Advance Care Directives (Review) Amendment Act 2023

By: Chris Spain and Trudi-Ann Mercurio At a glance The Advance Care Directives (Review) Amendment Act 2023 (SA) came into effect on 1 March 2024. The Act amended the Advance Care Directives Act 2013 (SA), following a review undertaken by Professor Wendy Lacey in 2019. The Act provides health practitioners with clarification as to the […]

Update to AHPRA’s Social Media Guidelines

By: Chris Spain and Catherine O’Keefe At a glance Between October 2023 and February 2024, at least 60 registered health professionals have been the subject of notifications made to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency (AHPRA) because of posts on their personal social media accounts about the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. As a direct result of […]

Australia leads the world in banning engineered stone

By: Cassandra Wills On 13 December 2023, Australia became the first country to nationally ban engineered stone, following a unanimous decision by Commonwealth, state and territory workplace ministers. The ban aims to protect the lives and safety of Australians working with the product, and is a critical development given the high numbers of stone benchtop […]

Wotton + Kearney boosts health practice with hire of Melbourne partner

Wotton + Kearney is pleased to announce the continued growth of its health law practice with the hire of partner Edward Smith. Edward joins the firm’s Melbourne office from Lander & Rogers. Edward is a health law specialist with over 10 years’ experience representing public health services and health practitioners in the full range of […]

NZ Insurance Market Trends Update 2023

We are pleased to share our latest edition of NZ Insurance Market Trends Update. Our annual report explores legal and claims trends, legislative and regulatory developments and significant recent decisions that impact insurers, underwriters, brokers and corporates operating in the New Zealand insurance market. Our report includes more than 30 articles that look at trends, […]

Recent legislative and research developments in the silicosis space

There have been two significant developments in the silicosis space this week. On Wednesday, Parliament tabled the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill 2023. If passed, the legislation will establish a national register for recording all incidents of occupational dust disease. The initiative is based on the recommendation of the National Dust Disease Taskforce and […]

W+K acquires boutique Melbourne health law practice

On 14 November 2022, Wotton + Kearney acquired Ball + Partners, a boutique health law firm based in Melbourne. Ball + Partners is recognised by Doyles as the only First Tier medical negligence and malpractice law firm in Victoria, with its partners also being the only individuals in Victoria to achieve a preeminent ranking. As […]

Roe v Wade – a lesson in complacency

On 24 June 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned the 1973 decision of Roe v Wade. The decision has been criticised widely, including by many world leaders, as it is likely to cause significant social and economic impacts, particularly for many of America’s most vulnerable women. In this update, W+K Associate Summer Walker sits […]

The legal position on gender dysphoria treatment in Australia

Recently, there has been considerable political discourse and public interest in the issue of gender affirmation surgery. In this update, W+K health law specialists Claudine Watson-Kyme and Marie-Clare Elder look at the legal position on gender dysphoria treatment in Australia and provide a brief history of the Family Court’s decisions regarding this issue. Click the […]

Recent NCAT decision reinforces need for care around billing practices

Health Care Complaints Commission v Kolos [2022] NSWCATOD 46 The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) recently heard a complaint against a medical practitioner, which involved – among other things – allegations of inappropriate and excessive billing practices in breach of specific conditions on the practitioner’s registration. This case provides a timely reminder to all […]