news update mar 13 issue 52 in this issue Snap Shots of ... · Snap Shots of the Importance of Registration By Darren Sekac Continued on page 7. 2 | Macrossan & Amiet – Leading

in this issuepage 1 Snap Shots of the

Importance ofRegistration

page 2 A Man for All Seasons

page 3 Residential Tenancies

page 4 Building andConstruction IndustriesPayment Act – The Recent Mistakes,Challenges and theImplications to You

page 5 Building andConstruction IndustriesPayment Act – The Recent Mistakes,Challenges and theImplications to Youcontinued from page 4

Exclusion Clauses – Areyou really safe?

page 6 Prosecution reliance onprevious convictions:Case study ConstableSJ Miers v Blewett[2013] QCA 23

page 7 Prosecution reliance onprevious convictions:Case study ConstableSJ Miers v Blewett[2013] QCA 23continued from page 6

Snap Shots of theImportance ofRegistrationcontinued from page 1

page 8 Profile - Lenin Volney

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Local people. Local expertise. Industry leaders.

Liability limited by a scheme approvedunder professional standards legislation

Personal Property SecuritiesRegister (PPSR)On 30 January 2012 the PPSRwas established as a single,national online register wherelenders and businesses registertheir security interests overpersonal property.

Personal property is any form ofproperty other than land orbuildings and fixtures. It caninclude tangibles such cars,boats, machinery and crops; aswell as intangibles such as shares,intellectual property and contractrights.

A security interest is created whena secured party (e.g. a lender)takes an interest in personalproperty of a grantor (e.g. aborrower), as security for a loan orother obligation.

The PPSR changes the concept ofownership and will eventuallyprovide a definitive list of allsecurity interests in personalproperty of an individual orcorporation.

Retention of Title Retention of Title (ROT) is aprovision commonly found in asupply agreement, contract forsale of goods or lease of goodswhich states that the title to thegoods remain with the seller orsupplier until such time as theseller or supplier receivespayment for the goods (or the

buyer fulfils certain otherobligations).

The main purpose of ROT clausesare to ensure that where goodsare supplied on credit, if the buyersubsequently goes into liquidationor bankruptcy, the seller canrepossess the goods.

With the introduction of the PPSRa ROT clause means nothingunless you take the time toregister your interest.

Here are a few snap shots whichhighlight the practical importanceof PPSR registration:

Premium FreshIn August 2012 Tasmanianvegetable company PremiumFresh went into voluntaryadministration.

An agreement between PremiumFresh and its creditors in lateSeptember specifies that PremiumFresh will continue to trade but

news update mar 13 > issue 52

Darren Sekac

Snap Shots of theImportance of RegistrationBy Darren Sekac

Continued on page 7

2 | Macrossan & Amiet – Leading the Way


news

On Tuesday 29th January 2013Gene Paterson and I had a veryenjoyable duty to perform inrepresenting Macrossan & Amietat Paul Stasuik’s admission as aSolicitor in the Supreme Court atRockhampton. Paul worked atMacrossan & Amiet for four (4)years, and his employment endedin December 2012 when Paul andhis family moved to BurleighHeads on the Gold Coast.

Paul has had a very interestinglife. He was born in Canada andspent his childhood and postschool years working in the familypublishing business in Ottawa. Hecame to Australia to develop adistribution network for his familybusiness. After a year or two hedecided to make Australia hishome, and his involvement withthe family business ceased. Overthe years Paul had a number ofdifferent career paths and workedas professional diver, and as aGaming Officer/Supervisor at

Cairns Casino, worked in the ITindustry and worked as a studentteacher.

Paul used his spare time to study.He completed part of a degree inLeisure Studies; completed adegree course and obtained aBachelor of Computer Sciencefrom the James Cook University in2004. Paul completed a Bachelorof Education degree at QUT inBrisbane in 2010 and hecompleted his Bachelor of Lawsdegree course at QUT in 2011.

Paul is an all-round sportsman. Asa youth he played many sportsincluding basketball, baseball andgridiron all to a level which meanthe could have considered a life asa professional sportsman.

