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THE BLOG

16
Oct

Schoolyard bullying: your legal options.

Posted by Lawpointwebadmini / Compensation, Family

“A Canberra boy, mentally crushed by regular bullying, came home to his worried parents and held a butter knife to his throat.”

This is one report to come out of the most recent ACT parliamentary inquiry into bullying and violence in schools. The problem is, of course, a widespread and long-running one with research confirming three in five students in Australia experience bullying at some time, one in five experience it weekly, and 80% of students believe it’s a problem at their school.

Our founder Romeo El Daghl has acted in numerous school bullying cases including for the victim in the high profile case Gregory v New South Wales [2009] NSWSC 559. The victim was significantly bullied during his time at Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School in the 90s. He was awarded nearly half a million dollars as a result of his school’s failure to protect him from bullying.

Romeo continues to act in complicated and high-profile school bullying cases. Here, he shares what you can do as a parent of a child who is being bullied or a person who has been bullied in the past.

 

Is it bullying?

Bullying comes in many forms. It might be name calling, teasing, threats or physical acts such as hitting, spitting or breaking someone’s possessions. Spreading rumours about someone or ridiculing them in public can also be a form of bullying as well as deliberately and regularly excluding someone from activities. Of course these days there is also cyberbullying, where someone can use technology to engage in bullying to a much wider and more public audience.

Often though, it’s difficult to distinguish bullying from other behaviour. Bullying generally has these three key features:

  1. There’s a power imbalance between the bully and the victim.
  2. The behaviour is intentional and repeated.
  3. The behaviour causes harm.

 

My child is being bullied at school – what do I do?

If you know or suspect your child is being bullied, the NSW Department of Education recommends following these steps:

  1. Listen and get the whole story. Encourage your child to open up about the bullying and tell them that reporting it is okay. Get all the details: who, what, where and when.
  2. Reassure them that it’s not their fault. Tell them you understand and are glad they’ve told you. Ask them what they want to do and what they want you to do about it. If they’re reluctant to involve the school, reassure them that the school would want to know and will be able to help.
  3. Make an appointment with the teacher or principal. Contact the school immediately if you have a concern for your child’s safety.
  4. Use services such as Kids Helpline if you think the additional support will help.
  5. Ask the school for a copy of their anti-bullying policy and any other relevant information about how they address bullying.
  6. Work with the school to resolve the issue and establish a plan for addressing the bullying.
  7. Keep a record of meetings and the outcomes.
  8. If the bullying continues or increases, contact the school again.
  9. Help your child by practising strategies to respond to bullying. Useful strategies include:
  • keeping their distance from the bully
  • not bullying back
  • tell the bully what they are doing is not ok
  • talk to an adult they trust
  • start an activity to help build resilience.

 

What if the school doesn’t respond adequately?

When you receive your school’s anti-bullying policy, make sure they are following it in response to your complaints. If they don’t, complain again and keep a record of each of your complaints and the responses received.

If the bullying continues you may wish to escalate the matter by making a complaint to the Department of Education or to the controlling body of your school if it is a non-government school. Any serious assaults should be reported to police.

If all else fails, the law may be used as an effective tool to intervene to either make the school take effective action or to compensate your child for the harm caused by bullying. The evidence you’ve collected as you’ve gone through the process of attempting to end the bullying is going to be critical.

 

I was bullied– but it was a while ago.

It doesn’t matter. You may not think you have evidence to prove that you were bullied but you may still have a case and may be in a position to achieve justice and be compensated for any harm caused to you at school in the past.

Courts have increasingly recognised that schools must act to ensure that children are protected from the harm that is caused by bullying. In fact, courts can be a powerful tool to compensate victims where a school has negligently failed to prevent the harm caused by bullying.

The matter of evidence can be addressed by your lawyer. There are a number of effective tools that a good school bullying lawyer can use to obtain evidence in support of your case.

In the Gregory case, the victim was in his 30’s when he made the claim. He continued to suffer the psychological effects of the bullying he suffered at high school many years after he had left. Although his case was brought outside the time limit allowed, he was granted permission by the court to continue with his case and after a hard fought battle and just prior to the hearing, the defendant admitted that it had in fact breached its duty of care to him by failing to protect him from very serious bullying over many years and by failing to adhere to its own anti-bullying policies. The school also failed to adequately act on the complaints of bullying made by the plaintiff.

Even though bullying may have occurred years ago, if you suffered harm or continue to suffer harm, you do have options and may find you have recourse to finally get justice.

Bullying has the potential to create devastating long-term psychological problems for victims. It is therefore critical that if your child is the victim of bullying you act to ensure that his or her school takes quick action to protect him or her from it.

We can help you understand and enforce your rights if you or your child has been a victim of bullying. Contact Lawpoint today to discuss your matter.

Kids Help Line in Australia provides telephone counselling for the victims of bullying and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week (ph: 1800 551 800).

16
Oct

The ten steps to buying property in NSW – new ebook.

Posted by Lawpointwebadmini / Property

The property slump went almost as soon as it came. Whilst it may be a good time to consider buying property in NSW, it certainly is not a process to rush. Lawpoint’s new 10 steps to buying property in NSW is essential reading for first home buyers or property novices. It breaks down the steps required to make a smart purchase and protect what is likely to be your largest investment. We made this home buyer’s checklist NSW specific as some steps may differ in other States.

Buying is a big step, but not the only one.

There are four steps that come before you buy a property and five that follow  and of course appointing a lawyer is one of them. Step two, to be precise. If you don’t already have one, finding a lawyer that is right for you can take time. For many people, the first property purchase is also the first time they’ve ever needed a lawyer, so it’s important to take the time to find best one for you.

