ByLawyers News and Updates

Defamation – TAS

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The long-awaited second stage of the uniform defamation law reform has effect in Tasmania from 16 June 2025.

These reforms have already commenced on in the ACT, NSW, and VIC. Other states are expected to follow in time.

The amendments include:

Exemption from liability in defamation as publishers for digital intermediaries

The legislation now provides an exemption from liability in defamation for digital intermediaries providing caching, conduit, or storage services, provided the intermediary did not:

  1. initiate the steps required to publish the matter;
  2. select any of the recipients of the matter;
  3. encourage the poster of the defamatory material to publish the matter;
  4. edit the content of the matter either before or after it was published; or
  5. promote the matter either before or after it was published.

This exemption applies regardless of whether the digital intermediary knew, or should have known, the digital material was defamatory.

Exemption from liability under defamation law for search engine providers

Like digital intermediaries, search engine providers are not liable for defamatory material comprising search results if the provider’s role is limited to providing an automated process for the search engine user to generate search results or hyperlinks, provided the search results or hyperlinks are not promoted or prioritised by the search engine provider receiving a payment or another benefit by or on behalf of a third party.

The provision applies regardless of whether the search engine provider knew, or  should have known, the digital material was defamatory.

Early determination of digital intermediary exemptions

The court must determine whether a defendant has a digital intermediary exemption and whether the exemption is established as soon as practicable before the trial commences unless there are good reasons to postpone the determination. In doing so, the court can make any orders it considers appropriate, including dismissing the proceedings, if satisfied the digital intermediary exemption is established.

Content of offer to make amends

The digital intermediary exemptions from liability as publishers include changes to offers to make amends. For digital content, an offer to make amends can now include an offer to prevent access to the defamatory material, instead of, or in addition to other forms of redress.

Orders for preliminary discovery in defamation cases about posters of digital matter

Defamation litigants can take advantage of pre-litigation or preliminary discovery to assist in identifying the poster of defamatory material or their physical or digital address. This assists with serving concerns notices and court proceedings.

Defence for publications involving digital intermediaries

This new defence is available if a digital intermediary has provided an accessible complaints mechanism for an aggrieved person to use and they use it to make a complaint.

The digital intermediary must have taken reasonable steps to prevent access to the defamatory material, either before the complaint was received, or within seven days of receiving it.

The complaints mechanism must be an easily accessible address, location, or other mechanism available for the plaintiff to use to complain to the defendant about the publication of the digital matter concerned.

Defence available to content moderators

The defence of digital intermediary is available to defendants who moderate content by taking steps to detect or identify and remove, block, disable, or otherwise prevent access to content that may be defamatory, or that breaches the terms or conditions of the online service.

Orders against non-party digital intermediaries

If a plaintiff secures judgement, or an injunction, against a defendant in proceedings the court may order a non-party digital intermediary to take access prevention steps, or other steps the court considers necessary to prevent or limit the continued publication or re-publication of the matter complained of.

The court can require access prevention steps to be taken in relation to all or only some of the users of an online service.

The new section does not limit the court’s other powers to grant injunctions or make other orders for access prevention.

Service of notices and other documents

The amendments expand the existing options for serving notices and documents to include messaging or other electronic communication to an electronic address or location indicated by the recipient.

Extension of the defence of absolute privilege under uniform defamation law

Concerns were raised in the Stage 2 review of the uniform defamation law about liability in defamation for someone reporting a person to the police for suspected wrongdoing, and then being sued by that person in defamation if the police dismiss the complaint for lack of evidence or absence of culpability on the part of the person reported.

These concerns were addressed by amending the absolute defence provisions of the uniform defamation law to provide that defamatory matter published to a police officer while the officer is acting in an official capacity is covered by the defence of absolute privilege.

Publication updates

The By Lawyers Defamation and Protecting Reputation publication has been updated accordingly.

Family Law Act – FED

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Changes to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) under the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 have effect from 10 June 2025.