During the course of theadmission ceremony Paul’s careerand achievements were read outfor the benefit of His HonourJustice McMeekin. In addition tohis academicachievements Mr Crow, SeniorCounsel ofRockhampton,advised that Paulhad also found thetime to obtain asingle figure golfhandicap. JusticeMcMeekin, uponhearing all of Paul’sachievements in hislife to date turned toPaul and posed thehumorous andrhetorical question,“Are you sure thatyou really want to beadmitted as aLawyer?”

Paul married aQueensland girl,Sarah and they now

have two (2) boys who areattending primary school. Paulachieved well during hisemployment at Macrossan &Amiet and made many friendsamongst staff at this office. Hisfarewell by all office staff wastestament to his friendliness andto the regard held of him by all staff.

Paul says that he has hopes ofone day making his way back toNorth Queensland, and, inparticular to this firm in Mackay.He would be welcomed back. Inthe meantime we all wish Paulgood luck in his new career (which he says will be his lastcareer change!)

A Man for All SeasonsBy Vince Campbell

Vince Campbell

From the Left: Graeme Crow S.C, Vince Campbell, Paul Stasuik, Gene Paterson

Paul with Justice McMeekin after theadmission ceremony


Proudly supporting the local community.

news

I recently became a tenant myself.It was a challenge to find a suitableplace with weekly rent that wasaffordable. With the prices of rentin the Mackay and Whitsundayregions as they are, it isunderstandable that disputes mayarise between tenants andlandlords regarding payments andother obligations. It is thereforeessential for both tenants andlandlords to know their respectiverights and obligations. In Queensland, most people whorent their home are covered by theResidential Tenancies and RoomingAccommodation Act 2008 (“theAct”). The Act sets out your rightsand responsibilities for bothtenants and landlords.At the start of a tenancy, thelandlord must give the tenant:• A written tenancy agreement(this is optional for shortmoveable dwelling agreements).

• A copy of the ResidentialTenancies Authority (“RTA”)information booklet that appliesto the tenancy (not required inrooming accommodation).

• A receipt if you pay a bond andlodge your bond money with theRTA within ten (10) days.

• A prepared Entry ConditionReport to comment on, sign andreturn. You must use this formto record the conditions of thepremises when you move in.Keep a copy for your records.This form is important evidenceif you have a bond dispute atthe end of the tenancy.

• A copy of any by-laws thatapply to the tenancy (i.e. thisapplies if the property issituated in a Body Corporate).

During a tenancy agreement thetenant must:• Pay the rent according to theagreement. If rent remainsunpaid for seven days, thelandlord can give the tenant anotice requiring the breach tobe remedied. If the tenant does

not remedy the breach then thelandlord can give them notice tovacate the premises.

• Keep the premises clean (havingregard to their condition at thestart of the tenancy).

• Repair any damage that thetenant or the tenant’s visitorscause.

• Not cause a nuisance toneighbours or disturb othertenants or residents.

• Be responsible for the behaviourof visitors.

• Get written permission to installfixtures or make changes to thepremises.

• Get written permission to sub-let to another tenant

During the tenancy agreement thelandlord must:• Ensure the premises are cleanand in good repair when thetenant moves in.

• Ensure the premises arereasonably secure.

• Ensure the premises are fit tolive in and kept in good repair.

• If there is a common area,ensure it is kept clean.

• Follow the rules of entry andrespect the privacy of thetenant. Unless it is anemergency, in order to enter thetenant’s place the landlord mustgive the tenant at least 24 hoursnotice depending on thepurpose of the inspection. Thelandlord must give written noticeon an Entry Notice form.

You can use the followingprocesses to help resolve anytenancy dispute that may arise:1. Negotiate: if you have a tenancyproblem, notify the other partyas you may be able to resolvethe problem by talking to them.

2. Notice to Remedy Breach: if thetenant or landlord has breachedthe terms of the agreement, youcan give them a Notice toRemedy Breach. This form asks

them to fix the problem orremedy the breach by the duedate on the notice.

