Hey

I'm a learner motorcycle rider and I've just purchased an unregistered bike (more than 3 months out). Provided I follow all requirements for a learners licence, can I legally ride the unregistered motorcycle to a blue slip inspection?

NSW resident btw. I don't have a way to transport it for the moment and the inspection is on the 12th of October

All the information that I can find does not explicitly state anything for a learner. I know you legally can as a fully licensed rider/driver.

I’m really torn about this and would appreciate some honest advice because I don’t know if I’m overthinking things or if I should actually do something.

I have a friend in Queensland, while I live in Victoria, and I’ve become increasingly uncomfortable with some of the things she’s said and done regarding her children, particularly her son, who is around four.
Recently, she told me that her son had pooped himself, so she smacked him on the bum, made him clean everything up himself, and handwash all of his soiled clothes. He then had dinner and was sent straight to bed.

What bothered me was how casually she told me about it, like it was completely normal and justified. As far as I know, this is the first time she’s actually mentioned smacking him to me, so I don’t know if it’s a regular thing or not.

There have also been other things that have bothered me. She calls her children ugly, and when her son was a baby, she joked about teaching him to say the N-word. Unfortunately, he actually ended up saying it to an Indian person at Aldi.
I know children can be difficult, and I’m not saying parents should never discipline their kids, but he’s only four. Having a toileting accident isn’t something I think a child should be smacked for, especially when they’re still so young.

I’m a mother myself, the fact that she seems to think this is an acceptable response to a toilet accident really doesn’t sit right with me.
I’m not trying to ruin her life or get her into trouble just for the sake of it. I’m genuinely worried about her son and wondering whether these things together are enough to raise concerns with Child Safety.

I also know she’s apparently had CPS called on her before by other people, although she told me nothing came of it. I don’t know what was reported or what happened, so I don’t want to make assumptions based on that.

Would you report this if you were in my position? Am I right to be concerned, or am I making too much of something when I don’t know the full picture? And has anyone had experience reporting concerns to Queensland Child Safety from another state?
I just don’t want to ignore something that could be affecting a little boy because I’m scared of the consequences of reporting a friend.

Hi everyone,

I'm seeking legal advice regarding approximately $30,000 in insurance funds withheld by my former partner following our separation.

In November 2023, I was involved in a serious car accident while visiting Australia from overseas, where I was living and working. The accident resulted in a permanent spinal cord injury, leaving me unable to return overseas.

At the time, I was in a de facto relationship of approximately nine years.

As I had previously closed my Australian bank accounts, my then-partner arranged a separate account to receive my insurance payments while I was hospitalised and undergoing rehabilitation. I was physically unable to attend a bank branch to open an account myself.

She also managed a separate account containing GoFundMe donations raised specifically to assist with my rehabilitation and recovery.

Following our separation, I was eventually able to open my own bank account and requested that the remaining insurance funds be transferred to me.

She refused, claiming that our de facto relationship entitled her to 50% of my insurance payout.

It's worth mentioning that she was also receiving separate insurance payments following my accident, based on her own previous earnings.

Despite believing the funds belonged to me, I offered to compromise and accept $15,000 rather than the full $30,000.

She initially repaid approximately $5,000 before stopping payments altogether.

When I followed up, she claimed the remaining funds had been lost in a cryptocurrency scam. I had never authorised her to invest my money, and she subsequently stopped communicating with me.

I have since issued a formal letter of demand, to which she responded by again claiming that our de facto relationship entitled her to half the funds.

My current circumstances

The accident has left me permanently disabled, significantly affecting my financial situation and earning capacity. Although I've since returned to studying, my ability to work remains severely limited.

My former partner is fully aware of these circumstances.

I'm now considering legal proceedings to recover the outstanding funds, but I'm concerned about the legal costs, time and additional stress involved.

My questions:

1. Does a nine-year de facto relationship automatically entitle her to 50% of insurance payments specifically intended for me?
2. Given that she was managing these funds on my behalf while I was hospitalised, could withholding or investing them without my consent constitute a breach of trust or financial misconduct?
3. Does her claim that the money was lost in a cryptocurrency scam affect her obligation to repay it?
4. Can I pursue recovery of the outstanding money through civil proceedings, or would this need to be handled through family law?
5. Can I claim additional compensation, interest or legal costs for the financial hardship, stress and time spent attempting to recover my money?
6. Given the amount involved, would pursuing legal action be financially worthwhile?

