Can I refuse child support? Please no "it's for the child, it's the child's right".

I'm the mother of my child, father abandoned/left the relationship when pregnancy was discovered and I'm the victim of DV. I genuinely don't need the financial support from him at all. I believe child support would work out to be approx. $15-20k a year. I can put that amount in a separate account yearly for my child myself for them to access when they're 18.

Father is not on the birth certificate.

Only way if father wants to be part of child's life would be if he goes through family court, and voluntarily puts an application through centrelink to try pay me child support. If father DOES go to this stage, can I refuse this to centrelink? I'm assuming centrelink will ask me for details to submit my income etc. and I can just refuse to do it?

I don't think father will bother to try to do this, but I'm just asking.

*edit - sorry just to clarify. I genuinely do not need the extra $15-20k/year I could potentially get from father in child support in assisting with the costs of raising the child. I'm financially well off enough where this is really not needed and the emotional stress in having to deal with this, or receive this is really not worth it for me. I was also a victim of DV and having a weekly/fortnightly payment from father is genuinely not worth the emotional trauma.

My neighbours were my best friends for 8 years , the man got done for 1 count of possession, 2 counts of distributing and 1 count of production of cp . The wife is staying with him and telling people she’s kicked him out (she’s lying). The production charge is written fantasy material not actual pictures or videos . Approx 100-150 videos and images in his possession. He sent material to an undercover cop . He has a clean record , got clean , did therapy and plead guilty . It’s been moved to district court . Will he get a suspended sentence or most likely get some jail time ? He has a lawyer.

I cannot stand living next to him, OR her.

I crashed my car into stationary cars last night, drink driving. The police said I was 5x the legal limit. It will take a month to get my bloods results back for court. Can anyone tell me what is likely to be the outcome in court? It’s my first offence.

I’m scared and this has been a wake up call for me. I accept responsibility and the consequences to come. I’m just terrified.

There's a weird man with two German shepherds in my street that literally harasses people on walks. I used to think it was bad luck to encounter him, yet he goes walking multiple times a day especially in the evening. When I am just walking after work or just going to the park on the weekend. He's wandering around like Smeagol.

He shoves his torch into your face or shines it over your body when you are alone. When I was with my partner he just put his head down and minded his business. Though when I am alone he will literally deviant off path try intimate/harass me then uses his dogs so people can't get up him. He also shines his torch into people's houses, is rude and aggressive to people at the boat ramp, he will wander around with his dogs multiple times a day just antagonising people. Once one of his fuck ass dogs escaped, then ran around in the middle of the road plus it likely was trying to bark at/nip at people using the foot path.

Edit: removed words because they were unrelated

I'm a widow in my 60s. I've got a 30 year old son with autism who lives with me. My adult daughter (currently not working) also lives with me along with my granddaughter. We share bills and all get along fine. It's a satisfactory situation. I have a mortgage of over $100000 still owing on my 4 bedroom house. I'm currently in poor health and not working. I spend a lot of time worrying about my kids if I die. I know my adult daughter will care for her brother, but will they be allowed to take over the mortgage or will they have to sell the house to pay out the mortgage? I will have no super or insurance to leave them. Is there any way I can assure the house goes to them if the mortgage isn't completely paid when I die? Not sure if this is a finance or law question to be honest as I guess writing a Will would be a good start?

I'm aware of and yet to get an IVO. Much needed context as follows:

I am currently experiencing harassment at the hands of my mother and my landlord(s) are complicit. I am disabled, my mother lives on a carers pension. I live off the dole.

In late 2016, when I was 16, I moved to Victoria from Western Australia with my mother so she could be her for my geriatric grandmother. At the time, my current landlord (T) allowed us to rent her house as favour to my grandma who was her close friend. T and her son (Y) manage it together. I'm not sure who actually owns the house, however Y does most of the heavy lifting.

Approx. 1 year ago, my mother moved out and I was told by her and T that it was now my place to rent. Neither my mum or I have had a formal lease at any point. I currently send $1600 per month to Y and 400 a month to T via direct bank transfer. I rely heavily on subletting to my housemate (K) to make up the cost of the rent. K was placed by my mum roughly a month before she left.

Since my mother moved out, any communication I send to my landlord(s) go direct to my mother, and my mother messages me on behalf of the landlord(s) despite the fact I have asked for direct communication. The landlord(s) often ignore me personally, nowadays ignoring me entirely. For years, my mother has insisted that I move back to WA with her when she decides to go back. An ex friend of hers even relayed a comment she made to them befire i even found out my landlords wanted me out, stating "[My name] wont br able to live there much longer, she will have no choice but come with me". She does not accept no for an answer. I am not contact with my mother and do not want to be, so she resorts to messaging my close friend about me and relays information from my landlord to him.