3. Apply to the RTA DisputeResolution Service: you can usea Dispute Resolution Request toapply to the RTA for conciliationto resolve a dispute.

4. Apply to the Tribunal: theQueensland Civil andAdministrative Tribunal (“QCAT”)has the power to hear tenancymatters and can make a rangeof orders to resolve tenancydisputes. If the matter is urgent,you may make an applicationdirectly to QCAT. If the matter isnon-urgent, you must first applyto the RTA.

5. Ending the Tenancy: if thedispute cannot be resolved, thetenant may want to end thetenancy and move out. In thatcase the tenant will have to givewritten notice of their intentionto move out.

6. Report Offences to the RTA:failure to comply with someparts of the Act is an offence.Offence provisions includefailure to lodge bond moneywith the RTA, unlawful entry andunlawful seizure and disposal oftenant goods. You can reportoffences to the RTAInvestigations Unit who caninvestigate offences and aperson who commits an offencecan be fined.

If you have any questions regardinga tenancy dispute, the RTA is veryhelpful in providing basic over thephone advice and assistinglandlords and tenants in dealingwith disputes. You can also visittheir website, www.rta.qld.gov.au,for more information.

Residential TenanciesBy Kirstie Pegoraro

Kirstie Pegoraro



news

Two recent decisions in relation tothe same matter handed down bythe superior Courts of Queenslandhave once again highlighted thedifficulties faced by claimants andrespondents in relation to theBuilding and ConstructionIndustries Payments Act 2004 (Qld)(The Act).

For those who are unfamiliar, theAct aims to ensure that partiescarrying out work in the buildingand construction industry inQueensland who are entitled toreceive progress payments, areable to claim and recover thoseprogress payments from partiesthey have supplied goods or servicesto under a construction contract.

The legislation provides forexpedient adjudication of paymentclaims to avoid the cripplingfinancial implications of lack ofsecurity of payment, restricted cashflow and in the extreme instances,bankruptcy and insolvency of thoseparties in the industry.

The recent decisions in theQueensland Court of Appeal andthe Supreme Court of Queenslandinvolving miner Thiess Pty Ltd(Thiess) and a local earthmovingcompany Warren BrothersEarthmoving Pty Ltd (Warren)clearly outline the difficulties facedon both sides of the coin in relationto these matters.

The issue before the Court ofAppeal was whether certain worksundertaken by Warren amounted toConstruction Work under the Act.

The Act at Section 10 sets out insome detail the meaning ofconstruction work. Subsection 3of Section 10 of the Act excludescertain works from the meaning ofconstruction work such as:

a) drilling for or extraction of oiland natural gas; and,

b) the extraction, whether byunderground or surface working,of minerals, including tunnellingor boring or constructingunderground works for thatpurpose.

Part of the difficulty in this instancewas that the three subcontractsbetween Thiess and Warren werefor various works relating to thepreparation and expansion of theBurton and Lake Vermont CoalMines. Warren issued paymentclaims in respect of each of theContacts with Thiess. Thiess thentook issue with the claims whichwere subsequently determined byan adjudicator in favour of Warrenwho found that the Act wasapplicable to such claims and theworks that Warren’s claims relatedto. Thiess then applied to theSupreme Court for an order thatthe payment claims andadjudicators decision fell outsidethe ambit of the Act. Unfortunatelyfor Thiess, this application wasdismissed with the trial judge alsofinding in favour of Warren.

Thiess then applied to the Court ofAppeal in respect of the decision inthe Supreme Court. The Court ofAppeal mostly upheld the decisionof the Supreme Court. That is, theCourt held that the Act did apply tothe works performed by Warren inso far as they related to theconstruction of the various drainsand dams at both sites. Howeverthe Court did not find that otherworks such as clearing and grubbingof land, stripping and stop pilingtop soil or trimming the batters andwalls amounted to constructionwork as defined in the Act.