The bulk of the amendments relate to property matters, including:

  • significant changes to s 79 of the Act by codifying the four-step process and bringing the s 75(2) considerations into s 79;
  • introducing a new s 79(5) concerning material wastage of assets by one party and the treatment of liabilities;
  • new principles for conducting proceedings;
  • adding the pre-action disclosure obligations in the FCFCOA’s rules into the Family Law Act;
  • requiring greater consideration of the impacts of family violence on property division, including introducing a new 79(4)(ca) relating to the effect of family violence on a party’s ability to make contributions to the marriage, and adding examples under the definition of family violence of economic or financial abuse;
  • a new s 79AA making property orders enforceable against the estate of a deceased party;
  • a new definition of companion animals and the ability for the court to make orders about ownership of them, including transfer to a third party;
  • extension of the Less Adversarial Trial process to property cases in certain circumstances;
  • expanding the court’s power to order arbitration.

Amendments that are not specific to property cases include:

  • repealing ss 44(1B) and 44(1C) to remove the limitation on divorce orders within 2 years of marriage;
  • the requirement for an appearance at a divorce hearing by a sole applicant where there are children under 18 years;
  • updating the costs provisions in the Act by introducing a new Part XIVC and repealing ss 117, 117AA, 117AC, 117C(2);
  • more comprehensive regulation of children’s contact services;
  • introducing a new Division 1B in Part XI, being a scheme to protect sensitive information held by professional service providers.

The By Lawyers Property Settlement and 101 Family Law Answers publications have been updated accordingly.

Some changes under the amending Act commenced on 11 December 2024. They related to Commonwealth Information Orders in children proceedings, and separation declarations relevant to financial agreements. The Children and Financial Agreements commentaries have already been updated for those changes.

In the course of these updates, all the By Lawyers Family Law publications have been thoroughly reviewed and enhanced. Subscribers will notice new and revised commentary, re-ordering of content in the commentaries and on the matter plans, new and amended precedents, new cases, and updated links to legislation and other useful resources. As always, we welcome feedback from our users about these publication updates to: askus@bylawyers.com.au

Commercial law AI prompts – All States

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The following new commercial law AI prompts have been added to the Companies, Trusts, Partnerships and Joint Ventures guides:

  • By Lawyers AI Prompt – Letter to client with advice on shareholders agreement;
  • By Lawyers AI Prompt – Letter to client with advice on discretionary trust deed;
  • By Lawyers AI Prompt – Letter to client with advice on unit trust deed;
  • By Lawyers AI Prompt – Letter to client with advice on partnership agreement;
  • By Lawyers AI Prompt – Letter to client with advice on joint venture agreement.

These new commercial law AI prompts will assist practitioners advising clients on complex documentation for the various types of entities.

AI prompts are transforming legal document drafting. Technical precision in prompting artificial intelligence can significantly improve the utility and credibility of its output, especially when the AI draws exclusively from data contained in client matters and not from outside sources.

A well-drafted AI prompt acts like a clear direction from a senior lawyer to a junior about how to prepare a document. It sets precise parameters for the task, identifies the required information and where it must be drawn from, specifies the document’s form and any legal or procedural rules with which it must comply, and forbids the use of external or unauthorised sources, including invention – or in AI’s case, hallucination.

The outcome of using an AI prompt in a matter that contains sufficient reliable data is a competent first draft of a document that the lawyer can then refine and perfect, either with or without further input from AI.

Even if sufficient data is not available in the matter to satisfy the prompt’s requirements for the document, the AI will identify the missing data the lawyer needs to obtain via instructions or other means.

By Lawyers is pleased to introduce AI prompts to our publications, helping our subscribers harness the power of LEAP’s Matter AI.

Costs agreements – All states

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Enhancement of By Lawyers costs agreements

All By Lawyers costs agreements have been reviewed, consolidated, and reformatted to ensure they are in strict compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements in each state and territory, and to improve presentation and readability.

A good cost agreement precedent provides transparency, reduces disputes with clients over fees, and ensures that firms get paid. It is important these documents are correct, however, the increasing complexity of cost disclosure requirements makes this difficult. By Lawyers precedents provide firms with accurate and effective costs agreements for all matter types in all jurisdictions.