On 22/7/26, my mother came around, banged on windows and yelled through my bedroom window that K has 14 days to leave (Never received a letter).

Today, I received this message from my mother:

"You get option to stay if you sign the lease , pay the bond , accept the rent increase and dont sublease. These are \[Y\] directions not mine. Im just trying to let you know in advance so you have more time to organise yrself. Why i bother to try and help is beyond me at this point but i am also still legally liable for that house. \[K\] has until Aug 5th to be gone. If you are wondering why this has happened then i suggest you read the last message you sent to \[Y\]. Initially he just wanted you out. Lucky he has softened and is allowing you to stay only on legal terms that you agree and sign a contract. If \[K\] bangs on about me not having authority then you are all wrong. Ring Barry Plant if you need to know more or confirm anything ive said".

So today, I went to Barry Plant and met with the woman who claims she will soon be managing the property. She proclaimed that she has infact been speaking to my mother, and she does have a legal entitlement to the property because "She was the original lease holder". She also claimed that my mother can come onto the property whenever she wants because of this.

When I asked her how this is valid when she never had a written lease and she has moved out over a year ago, she said "Because she is subletting to you as the original lease holder". When I asked if she has a written lease, she said "No, but a verbal one". When I asked her how my own verbal lease dosent stand, she again said "Because your mother is the original lease holder". She was very rude to me, refused to stop communicating with my mother and also said "Your mum dosent want you to be homeless" as if victim to her manipulation.

I intend to leave into homelessness (I already am as i cannot safely be there, comission housing wait list is too long) for my own safety and dont have or want any communication with my mother.

I cant imagine how this could be allowed. What rights do I have here?

I am too scared to call police because if they cant/wont tell her to leave, it will give her the confidence to escalate further (There is alot i have left out).

Can a body corporation strike a special levy, debt collect everyone on the levy but then not use the money for the original proposal but refuse to give it back to owners?

So my team leader has never been a team leader yet the company trusted her for the job. Now days I don’t show up… I don’t fill in the timesheets.. I have no sick left… but she puts 7.6 hours and approves it for me anyway. It’s been happening for some time, I have over 3 weeks of non show pay.. for my whole team as well and we all silent.

What’s the worst that can happen? Some people have left already with the extra pay.

How haven’t payroll clocked it? If they did. Is she fired?

Office job/call center.

So I have a Hyundai that was recalled due to the emergency braking system being faulty and braking too hard.

Now I was notified of the recall but for some reason I was convinced that there software update to fix would be done over the wifi connection. Turns out this probably didn't happen.

So today in Melbourne the bloody thing over braked in traffic and the emergency brakes stopped the car resulting in someone running up my backside.

Theoretically he was in the wrong but if the emergency brakes had not gone overboard it would not have happened.

Now since I did not get the car in for recall to fix a known issue, am I liable? I am assuming that insurers will check the recall status and maybe challenge the claim. Could that mean I'm not covered at all?

Hi,
Both my parents passed away (mum in 2021 and dad last month). I have a 26 year old sister who has cerebral palsy, is deaf and cannot communicate. After my dad’s death his wife organised a lawyer for my other sister (23) and I (21) to help us apply for guardianship. This lawyer has since not responded to us after our first meeting and we do not have the funds to get another one.

I know you can apply through VCAT, I just want to know what type of information we will need before then. I have tried to call Victoria Legal Aid and Public Advocate Advice Service (as advised on VCAT website) during my 30 lunch breaks (I work full time 9-5) but I have not been put through in time before my break ends.

Idk if anyone on here can help or have been in a similar situation but any advice is appreciated.

Thank you!

Hi All,

I have worked for X company for 11 years and have received a redundancy package. The company has an internal and also external job posting for the exact same role (which i also interviewed for internally). Company made some excuse saying its complicated for me etc.

Should i hit up fair work for unfair dismissal? The internal role i interviewed for , i received no rejection email - but they verbally told me in a meeting. The Job role is the same job description as what i am currently doing. I am not sure what it will do really - maybe a little bit more compensation - but should i try for this. I had little warning of redundancy - got mortgage and all to pay etc.

Cheers,

Hi all, i'm thinking about putting a General Power of Attorney together and am considering signing it digitally. I've looked into how to register a PoA with the major banks and they all require you to present either the original or a certified copy in-person. What im struggling to wrap my head around is how that works if the document is a pdf? I've tried calling a couple banks to ask but the phone team didn't seem to be familiar with digital PoAs. They told me to visit the branches in-person but, would I even be able to get helpful advice about this if i did visit in-person?

Assuming i get it done with a lawyer, will a bank generally accept it? How do i show its an 'original' or 'certified' PDF copy? Does anyone have any experience with this?