It is clear then that this decisiongoes some way in clarifying whatdoes and what does not fall withinthe “Mining Exclusion” under theAct and consequently strengthensthe likelihood of success for civil

contractors and sub-contractors inrespect of these types of claims.

The second facet of Thiess andWarren dispute involved theapplication to the Supreme Courtby Thiess in relation to theadjudications decision by RICSAustralasia Pty Ltd (RICS).

As previously mentioned, Warrenlodged a payment claim againstThiess of more than $500,000.00being made up of three variousitems. Thiess in response deliveredto Warren their payment schedulehighlighting that the amountWarren had calculated as beingpayable for the first item of workwas calculated incorrectly. Inresponse Warren amended theoriginal payment claim stating thatthey had incorrectly describedsome of the work that made upItem 1 and consequently reducedthe payment claim in respect ofItem 1 from $101,032.51 to$40,619.06.

Warren then applied to have thematter adjudicated and advisedRICS that it had recalculated itspayment claim amount. Thiess’sassertion was that Warren hadreally just reduced its claim inrespect of the Item 1 work.

In late February 2012, theadjudicator delivered his decisionand determined that Warren wasentitled to the progress payment inthe sum of $480,035.14 and indoing so, failed to take in toaccount the recalculation/reductionby Warren of more than$60,000.00. Both Thiess andWarren admitted that the amountdetermined by the adjudicator wasincorrect and when the Courtbrought this to the attention of theadjudicator he admitted to makinga mistake in relation to therecalculation/reduction and simply forgot to take this intoaccount when finalising theadjudication decision.

Building and Construction Industries Payment Act – The Recent Mistakes, Challenges and theImplications to You by Paul Formosa

Continued on page 5



The Supreme Court held that it hadlittle choice but to declare thewhole adjudication decision to bevoid and set aside because of thejurisdictional error. The Court heldthat the adjudicator, in failing toremind himself of submission byThiess, failed to comply with hisrequirements under the Act and assuch the error was not an errorcapable of correction. The Courtalso held that there was noprovision in the Act which providedfor the severing of any unlawfulpart of an adjudication decisionincluding any adjudication decisionwhich is in part affect by ajurisdictional error.

Unfortunately for Warren, theimplications of the decision mean

that a failure on the adjudicator’spart to take into account arecalculation/reduction of apayment claim which meant thatthe entire payment claim, whichwould have ordinarily been payableby Thiess, was invalidated.

With the current market for coaland business in the CentralHighlands tightening, theimplications of these decisionshave never been more important.Claimants must insure that theirpayment claim is accurate andthose engaging contractors orsubcontractors must ensure thattheir contractual documentsaccurately reflect the work to beperformed by the parties that theyare engaging.

If you would like any furtherinformation in relation to theBuilding and ConstructionIndustries Payments Act andpayment claims, please do nothesitate to contact one of ourexperienced members of staff.

Paul Formosa

The Supreme Court of WesternAustralia recently determined anappeal involving the transportationof a drill rig that was damagedwhen it fell from the low-loadertrailer carrying it, onto the ground.

The transport companyunsuccessfully tried to rely upon anexclusions clause beingincorporated into the oral contractbetween the parties.

The Respondent had engaged theAppellant to transport variouspieces of equipment over a numberof occasions. Each engagementstarted with a telephoneconversation which discussedmatters of price, destination, pickup and time.

At the completion of each job, theAppellant would send an invoice tothe Respondent with a reference toTERMS on the front of the invoicestating that ‘the terms andconditions set forth on the reverseside of this invoice are fullyacknowledged and understood’,and on some invoices a furtherinclusion of ‘goods are not insuredunless required in writing’.

Contained in these terms andconditions was an exclusion ofliability by the Appellant for anydamage.

It was found that the terms andconditions on the reverse side ofthe invoice weren’t incorporatedinto the carriage contract as therewas ‘no evidence to show at anytime that a contract was precededby any quotation or otherpaperwork continuing termsintended to form part of a contractthen to be formed’.