Summary of key changes

  • A key enhancement is the inclusion of a Terms and Conditions section, which consolidates general information that applies across all matters.
  • All related information has been grouped together to assist with readability and comprehension.
  • A Next steps section has been added, outlining the steps required to be taken by the client to move the engagement forward.
  • The automation in relation to fees, disbursements, and internal expenses has been improved for LEAP users.
  • The scopes of work, now available under each cost agreement on the matter plans, have been enhanced. For LEAP users, scopes of work can be added to a costs agreement via the Insert Clause feature. See Inserting a Clause on the LEAP Community page. Alternatively, all users can simply cut and paste the scope into the precedent.

New categories of costs agreements

The By Lawyers costs agreements have been simplified into 4 categories in most states and territories:

  1. Costs agreement: suitable for most matters.
  2. Costs agreement – Estate administration: specific to applications for probate and letters of administration and administering the estate.
  3. Conditional costs agreement: suitable for litigation such as personal injury claims where the firm agrees to act on a no win no fee basis.
  4. Conditional costs agreement – Uplift fee: suitable for litigation in jurisdictions where the relevant legislation permits an uplift to be applied to the total costs for a successful outcome.

The new costs agreements and scopes of work have been added, as appropriate, to folder A. Getting the matter underway on all matter plans.

Franchising Code – FED

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A new Franchising Code of Conduct operates from 1 April 2025.

The new code is set out in Chapter 2 of the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes-Franchising) Regulation 2024. Sections have been significantly reordered and renumbered from the previous code in Schedule 1 to the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes-Franchising) Regulation 2014. The new code of conduct generally applies to all franchise agreements entered into, renewed, extended or transferred on or after 1 April 2025. However, some changes apply from later dates under transitional provisions relating to franchise agreements and disclosure requirements.

Amendments

Key changes to franchise agreements and disclosure requirements under the new code include:

Franchise agreements

  • Removal of the requirement for franchisors to create, maintain, or provide a Key Facts Sheet for prospective franchisees. This applies from 1 April 2025.
  • Restrictions on restraint of trade clauses where a franchise agreement contains an option for the franchisee to renew or extend the agreement and the franchisor does not do so. This applies to agreements entered into, transferred, renewed, or extended on or after 1 April 2025.
  • Franchisees must be compensated for early termination in certain circumstances. Agreements are required to specify how compensation is determined. This applies to agreements entered into, transferred, renewed, or extended on or after 1 November 2025.
  • Franchisees must have a reasonable opportunity to make a return on any investment required by the franchisor as part of entering into the agreement. This applies to agreements entered into, transferred, renewed, or extended on or after 1 November 2025.
  • Franchisors may, on certain expanded grounds, terminate a franchise agreement with 7 days’ notice. This applies to agreements entered into, transferred, renewed, or extended on or after 1 April 2025.
  • Franchisees can opt out of both disclosure and the 14-day cooling-off period if a new agreement with the same franchisor is substantially similar to their current agreement. This applies from 1 April 2025.
  • Marketing and cooperative funds are now combined as a specific purpose fund to which franchisees contribute and which must be used for a specified purpose related to the business’s operation. This applies from 1 November 2025. Franchisors are to operate existing marketing and cooperative funds in compliance with the old code until this time.
  • The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman now has the ability to name and shame franchisors who refuse to engage in or who withdraw from alternative dispute resolution processes. This applies from 1 April 2025.

Disclosure requirements

From 1 November 2025, all disclosure documents must include certain information set out in Schedule 1 of the Regulation.

Additional information to be provided in the new disclosure document includes:

  • telephone number and email address of former franchisees;
  • whether a franchisee could face competition from businesses not associated with the franchisor; and
  • details about whether the franchisee is required to undertake significant capital expenditure during the term of the franchise agreement.

Any materially significant facts that arise between the preparation of a disclosure document and when it is provided to a potential franchisee must also be disclosed.

A franchisor need not include the new requirements for specific purpose funds and significant capital expenditure in its disclosure document until 1 November 2025, but may choose to do so.

From 1 April 2025, the franchisor’s Franchise Disclosure Register profile must also include:

  • any convictions for a serious offence;
  • any relevant judgment in civil proceedings;
  • any relevant bankruptcy or insolvency; and
  • whether its franchise agreement provides for arbitration of disputes.