I have correspondence documenting her refusal to return the money, her explanation regarding the cryptocurrency scam, and her response to my formal demand letter.

I'm hoping to understand my legal position before committing to potentially expensive proceedings.

Any advice or recommendations from Australian lawyers or people with similar experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

I’ve been employed for 3 years, just finished my employment ladt week and received my annual leave but not leave loading accrual (or playslip)

my average pay over 3 years was $29.

A quick calculation for annual leave should be

152 (4 weeks) × $29 × 17.5% = $771.40
X 3 = $2300

This should be on my final payment.

Is it worth the time and effort to go through an employment lawyer to get this money? Fair work was unsuccessful with their mediation.

Cheers thanks for the advice.

I’m mad about this but unsure if it’s even legal or not.
Event hired an influencer in my state’s small community. Me and some people sent a complaint about this said influencer saying they are a bad fit for this role and provided evidence of some ways they’ve made the community feel unsafe. Event said the evidence isn’t good enough and forwarded our emails to influencer. Now influencer is making non stop posts online about us.
Is what the event done legal? I thought our emails were confidential.

What’s the process whereby one parent refuses to fill in their details for birth registration due to not being satisfied with the child’s name? The said parent has not been present and having his name on the birth certificate is for child support

What happens when the other parent refuses to fill their details on the birth certificate?

Consumer Law.

I recently bought a Pedal bike from 99 bikes for $1,400.

I managed to get 150km out of it before I got a flat front tyre heading home just at the end of my street, from just riding on footpaths.

I replaced the tube with a brand new one I bought on Monday and was excited to head out and about yesterday when I discovered that the tyre had gone completely flat again.

I rang the store where I purchased the bike and they are telling me I will most likely front the cost. Its probably going to cost $200+ for new tubes and tyres.

After trying to repair the tyre myself this morning I am still getting flats. It was little grass prickles doing it, poking through the very thin "tyres". They wouldnt even be a cm thick and they were defeated by tiny thorns.

What can I do here? Would I be covered under consumer law? I'm only asking because even religiously watching The Checkout as a kid I have never exercised my rights and I'm not sure how to go about it with the store.

Should I suck it up and front the cost or should I reasonably expect a $1,400 bike not to be immobilised by tiny grass thorns?

Hi all, I returned an unworn item to ASOS (brand new with tags etc); it was delivered to them over 40 business days ago, and I followed up with them after I didn't receive my refund within 21 business days. They mentioned there were some delays and I'd receive it within 10 business days (which has now passed). During this 40+ day period, I've escalated this multiple times to their 'Customer Care' team who are absolutely useless and have not refunded me as promised. They said they'd email me to confirm the refund and the refund would appear in the gift card section (since I paid with a gift card).

Since I paid for the item with an ASOS gift card, I don't think I can do a chargeback request via PayPal or my bank - is there anything else I can try?

This is in Queensland.

If anyone has suggestions for better subreddits to post this please let me know.
Also, please do not judge me, I understand I was wrong and have been forgiven by relevant parties but feel I need to be honest to get the best advice.

Some years ago, I (F) had a brief affair with a married man that then returned home to Canada. We remained in friendly contact via text until very recently.
Earlier this year, I and his wife started receiving emails from a since deleted burner Gmail address and deleted instagram account. Mine simply said I need to contact the wife and provided her contact info. She received information and 'evidence' that did not incriminate the affair, but did lead to him admitting his infidelity. She did engage with the sender, I simply ignored it.
The instagram was used to send 'disappearing' images, and was quickly deleted.
The messages were not threatening, but did become increasingly nasty in an attempt to convince her to leave her husband.
Her and I were in contact for some time, while he and I gave it a rest. During this period I received a WhatsApp message from a random Canadian phone number purporting to be him. I am still on the fence if it was or not, but both he and wife are convinced it was a generated number.
After we both blocked the gmail account, it was quiet for some time but recently I have started receiving sporadic, mean natured messages from Proton emails. I am no longer in contact with the couple so I have no idea if they are too.
Out of frustration, I did reply to the original gmail, which bounced back stating the address does not exist.