What this means for youExclusion clauses contained in aticket or unsigned documentcannot be relied upon unless whenthe contract is formed, you doeverything that was reasonablynecessary to notify the other partyof the clause.

Ways to ensure your terms areproperly included:

• At the time of contracting, orshortly after, make sure yourefer the other party to yourterms and conditions;

• Send a document to the otherparty prior to performance of

the contract and make referenceto the terms and conditions, andmore specifically, your exclusionclause;

• Send the other party your termsand conditions and highlight theexclusion clause;

• Obtain acknowledgement oracceptance from the other partyby requiring them to sign next tothe relevant clauses, or sign anacceptance document that mustbe returned prior toperformance of the contract;and

• Review your terms andconditions to make sure theyare appropriate for risks relevantto your business.

Aimee Gladman

Exclusion Clauses – Are you really safe? By Aimee Gladman

news Continued from page 4



news

A person’s criminal history canhave a significant impact on manyaspects of your daily life; fromyour ability to obtain visas totravel overseas, employmentopportunities with both privateand government agencies torestrictions for the possession ofyour firearms. Section 12 of thePenalties and Sentences Act 1992(Qld) outlines those factors that ajudicial officer is to consider inexercising their discretion whetheror not to record a conviction.

However, your criminal history alsorelevantly impacts upon themaximum penalties in relation toparticular offences. Mostcommonly these are in respect ofoffences of breaches of domesticviolence where, pursuant to theintroduction of the Domestic andFamily Violence Protection Act2012 (Qld), the maximum penaltieshave been increased.

Under that legislation, themaximum penalty for such anoffence pursuant to section 177 is2 years imprisonment. However, ifyou have been convicted of thesame offence within the last fiveyears, the maximum term ofimprisonment increases to 3 yearsimprisonment. The prosecution isrequired to serve upon you aNotice to Allege PreviousConvictions to seek to increase themaximum penalty for the offence.

The recent decision of the Courtof Appeal in Constable SJ Miers vBlewett [2013] QCA 23 can beseen as a broadening of the scopefor which the prosecution mayseek to rely on previous

convictions to increase themaximum penalties for suchoffences that have previously beensubject to a more strict approach.

The District Court decision ofWashband v Queensland PoliceService [2009] QDC 243, has oftenbeen relied upon by defendants incircumstances where theprosecution have failed to properlyallege and serve notice on adefendant that they have previousconvictions for the same offence.In that decision, His Honour JudgeDurward SC considered that aNotice to Allege PreviousConvictions “must be correct inevery particular if the Notice is tobe effective”.1 His Honour heldthat in circumstances where theNotice did not correctly describethe offence that “the Notice on itsface contains a significant error”.2

Accordingly, it was held in thatdecision that if the prosecutionhave not served and sought to relyon a valid Notice, a Magistratecannot rely on any knowledge ofprevious convictions of the sameoffences for the purpose ofimposing a greater penalty than aperson would otherwise be liable.3

In the decision of Constable SJMiers v Blewett, the Court ofAppeal granted leave to hear anappeal following an appeal fromthe District Court in relation to asentence imposed in theSouthport Magistrates Courtconsidering that “the issue is ofgeneral importance in theadministration of justice in theMagistrates Court”.4 Justice ofAppeal Fraser, with whom HolmesJA and Atkinson J agreed,

expressly overruled Washband.5

His Honour Justice Fraserconsidered circumstances whereupon the hearing of the sentencebefore the Magistrate theprosecutor sought to tender therespondent’s criminal history. Thecriminal history noted threeconvictions for summary drugoffences, street type offences, abreach of bail and relevantly twooffences for breaches of domesticviolence. The prosecutor beforethe Magistrate did not seek to relyon the respondent’s criminalhistory for the purposes ofincreasing the maximum penalty,citing that the relevant Notice hadnot been served. The prosecutoroutlined to the Magistrate that theonly reason that the criminalhistory was tendered was toincrease the penalty thatotherwise was imposed. TheMagistrate, in referring toWashband and another authorityof Faulker v Morris [2010] QDC 33,considered that the criminalhistory was not admissible andaccordingly the Magistrate inimposing sentence, did not takeinto account any of theconvictions recorded in therespondent’s criminal history.