What are the steps to buying a property in NSW?

  1. Get loan pre-approval from a bank and remember it’s no guarantee
  2. Appoint a lawyer
  3. Due diligence (This is where lawyers play a crucial role)
  4. Pest/building and strata reports
  5. Negotiate price and terms
  6. Cooling off period
  7. Stamp duty
  8. The stage between exchange and settlement
  9. Preparing for settlement
  10. Settlement

When step ten goes well, it’s certainly cause for celebration. Not only are you now a property owner, you’re also officially in a long-term relationship with your partner, the bank!

Download 10 steps to buying property now for the full guide.

buying property ebook
16
Oct

Family law and domestic violence: the facts.

Posted by Lawpointwebadmini / Family, Family Law

The Australian Government’s announcement of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to conduct a wide-ranging inquiry into the family law system has caused much controversy. Senator Hanson, co-chair of the inquiry, has already made the news over comments implying women who report domestic violence (also known as family violence) in the context of family law cases are often lying.

The enquiry and controversy doesn’t help those in the midst of separating from a partner while dealing with domestic violence.

If you’re wondering how allegations of domestic violence are treated by courts dealing with family law disputes, keep reading.

 

What are the effects of domestic violence on parenting orders?

When making parenting orders, the best interests of children is always the overarching consideration for the court.

The courts take domestic violence very seriously and where an allegation of violence is made or there is an existing domestic violence order, the court is guided in its approach by the following principles:

  • domestic violence affects everyone in a family, including children;
  • the courts are particularly concerned with the immediate and possible long term adverse impacts on a child’s physical and mental wellbeing; and
  • even if children do not directly witness the violence, they can still be aware of it and be impacted by it.

In the process of making parenting orders, the court seeks to build a complete picture of the family taking into account things like the child’s views, the parent’s relationship with the child, the extent to which he or she helped to maintain the child, the capacity of the parent to provide for the child and the parent’s attitude to parenting.

However, in cases of domestic violence or the risk of being exposed to violence, the need to protect children from harm is given greater weight. If the court finds there has been family violence, it will make orders to protect the children. This may mean the court delays making final orders and instead orders an investigation or a report into the allegations but in the meantime, the court will try to make an interim order that protects the children.

If the court believes that children are at risk of domestic violence when in one parent’s care, the court may order that parent spend time with the children only when supervised by another person. This person can be a relative or can be a designated person from a contact service, which is a designated place where children can be dropped off and picked up for the purposes of spending supervised care with a parent.

Sometimes, the court will appoint an independent children’s lawyer who can investigate and make a recommendation to the court about the children’s best interests.

 

Is there anything else the court can do?

Courts recognise that family violence can continue to occur after separation and it may affect the ability of people to make choices about their family law matter and to take part in court events.

Generally, if you’re involved in a dispute about parenting arrangements, you’ll be required to try to resolve the matter by family dispute resolution. However, if family violence is present you may be exempt from attending family dispute resolution services before applying to a court for parenting orders.

If you hold a genuine fear about attending a court appointment at the same time or in the same room as your former partner, the court also can make provisions to assist you, such as allowing you to use available safe rooms and provision can sometimes be made for separate entry and exit points.

Section 67ZBB of the Family Law Act requires the Court to take ‘prompt action’ in cases where a person applies for parenting orders and files a Notice of Child Abuse, Family Violence, or Risk of Family Violence.

 

What are the effects of domestic violence on financial orders?

There can be financial consequences where there is significant evidence of domestic violence. In the case of Kennon v Kennon, the wife asked for a property adjustment in her favour on the basis that she had allegedly endured violence at the hands of her husband.

The court decided that it could take this course if:

  • The wife could establish this alleged violence did in fact occur;
  • She could show it had a “discernible impact” on her; and
  • Her contributions to the relationship had been significantly more arduous because of the domestic violence.

 

What happens if someone makes false allegation of domestic violence?

When asked about the basis of her statements about women making false allegations of violence, Senator Hanson pointed to anecdotal evidence. While the extent of the problem is difficult to gauge, there have been cases that involve a person taking advantage of the domestic violence protections for their own gain. In the case of Kapicic & Bakal, the mother gave evidence about her child showing disturbing and sexualised behaviour on return from the father’s house.

In this case, the court found the mother’s allegations to be without merit and made with malicious intent. The judge granted the father sole parental responsibility.

The court also has the discretion to award costs against a party in family law under the general provision about costs in Section 117 of the Act and in those provisions could be used to order a parent who makes false allegations to pay the other parent’s legal costs.

False allegations of domestic violence are always going to be a controversial subject.  There is no doubt that false allegations are sometimes made. However, it’s a sad reality that the majority of allegations of domestic violence are indeed based on fact.  The courts already have a wide range of powers to make orders dealing with claims of domestic violence, whether valid or invalid.

Would you like to speak to one of our experienced and understanding family lawyers about your situation? Contact us now.

If you’re experiencing domestic violence and need help, call 000 in an emergency or Lifeline (13 11 14) or Australia’s National Counselling service (1800RESPECT).

 

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation. This post provides a general overview and should not to be relied upon as legal advice or as a substitute for legal advice or as giving rise to a solicitor / client relationship. If you want advice specific to your circumstances, please contact us to arrange an appointment

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RECENT POSTS

  • Schoolyard bullying: your legal options. October 16, 2019
  • The ten steps to buying property in NSW – new ebook. October 16, 2019
  • Family law and domestic violence: the facts. October 16, 2019

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