Publication updates

The By Lawyers precedents Franchise Agreement and Model Disclosure Document for Franchisee or Prospective Franchisee precedents, available on the Sale of Business and Purchase of Business matter plans for each state, and the commentary on Franchises, have all been updated accordingly.

Family Law regulations – FED

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The following changes to various regulations under the Family Law Act apply from 1 April 2025:

The new provisions are substantially the same as the old ones, but they are renumbered and have minor drafting changes to modernise them and support the operation of the Family Law Act after some recent amendments.

Regulation 53 of the 2024 Regulations now contains the prescribed Information Sharing Agencies for the purpose of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia being able to issue Information Sharing Orders.

The superannuation regulations support Parts VIIIB and VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975 by prescribing:

  • the methods and factors for valuing superannuation interests;
  • the way in which superannuation payment flags and splits are put into effect; and
  • the information that trustees must provide to parties to property proceedings, and to couples negotiating a superannuation agreement.

The Family Dispute Resolution Practitioners Regulations provide for the accreditation, certification, and administration of such practitioners.

By Lawyers Divorce, Children, Financial Agreements and Property Settlement guides have been updated to reflect the new regulations as required.

The following FCFCOA forms have changed to update references to the regulations:

  • Consent order kit;
  • Application for consent orders;
  • Superannuation information kit;
  • s 60I Certificate of Dispute Resolution;
  • Application in arbitration;
  • Form 1 (previously Form 1A) – Request for service abroad of judicial documents and certificate;
  • Form 2 – (previously Form 2A) – Summary of the documents to be served;
  • Form 6 – Application for arbitration;
  • Form 7 – Application relating to relevant property or financial arbitration;
  • Form 8 – Application to register arbitration award;
  • Form 9 – Application to register decree affecting registered arbitration award;
  • Response to an application in an arbitration;
  • Subpoena in arbitration.

The new version of the s 60I certificate must be used after 1 April 2025 but certificates in the old form issued within 12 months will still be accepted.

Foreign purchasers – FED

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Ban on foreign purchasers buying established dwellings

Between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2027, foreign purchasers are precluded from buying an established residential dwelling in Australia, unless an exemption applies. This includes persons with temporary visas and foreign-owned companies.

A foreign person is defined in s 4 of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975. See Guidance Note 2 Key Concepts published by The Treasury for further information. A foreign person can include individuals, corporations, trusts, and other entities.

The ban does not apply to newly constructed or off-the-plan properties. However existing restrictions for foreign purchasers continue to apply.

The ban applies to individuals holding temporary visas, who were previously allowed to purchase existing dwellings if they studied or worked in Australia and were approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). Such applications to the FIRB will no longer be approved.

Where a foreign purchaser has a Foreign Investment Review Board approval or exemption certificate issued before 1 April 2025, they can rely on it.

Exemptions

Exemptions to the ban mean that purchases are permitted:

  • by permanent residents;
  • by New Zealand citizens;
  • by spouses, as joint tenants, if one of them is an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or New Zealand citizen;
  • for investments that significantly increase housing supply or support the availability of housing supply; and
  • for properties intended for accommodation under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

Issues to consider

Legal representatives need to be satisfied that foreign purchasers are aware of the consequences of contracting to buy an established dwelling if an exemption does not apply. The ATO will enforce the ban through enhanced screening of foreign investment proposals for residential properties, and penalties apply to breaches. The Government will fund the ATO from 2025-26 financial year to enforce the ban.

Publication updates

By Lawyers Conveyancing publications in all states have been updated, including the commentaries in the Purchase of Real Property guides and 1001 Conveyancing Answers. They include in-depth information on determining who is a foreign person and whether exemptions from the ban apply.

AI prompts – ALL states

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AI prompts are transforming legal document drafting. Technical precision in prompting artificial intelligence can significantly improve the utility and credibility of its output, especially when the AI draws exclusively from data contained in client matters and not from outside sources.

A well-drafted AI prompt acts like a clear direction from a senior lawyer to a junior about how to prepare a document. It sets precise parameters for the task, identifies the required information and where it must be drawn from, specifies the document’s form and any legal or procedural rules with which it must comply, and forbids the use of external or unauthorised sources, including invention – or in AI’s case, hallucination.