On appeal to the District Court,the applicant argued that theMagistrate erred in law in holdingthat the whole of the respondent’scriminal history was inadmissible,stating that at its highest, only theoffences of breaches of domesticviolence which were not subject tothe relevant Notice should havebeen excluded. The learnedDistrict Court Judge accepted a

Prosecution reliance onprevious convictions: Casestudy Constable SJ Miers v Blewett [2013] QCA 23By Monique Sheppard Monique Sheppard

Continued on page 7

news



creditors will only recoup 20 centsin every dollar they are owed.

Many suppliers rushed to registertheir interests on the PPSR afterthe announcement that PremiumFresh had gone into voluntaryadministration however missedout on being considered by theadministrators as suppliers weresimply too late in having theirinterests registered on the PPSR.

The PPSR provides for individualsand businesses to record securityinterests in assets such asmachinery, crops, livestock andgrain (amongst other things) andthe effect of the PPSR is that if afarmer registers their interest it willensure they automatically becomea secured creditor if their propertyis trapped in an insolvencydispute.

It is important for farmers andsuppliers to review theiragreements, especially those

which include ROT arrangements,to ensure that they comply withthe PPSR.

WOW Sight and SoundAs most would know, Wow Sightand Sound went into receivershipafter recording losses of $17Mand $8M in 2010 and 2011respectively. WOW’s supplyarrangements were largely basedon ROT agreements; howevermany suppliers failed to registerthese arrangements, leaving themunsecured at the time of WOW’sinsolvency.

Time FramesAlthough it is important for you toregister your interest it is equallyimportant to ensure that yourregistration complies with thetimeframes as imposed by thelegislation.

The basic rules are as: • If the goods are inventory foryour customer – before yourcustomer obtains those goods

• If the goods are not inventoryfor your customer – within 15business days of yourcustomer obtaining possessionof the equipment.

Remember – registrationtrumps!Without intending to sound like abroken record we cannot stressthe importance of registering yourinterests on the PPSR enough. Itis one year since the PPSRcommenced in Australia whichmeans there is only 12 months ofthe “transition” phase to go beforeregistration on the PPSR officiallyoverrides the concept ofownership for all past and futuretransactions.

If you require further informationon the Personal PropertiesSecurity Register and how itapplies to you please contactDarren Sekac of our office.

Snap Shots of the Importance of RegistrationContinued from page 2

Prosecution reliance on previous convictions: Casestudy Constable SJ Miers v Blewett [2013] QCA 23Continued from page 6submission from the respondentthat criminal history in the formwhich was sought to be tenderedto the Magistrate was correct atlaw. Accordingly, upon otherconsiderations, the appeal wasdismissed.

His Honour Justice Fraser,however, upon granting leave toappeal, considered that the“previous convictions should havebeen taken into account by theMagistrate if and to the extent thatthey were material to thesentences to be imposed for thecurrent offences”.6 His Honournoted that section 9(2)(r) of thePenalties and Sentences Act 1992(Qld) a judicial officer is required toconsider a “relevant

circumstance” such that a priorconviction may amount to such acircumstance. Further, His Honourconsidered that it was relevant inassessing a defendant’s characterpursuant to section 11 and if therewere previous offences whichresulted in physical harm pursuantto section 9(4)(g).

The judgement reflects that thesuggestion that where there is arequirement to serve Notice to adefendant of every circumstancethat may influence the sentencingdiscretion in favour of a moresevere penalty would otherwisehave a “broad and impracticaleffect”.7 His Honour Justice Fraserconsidered that while it wascorrect for the Magistrate to

refuse to take account of the twoprevious convictions to the effectof increasing the maximumpenalty for the respondent’scurrent offence, the inadmissibilityof the two previous convictionscould not be avoided merely bythe prosecutor not seeking to relyon them to increase the maximumpenalty. 1 Washband v Queensland Police Service

[2009] QDC 243, [45].2 Washband v Queensland Police Service

[2009] QDC 243, [45].3 Washband v Queensland Police Service

[2009] QDC 243, [49].4 Constable SJ Miers v Blewett [2013]

QCA 23, [12]5 Constable SJ Miers v Blewett [2013]



QCA 23, [14]



If you have any queriesabout any of the articles inthis newsletter, please feelfree to [email protected] orphone 4944 2000 (Mackay)or 4948 4500 (Whitsundays)to speak directly with theauthor of the article.