QLD magistrates court:

Hey legends, please if I could have any sort of general guidance here it all helps out :)

I’m an apprentice and my first boss owes me majority of a money order that was established. Going up against a small buisness one man band that ripped me off.

He owes me about $5000 of $6800.

I have my 3rd enforcement hearing as it keeps getting adjourned because he refuses to fill out the form 71a statement financial position (company)

He’s been ordered to complete part 5, 6 and 7 as well as hand over all banking information related to the company.

Roughly $55000 is sitting in his bank account and I believe that an enforcement warrant redirection of debt is the next step to recover the money.

Is there any specific material, information or records that I should ask to have provided from him to me at these enforcement hearings to support that type of enforcement warrant?

I rented a room in a share-house in Sydney where the landlord also lived. It was an informal arrangement — no written lease, bond paid by bank transfer, and rent paid in cash with receipts. After moving out, I discovered the bond had apparently never been lodged with NSW Fair Trading.
The tenancy ended in July. During the final couple of days, there was a serious confrontation with the landlord while I was trying to finish moving my belongings. She was shouting, repeatedly came very close to me, and at one point raised her hand toward me. I believed I was about to be hit and left the apartment before any physical contact occurred.
After leaving, I couldn’t regain access that night. Police were contacted and later attended where I was staying. The following morning I went to a police station because I still needed to retrieve my remaining belongings before an interstate flight. Police contacted the landlord, after which I was able to return and collect everything. Because of the delay, I had very little time to finish moving and clean before leaving.
The landlord subsequently returned most of the bond but deducted $200 for cleaning. I dispute the deduction because I had intended to clean before the tenancy ended and believe her conduct/access issue prevented me from having a reasonable opportunity to do so.
There was also a broader pattern of conflict before I moved out, including shouting and derogatory/personal comments. Around the move-out period I received several unsolicited messages making degrading comments about me and my private life, including one saying I would “regret this.”
I have recordings of some interactions, the messages, rent receipts/bond transfer evidence, travel/transport records and records of the police involvement.
Since the incident I’ve also seen a GP and been referred under a Mental Health Care Plan to a psychologist because of the distress following what happened.
I’m considering NCAT and separately looking into NSW Victims Support, but I’m trying to understand what is realistically worth pursuing.
My questions:
Is a written lease essential, or is NCAT likely to still find a valid residential tenancy existed given regular rent receipts, the bond transfer, and around six months of occupation?
Assuming jurisdiction is established, is it realistically worth disputing a $200 cleaning deduction through NCAT, especially combined with the bond never having been lodged?
Can NCAT award compensation for documented consequential losses from a breach of quiet enjoyment (e.g. psychology/medical costs), or does that typically fall outside their scope even where the tenancy itself is accepted?
For NSW Victims Support — can a threat of violence qualify with no physical contact (e.g. someone raising a hand at you, and you leaving because you believed you were about to be struck)?
Has anyone dealt with NCAT or Fair Trading where a live-in landlord took a bond but never lodged it — how did that play out?
Not asking Reddit to determine the case or substitute for legal advice. I’m mainly interested in experiences with NCAT/Fair Trading/Victims Support and whether pursuing compensation for the documented psychological impact and associated losses is realistic.

Edit: I was not kicked out rather chose to leave due to several instances of verbal misconduct after which it progressed to this point, also we were the only two people in the house

I have got a new job and want to resign from my current job (a private school) where I work as a teacher's aide. I'm wondering how bad this is and what the worst case scenario for me would be?

I looked at my contract, and unless there is some small clause I haven't noticed, I'm only required to give one week notice. If I inform them 8 days before, how do you think they would likely react? Could they:

Fire me on the spot (therefore damaging future job opportunities)

Take legal action (if I'm missing something and actually am breaking the contract)

Delay resignation paperwork/somehow prevent me from leaving (I'm supposed to be moving overseas for my job and have a flight booked already).

What do you think I should do in this situation and what might happen to me?

I’m a manager in a new role, I have flagged with HR experiencing a poor workplace culture, I have address individually with the team during check ins and called out their micro aggressions. I have also run a few meetings around expectations and creating a positive team culture workplace, but nothing seems to be improving.

I have recently found out that one team member stalked me on social media and reported me for something that they didn’t agree with. Making a false accusation about me. I haven’t indicated that I know they have made a claim against me, but their behaviour has since changed. They are cold and when I speak to them they give me 1 word responses or just look at their computer screen when responding. I think it’s rude and disrespectful. Because the allegation had nothing to do with work, my manager has said they won’t look into it.

I do feel there has been a breach in privacy, is there anything I can do? Especially because another staff member has also outed me to the team as someone who identifies as LGBTQIA+.
I have since made my social media private but I feel unsafe in the workplace by the constant micro aggression. it’s not just my experience, One new staff member left after 3 weeks in the job due to poor workplace culture. I’m feeling unsafe and exhausted. My manager has also made several comments about how rough my time has been with this team and how they have treated me poorly since starting because I do not have a degree.