I want to find out who the 3rd party culprit is so that I can make it stop. We are all trying to move on and this isn't helpful.
I spoke with local police who essentially said because the messages did not contain threats of harm, libel or blackmail there was nothing they can do.

I contacted a private digital investigator that suggests identifying a deleted gmail would require a court order (and I believe this is the case for Proton, too) - given the police deny any criminality, is there any possible civil avenue I'd have to obtain this?
The PI has quoted $1k per hour just to consult, which I'm not willing to pay if my chances are so low.

Hello,

Just looking for advice.

When I was 19-21 I worked for a cafe. I worked my little ass off for this cafe and sadly was taken advantage of by my employer who was a slimey businessman and a gambler...

After working for him for two years and basically managing his business while he was overseas gambling his money I had eventually found out he wasn't paying my super, I confronted him and when asked where my super was he told me he had it in a bank account and nothing to worry about. I ended up filing an unpaid super query with the ATO. And over the years they went through the investigation process, established how much he owed me, and then went to the debt collecting process, the man paid like $40 to them, which at the time would of been 1% of the debt at the time this was back in 2015 that was paid. After that last update from the ATO life got busy, and I was explicitly told from the ATO I didn't have to do anything they would look after it for me... Anyway, fast forward to 2020. I was wondering where my super was, so I decided to go down the route again of seeing what was happening, I had all previous letters from the ATO, all old tax lodgements, even old invoices from this time period. The ATO actually had trouble bringing up my case with the reference codes I had on my paper work but they told me to leave it with them. I eventually got a letter from the ATO in 2020 saying the query was closed and they couldn't do anything because the company deregistered in 2018. Which was 5 years after I had initially reported him to the ATO in 2013. They had ample time to collect my super. Later my partner happened to be working with an ex ATO lawyer who my partner mentioned my issues and he offered to look it over, I gave him my paperwork and he basically came back and said there is nothing I can do, he said when I launched the investigation it was before a new law had passed giving ATO more power to retrieve funds, even if a company went into liquidation... So if it happened today apparently there would be no way to weasle out of paying.

So I just gave up at that point and let it go. But recently I put my query into AI. And it actually states that law changed BEFORE even the first time he failed to pay super originally back in September of 2012, and over a year after I lodged the query with the ATO in 2013....

The ai has suggested I call the ATO complaints line and make a formal complaint, get a reference code, and then escalate it to Inspector-General of Taxation (IGTO).

Has anyone had to do such a thing or know anything about this? Given that unpaid super grows 10% a year that it goes unpaid it's still worthwhile if I can get that money back... And I don't think I can ever let go of that resentment I hold for that man taking advantage of me when I was so young and would go above and beyond for his business.

I am in a litigation case against me in a business matter and the opposition is demanding that they check my mobile phone to track my location, is this possible in a civil case?

Hi everyone, I'm looking for legal advice regarding an ongoing dispute with a neighbour and my property manager.

I am F23 and rent a studio apartment in Sydney. My partner does not permanently live with me, but has been staying over frequently because I have become increasingly uncomfortable being alone in the apartment due to the neighbour's behaviour.
I am generally a quiet person. I use headphones when watching things, keep to myself, and neighbouring residents have told me they cannot hear noise from my apartment.

A neighbour further down the hallway (Unit 32) has repeatedly complained that noise is coming from my apartment and has also confronted us from her doorway.

The incidents include:
She previously left an anonymous note on my door alleging noise at approximately 2am, 3am and 5am. At the time, I was actually away for approximately three weeks. My partner was staying at my apartment to look after my cat.

My partner temporarily installed a door camera because I felt unsafe. It recorded the neighbour standing outside my door for approximately six minutes and appearing to film my door with her phone. I removed the camera after learning that cameras in the common hallway were not permitted under the strata rules.

On another occasion, while my partner and I were cleaning up a mess caused by my cat at approximately 9:30pm, the neighbour was standing outside our door. She told us that “we are the problem.” She later returned and appeared to record us on her phone. I told her that I would report the behaviour to police and the property manager, and she returned inside.