Contact usFor further informationabout the services offeredby Macrossan & AmietSolicitors please contactyour nearest office:

MackayAmiet House 55 Gordon StreetMackay QLD 4740Ph 07 4944 2000Fax 07 4957 [email protected]

WhitsundaySuite 4Whitsunday Business Centre230 Shute Harbour RoadCannonvale QLD 4802Ph 07 4948 4500Fax 07 4948 [email protected]

Proserpine18A Chapman StreetProserpine QLD 4800Ph 07 4945 2388Fax 07 4945 [email protected]

www.macamiet.com.au

I started at Macrossan & Amiet asa Trainee Solicitor in January. Igrew up just outside of Torontoafter moving there when I was achild from St. Lucia.

I’ve been in Australia for almost sixyears after I chased the woman tobecome my wife after first meetingher in Japan in 2001. It was a twoyear trip that changed my life asI’d just finished with an Economicsdegree and wasn’t feeling like thefinance world was doing it for me.We met and bonded over theshared love of the Englishlanguage. Eventually we bothreturned home, me to Canada andher to Brisbane.

While in Canada I knew that Iwanted to get into law school andwas looking at options. I felt myprevious degree was unsuited as ajumping off point, so I went toschool in New York State to get aMaster’s Degree in Science tobecome a teacher. It was my wayof getting the skills a prospectivelawyer would need while earning aliving. I was eventuallycredentialed to teach high schoolMaths and English.

It was a few years later that my(now) wife and I reconnected. Ihesitated coming to Australiabecause I wanted to do my lawdegree in Canada but took a puntand took a flight over. Findingwork in Brisbane as a teacher wastoo difficult, I didn’t know enoughabout Australia. How was Isupposed to know that youactually get a day off to go to theEkka? And if the students tell youthat it’s ‘Pub Day’ can you reallybe sure they’re not telling thetruth? I knew that I’d have to startat the ground floor in lawregardless of the money - andbeing an international student wasexpensive.

Soon enough I found employmentwith a small Family Law firm in thesuburbs as a personal assistant /office manager. I later found workwith a Commercial mid-tier thenlater a top-tier firm, as an OutsideClerk. The job required me to roamaround the city, lodge somedocuments, chat with governmentagencies, attend the BrisbaneCourt Registries and be a problemsolver. I loved it. The opportunityto meet so many people who allhave their role in the legal industrywas invaluable. I was the firm’sresource - a concierge of sorts. If asolicitor was unsure about how orwhere to find something, it was myjob to know.

In July last year my wife told meshe’d been offered a promotionand asked what I thought ofmoving to Mackay? Needless tosay I jumped at the chance‚ thetiming was perfect. I was in mylast semester of a Bachelor ofLaws at QUT. It was my contactsin those firms that recommendedto me Macrossan & Amiet as thebest bet. I think the pace of life,the variety of work and that thisregion reminds me of theCaribbean are all reasons why Ilove being here.

I’m slowly finding my feet inMackay with things to do andcannot wait for the new sportsseason to begin. I referee soccer,cycle and play squash. I reallyenjoy the mild weather, I haven’tshovelled snow in six years! I’mexcited to be a sponge here andto learn all I can as I make Mackaymy home.

Lenin Volney

Lenin Volneyprofile

Documents

news update mar 13 issue 52 in this issue Snap Shots of ... · Snap Shots of the Importance of Registration By Darren Sekac Continued on page 7. 2 | Macrossan & Amiet – Leading