Innovative Products Survey Report

This report presents the results of the 2011 Australian road and bridge product innovation survey, the largest survey of its kind ever undertaken. The survey sample was defined as key organisations involved in the Australian road and bridge construction industry. The survey focused on four sectors across the road and bridge product supply chain: suppliers (comprising manufacturers and distributors), consultants (primarily engineering consultant firms), contractors (comprising head and trade contractors and subcontractors) and clients (state government road agencies). The sample comprised the four sectors in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Higher education for capacity development or revenue maximisation? Lessons from transnational higher education programs at two Indonesian universities

HE has been changing rapidly due to globalisation that has increased the interconnectedness between nations and people throughout the world (Mok, 2012). As HE has manifested into different forms and governed by competing rationales in recent years, this paper focuses on transnational HE, which is an example of the interconnectedness of universities beyond the national borders. Indonesia is also influenced by the above changes. It took part in free-trade agreements that include HE as a sector to be liberated and accessed by international providers (Nizam, 2006). Indonesian universities found themselves bracing for the global competition for students and simultaneously having to improve their quality in order to survive amidst the growing competition. This competition gave birth to joint transnational HE programs with overseas partners among many Indonesian universities (Macaranas, 2010).

Wrong way go back! Rediscovering the path for charity law reform

Problems with charity law jurisprudence persist. The difficulties arose in the 20th century and are fundamental to the way the doctrine is presently theorised. They grew out of the approach taken in Pemsel’s Case to the categorisation of the ‘spirit and intendment’ of the Preamble to the Statute of Charitable Uses. Recent statutory reforms, such as the Charities Act 2006 (Eng&W), have compounded the underlying problems rather than resolving them. This paper aims to stimulate thinking about a new foundation for charity jurisprudence – while the approach may seem radical, the paper argues that these new foundations can be discerned underlying the current jurisprudence. The difficulties can be overcome by rediscovering the underlying jurisprudence which is disregarded in the current approach to categorisation. Giving voice, in contemporary language, to that foundational jurisprudence, this paper provides a way out of the current problems. It also provides an alternative way of conceptualising the doctrine of charitable purpose to guide reform.

Rail incident investigator training: Is there support for a standardised Australasian training framework?

Background: Historically rail organisations have been operating in silos and devising their own training agendas. However with the harmonisation of the Australian workplace health and safety legislation and the appointment of a national rail safety regulator in 2013, rail incident investigator experts are exploring the possibility of developing a unified approach to investigator training. Objectives: The Australian CRC for Rail Innovation commissioned a training needs analysis to identify if common training needs existed between organisations and to assess support for the development of a national competency framework for rail incident investigations. Method: Fifty-two industry experts were consulted to explore the possibility of the development of a standardised training framework. These experts were sourced from within 19 Australasian organisations, comprising Rail Operators and Regulators in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and New Zealand. Results: Although some competency requirements appear to be organisation specific, the vast majority of reported training requirements were generic across the Australasian rail operators and regulators. Industry experts consistently reported strong support for the development of a national training framework. Significance: The identification of both generic training requirements across organisations and strong support for standardised training indicates that the rail industry is receptive to the development of a structured training framework. The development of an Australasian learning framework could: increase efficiency in course development and reduce costs; establish recognised career pathways; and facilitate consistency with regards to investigator training.

Consumer guarantees and the supply of educational services by higher education providers

The higher education sector is undergoing a number of significant changes, the implications of which have yet to emerge. One such change is the increasing reliance by higher education providers on the revenue generated by full fee paying international students to fund their operating expenses. The report by the Victorian Ombudsman, Investigation into how Universities Deal with International Students ('Victorian Ombudsman's Report') tabled in the Victorian Parliament on 27 October 2011, provides evidence that Australian higher education providers may be failing to meet their legal obligations to international students. The Victorian Ombudsman's Report is the result of an investigation into four Victorian universities teaching international students with a focus on accounting and nursing schools. The report contains evidence that the universities were admitting students with scores below, or at the lower end of, the International English Language Testing System ('IELTS') score considered acceptable. Alternatively, they were relying upon their own language testing admission standards and not on an independent test like the IELTS test. While the universities provided English language support services for their international students after they had been admitted, the Ombudsman was concerned that the universities 'have not dedicated sufficient resources to meet the level of need amongst international students'.

Retirement villages : time for a change?

In retirement, many Australians relocate to a less onerous form of home occupation. Some downsize their house, or move to a strata title complex. Others, attracted by lifestyle perceptions, move into a retirement village. However, research shows Retirement Village documentation is complex and more analogous to commercial leasing than home ownership. The most recent government review by New South Wales, confirms the need for change. This paper identifies the current retirement village tenure models generally available in Australia. By comparing the various State/Territory systems the authors draw conclusions regarding the adoption of standardised documentation and uniform Australian Retirement Village legislation.

Assignment of lease between lessees as joint tenants-is lessor’s consent required?

The decision of Lockrey v Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales [2012] NSWSC 654 raises an interesting issue about the necessity of seeking the consent of the lessor where there is an assignment of a lease between joint tenants who already hold the lease when one joint tenant sells the business operated on the leased premises to the other joint tenant. A secondary issue raised by the proceedings concerns whether the lessor’s consent was unreasonably withheld under the processes under Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW) (“the Act”) upon the grounds of lack of provision of information as to the remaining lessee’s financial standing.

Termites did not undermine sale

The New South Wales Court of Appeal decision of Wood v Balfour [2011] NSWCA 382 presents an interesting factual matrix relating to the obligation of a seller to disclose significant latent defects in quality of title to a buyer, in this instance, severe termite damage. It offers insights into the difficulty of a buyer proving the existence of the element of deceit in the making of a representation with respect to quality and reinforces the importance of the rule caveat emptor as being an article of faith for every buyer of real estate.