Information for the Profession
Contents:
COVID-19 State of Emergency - Key information for the profession
Australian Registrars National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC)
Client Authorisation and Verification of Identity as a Result of COVID-19 (20 March 2020 - PDF)
Corrections Victoria
Practitioners are to be advised that in the event there are difficulties in contacting a client confidentially using the new phones in the prisons; the person at the prison to speak to is the ‘duty operations manager’. For example, if a prison staff member advises that a person cannot be contacted as they are in isolation or if the guard insists on remaining in the room during a confidential conversation, practitioners are to ask to be transferred to the duty operations manager who will ensure protocols are being properly adhered to.
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions
Department of Justice and Community Safety Victoria
Fair Work Australia
Coronavirus and Australian Workplace Laws: Find out about your workplace entitlements and obligations if you’re affected by the outbreak of COVID-19, including information about stand downs from work, working arrangements impacted by school closures, and pay and sick leave entitlements.
See the latest updates and information from the Fair Work Ombudsman HERE.
Fair Work Commission
See the latest updates and information from the Fair Work Commission HERE.
JobWatch
JobWatch has developed the following resources:
Judicial College of Victoria
Coronavirus and the Courts - Latest updates and information
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a substantial impact on courts all around Australia. The Judicial College of Victoria have created this page to help courts, and court users, understand the different practices that have been put in place across the jurisdictions.
Summary: COVID-19 Omnibus (Emergency Measures) Act - Victorian Courts & Tribunals (PDF)
Law Institute of Victoria
LIV practice notes:
Practice contingency planning and LIV guidance
The Law Institute of Victoria has released updated information, templates, guidance and links to assist legal practitioners plan for and respond to the current COVID-19 crisis. See our full range of practice contingency planning resources HERE.
LIVe Chats and Webinars - COVID-19
View video recordings from the Law Institute of Victoria's regular COVID-19 practice continuity and contingency planning web chat and information webinars. COVID-19 news, legislation, and recommendations change fast, which will affect the currency of the information in some of these recordings.
Click on the down arrow in the top left of the screen below to see the full list of available videos.
Legal Practitioners Liability Committee (LPLC)
Solicitors' certificates - risky business in COVID-19 (May 2020 - PDF)
Urgent steps for moving to remote working (20 August 2020 - PDF)
Safe Work Australia
COVID-19 Information for Workplaces: Information on COVID-19 and work health and safety
Victoria Legal Aid
Changes to legal aid services, COVID-19 response
Victorian Bar
Victorian DHHS
See the latest updates and information from the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), HERE.
Information from the Victorian Government and Directions from Deputy Chief Health Officer (Communicable Disease) in accordance with emergency powers arising from declared state of emergency (Updated 1 March 2021):
State of Emergency
Industry Directives & Permitted Workplaces
Other Care and Medical Directives
COVIDSafe Planning
Victorian Small Business Commission
See the latest updates and information from the Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC) for Commercial (including retail) tenants and landlords HERE.
The Victorian Small Business Commission (VSBC) continues to support commercial tenants and landlords who are experiencing financial hardship as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Although commercial tenants are no longer entitled by law to rent relief now that the Victorian Government’s Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme (the Scheme) has ended, we are still providing free and impartial mediation to help resolve commercial rent relief disputes in response to the pandemic.
Resources:
Support for tenants and landlords in reaching rent relief agreements.
VLSB+C
See the latest updates and information from the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner (VLSB+C) HERE.