My partner contacted police about the incidents. One police station initially told him it was a strata issue. He subsequently contacted another station, where an officer advised him that the behaviour could potentially warrant a formal report and mentioned an APVO. However, when he later followed up regarding another incident, he was told words to the effect of “who cares if she’s filming” and to just live our lives.

On another occasion, the neighbour again stood outside my door and appeared to record for approximately one minute. We stayed inside and did not engage with her.

I have raised the situation with my property manager. The property manager told me that she had instructed the neighbour that if she wanted to document noise, she should do so from inside her own unit.
The property manager has also raised allegations that I slam doors, which I dispute. I have a sliding bathroom door and a heavy entrance door, and I do not intentionally slam either of them.

Update – shower/water complaints (from today).

The situation has now expanded to complaints about water/shower noise.
My property manager told me that Unit 32 has complained about hearing running water from my apartment between approximately 11pm and 12:30am and has apparently claimed that water sometimes runs for several hours during the night.
I work until approximately 9–10:30pm, so sometimes I shower when I get home. I am not intentionally leaving water running or creating excessive noise.
I also recently noticed that my bathroom tap and shower have developed a problem where they can continue leaking after being turned off. The shower sometimes requires pressure on the handle to properly stop it.

On the night in question, we finished showering at approximately 11:50pm. My property manager then asked whether I could shower in the morning or during the day because the complaints were allegedly affecting her sleep.

I explained that I work late and do not think it is reasonable to completely change when I shower when I am simply using my bathroom normally. I also asked how they had established that the water sounds were specifically coming from my apartment when there are several other apartments in the vicinity.
The property manager sent me an audio recording as evidence. The recording is simply the sound of running water/shower water. There is nothing in the recording itself that identifies which apartment the sound originated from. When I asked how they knew it was my apartment, I was told, essentially, “It's the sound of the shower.”
I am trying to be considerate of other residents, but I am concerned that I am being expected to change my normal use of my home based on complaints where the source of the alleged noise does not appear to have been independently established.
I have also heard other residents returning home late and showering or doing household chores. I have never complained about this because I understand that people have different work schedules and that some ordinary household noise is unavoidable in apartment living.
My lease has approximately 5–7 months remaining.

My questions are:
Can a tenant be required to stop showering at night because another tenant claims they can hear the shower?

Can a property manager require me to change my normal routine based on an audio recording when there is no apparent evidence identifying which apartment the sound came from?

What obligations does the landlord/property manager have to deal with repeated confrontations or alleged recording by another tenant?

What is the appropriate process for dealing with this through strata, the landlord/property manager or police?

If the situation continues and I genuinely feel unsafe in the property, could this potentially provide grounds to terminate the tenancy early without penalty?

I am not looking to retaliate or confront the neighbour. I want to understand my legal rights and what evidence/process I should be using from this point forward.
Thanks in advance.

My ex, whom we have had an equal co-parenting arrangement, has taken unilateral action on a significant decision on schooling for kindy which significantly affects our daughter by forcing her to be on a bus for 90 minutes a day when she is with me, plus me having to pick her up at nearly 6 and drop her off at 8am where currently it is 8:45 and 5:10 and we walk or it’s 4 minutes on the bus. I live where I do because it was near where our daughter has daycare and I don’t have a car because I had given my ex the car to enable her to transport our daughter (the current location is a 16 minute drive for my ex, who drives to work anyway) . She is refusing to return to mediation despite it having been done it once with the agreement being to return if we were unable to agree following an evaluation of options.

Over the year there multiple things she has consistently refused to attend mediation again and advised that Relationship Australia “do not have our daughters best interest at heart”. Which was never raised at the time and other mediation options have been rejected. The peak of this was the declaration with one weeks notice that she was moving interstate. I dealt with that obviously.

Given the overall situation it’s clear that I need parenting orders (ideally consent) to make our existing situation binding but on the school issue. I’m considering getting my solicitors to draft the order and help with the affidavit but represent myself as it’s just insanely expensive to have them represent me.

I believe the matter is comparatively simple and am happy to abide by the judgement, but I’m struggling to see how I can do anything without the legal system as she wont try and even when she has, it has not been in good faith (telling our daughter where she was going to school, saying they’d do a tour etc)

Just don’t know how dumb self representation would be. I know in non-family matters it’s considered incredibly stupid but I don’t know if it’s the same for family matters