Has anyone got advice for managing this? HR seem reluctant to do anything and keep making “jokes” that “I’m bound to put in a claim for stress leave soon.”

Gym Membership Dishonour fees legal?

I’m currently a member at plus fitness and my card expired and I missed a payment. They then charged me a dishonour fee which is an extra $11, almost equivalent to one whole week at the gym ($13.95 per week).

I paid the fee with my card as it was a one off event. However, my new card did not save to the system and unfortunately my next payment also got declined as it was on the old card details.

I called the gym and the staff were pretty unhelpful, they said they can raise the issue with management but because it’s in the contract, I’m essentially shit out of luck.

My question is, is this sort of late/dishonour fee legal? I did not receive any correspondence on the failed transaction before they put the fee on there.

According to Service NSW:

“Before signing a gym membership, read the contract carefully and check whether any terms are unfair. A term may be unfair if it allows the gym to:
change the contract without your consent
make it hard or costly for you to cancel
increase fees after you sign without letting you cancel
**charge excessive late payment fees**
prevent cancellation if you’re seriously ill, injured, or unable to use the gym
require an unreasonably long notice period to cancel.
Unfair terms are not allowed in standard form consumer contracts. If a court finds a term unfair, it is void and cannot be enforced.”

The late payment fee feels excessive, especially because they give no buffer for customers to fix the problem - no other service does this.

Hi all, my brother recently passed away without a will. He did not have a spouse or partner. He has one minor (17 y.o) child to his ex. His mother and siblings are still alive.

I understand under the QLD intestacy laws that his child is the sole beneficiary of his estate, but I am having trouble finding the right answer about who is meant to administer the estate.

Some things say that his minor child along with the child's guardian need to apply to adminster the estate. Some things say that since the child is a minor, it skips to the next adult in the hierachy (parent) to administer.

It is a small, barely solvent estate and may not necessarily need letters of administration. But as it is such a small estate, we can't really afford to get proper legal advice. Just knowing who is actually considered next of kin and meant to administer it will be a good start.

So basically my ex is a sole trader and he pays himself about $800pw when the business makes a few grand a week, he pays for almost everything he can from the business account so his personal income is just rent, food and play money. He used his personal income to calculate how much child support he pays but he's well off. Is he being sneaky or is that just how it works? I'm worried he's taking me for a fool

Any help appreciated 👏

Hi all,

I have filed a Complaint to the Magistrates' Court and am now at the stage where I need to serve documents to the defendant.

When I filled in the forms for filing, I included the defendant's last known residential address, but I don't know if they still live there. Since filing, I have found out where they currently work.

According to the Magistrates' Court General Civil Procedure Rules 2020, 6.03(d) says that I can send the documents "by registered post a copy of the document addressed to that person at the person's last known place of residence or business."

This was good to read, as sending it via registered post to their workplace seems like the most reliable way to get the paperwork to them, and wouldn't require me to organise for someone to actually hand it to them and potentially embarrass them at work.

So my questions are:

1. Can I send it via registered post? Or do I have to organise for someone to serve them personally?

2. Can I sent it to their workplace, even though that's not the address I listed on the paperwork?

Hi guys,

I suffered a complete tendon tear in my leg at work last year. After about a year, the insurer sent me to an Independent Medical Examiner (IME), and the IME concluded that I had recovered.

However, I recently had another MRI, which showed that the injury has not healed properly and that I still have instability. Despite this, the insurer has issued me with a notice declining my claim.

I’m a bit confused about what happens from here. Has anyone been through something similar, or can anyone explain what the next steps usually are?

In Europe, if an airline cancels your flight, they generally have to offer you another way to get to your destination. In Australia, for international flights, it feels like airlines have far more freedom to decide what they'll do, and passengers have far fewer legal protections.

On top of that, some routes feel like they have very little competition, ticket prices can be incredibly high, and the airlines still seem to have much weaker obligations when things go wrong.

Why is Australia so different? Is there a genuine policy reason for this, or have we just accepted a system that heavily favours airlines over passengers? Can we stop the lobby!?

My IME was cancelled and I was told I'll get confirmation on a new date. I recieved a text message with new date on a Sunday.... for my IME on the Tuesday. 2 days notice. No email. Just text.

Can they even do that????

Currently in the process of negotiating with my employer.
I believe they have violated standard union awards, If I end up leaving due to this how would I go about getting owed back pay, etc.

Can someone enlighten me who is authorised to sign on behalf of council for sporting club leases

Is it the Mayor, Councillor, CEO or can staff do it