The outcome of using an AI prompt in a matter that contains sufficient reliable data should be a competent first draft of a document that the lawyer can then refine and perfect, either with or without further input from AI.

Even if sufficient data is not available in the matter to satisfy the prompt’s requirements for the document, the AI will identify the missing data the lawyer needs to obtain via instructions or other means.

By Lawyers is pleased to introduce AI prompts to our publications, helping our subscribers harness the power of LEAP’s Matter AI.

Initially, prompts for letters, affidavits, statutory declarations, and briefs to counsel are being added to the following guides:

  • Sale and Purchase of Real Estate – All states;
  • Mortgages – NSW;
  • Family Provision Claims – QLD;
  • Family Provision Claims – VIC;
  • Probate and Letters of Administration – VIC;
  • Family Law – Divorce, Children, and Property Settlement – FED;
  • Personal Injury – VIC; and
  • Transport Accident Commission Claims – VIC.

By Lawyers will continue adding AI prompts to our publications as part of our regular and ongoing commitment to enhancing our content and helping our subscribers enjoy practice more.

Like all By Lawyers precedents, AI prompts will be updated as required for any changes in the law and practice.

We welcome feedback and suggestions from our subscribers about AI prompts.

Electronic conveyancing – TAS

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Electronic conveyancing has arrived in Tasmania, but is not currently mandatory.

The conveyancing process in Tasmania is transitioning away from paper-based conveyancing and the physical lodgment of registry instruments in favour of an electronic process.

Transfers and change of ownership transactions can now be completed electronically, along with mortgages, refinances, and discharges of mortgage.

A certificate of title is still required to be lodged with registry instruments and documents, for both paper and electronic lodgements.

Tasmanian Revenue Online (TRO) platform has been upgraded for payment of duty in electronic conveyancing. Online duty payments are available only to TRO Agents registered with PEXA. See the TRO’s website for more information.

Paper-based transfers of land are still available. The duty and post settlement process remains unchanged for paper-based transfers.

The matter plans, commentary, and precedents in the following By Lawyers conveyancing guides have been updated to cover the electronic conveyancing process:

Sale of Real Property (TAS); and

Purchase of Real Property (TAS).

Franchises – FED

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The Franchises commentary in the Purchase and Sale of Business publications in each state has been reviewed and enhanced.

This work is a precursor to the significant remaking of the Franchising Code of Conduct, which will commence on 1 April 2025.

The amendments to the Code, under the Competition and Consumer (Industry Code-Franchising) Regulations 2024, introduce new obligations, stricter rules around restraint of trade, and strengthened protections for franchisees.

The amendments arise out of the Independent Review of the Franchising Code of Conduct Final Report delivered to the Commonwealth Government in December 2023. The Government response to that report has been to…

…take a staged approach, which seeks to implement quicker changes in the short-term whilst undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the legal and regulatory changes to improve fairness and reduce regulatory burden in the longer term. This includes working with the sector to develop best-practice guidance, and simplifying disclosure requirements so that it’s easier for both franchisees and franchisors to understand their roles and obligations. Other measures to improve access to justice include increasing the number of breaches of the Code that attract penalties and publicly naming franchisors that fail to participate meaningfully in alternative dispute resolution.

The key amendments under the 2024 regulations include:

  • a new obligation on franchisors to provide the franchisee with a reasonable opportunity to make a return on investment;
  • changes to termination rights, including compensation to the franchisee for early termination;
  • new franchisee rights to compensation for non-renewal of a franchise agreement;
  • new franchisee rights to opt out of cooling-off and disclosure provisions in some circumstances;
  • consolidation of the franchisor’s pre-contract and annual disclosure obligations;
  • a restriction preventing a franchisor from executing a franchise agreement until the 14-day pre-contract disclosure period has passed; and
  • increased penalties and regulatory investigation powers.

Further statutory amendments are under consideration, including the feasibility of introducing a licensing regime to better regulate most aspects of the franchisee-franchisor relationship.

The enhanced Franchises commentary is found in the If required – Franchises folder on the matter plans for Purchase and Sale of Business in each state, together with relevant franchising precedents.

When the regulatory amendments commence on 1 April, the commentary will be further amended, and the precedents updated as required.

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