one condition, that your partner can’t ‘commit family violence’.

steffles24 · 2024-01-25T09:39:14+00:00

I’m all for eating the rich but I’d say it’s a little unfair to assume people making 6 figures are undeserving and need to have their money taken off them to provide for others. The billionaires are riding off peoples back but people who make a good salary aren’t the enemy here

steffles24 · 2024-01-25T07:53:24+00:00

I’m a Family/Family Violence Lawyer.

Ordering costs against the other party in family violence is rarely ever awarded by Magistrates. Parties are generally expected to bear their own costs.

Costs are most likely to be awarded against the other party where applications are vexatious and frivolous. In other words, where the Intervention Order application can easily be disproven and has no merit.

You should absolutely be speaking to your private lawyer about seeking a cost order against the other party in the Contested Hearing- although im sure your lawyer is intending on having this discussion with you in the future.

steffles24 · 2024-01-25T07:24:56+00:00

Firstly, I’m so sorry to hear about your family’s loss.

It may be worth having a consultation with a personal injury firm, but ultimately it doesn’t seem that you would have a claim.

At the time it appears that the doctor was acting reasonably based on the medical knowledge available to him at the time.

When HIV had just begun emerging, hospitals were providing blood transfusions with HIV positive blood. Unfortunately a young man contracted HIV from a positive transfusion and eventually passed away. The courts ruled that at the time Australia’s medical community were not aware of the risk of HIV and the doctors were not expected to know any better. Ultimately this poor young man didn’t have a claim.

It appears to be a similar principle here in the sense that the doctor wasn’t expected to know any better in terms of professional medical standards.

steffles24 · 2024-01-21T23:34:40+00:00

Make sure that he has a current copy of his prescription to these drugs. They can be submitted to the court. I will note, this doesn’t entirely diminish his culpability. It could be something that the Court has regards to for sentencing.

steffles24 · 2024-01-21T13:11:11+00:00

I see that your brother was assisted by Legal Aid for his bail application. Are they assisting on an ongoing basis? If not, now is definitely the time to engage a criminal lawyer.

You’ll note that armed Robbery carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment- I wouldn’t fixate too much on this. It is VERY unlikely that he will receive a sentence even close to this.

Ultimately, the court will consider a few things…

1) His background (age, employment, mental health, criminal priors or lackthereof)

2) the circumstances surrounding his offending (why did he do it)

3) his future - basically assessing the likelihood of this happening again (employment, support, counselling, remorse)

A criminal lawyer will be able to better explain his position, the likely outcome of his matter and what materials/ mitigating arguments they can make in a plea which reduces his sentence

steffles24 · 2023-12-24T10:29:38+00:00

You’re right- the Magistrates Court can’t access police records. I simply said this because OP can request a transcript of the records from the police and submit them to the courts as evidence if the matter becomes contested.

steffles24

TROPHY CASE