What are Actuarial Services?

Before delving into the specifics of actuarial certificates, let’s clarify what actuarial services are. In a nutshell, actuaries use mathematics, statistics, and financial theory to study uncertain future events, especially those pertaining to insurance and pensions. Actuarial services encompass this data analysis to assess risk and predict financial outcomes. This expertise is sought after in a variety of sectors, including insurance, pensions, finance, investments, and even health care.

Understanding Actuarial Certificates

Now, let’s turn our attention to actuarial certificates. These documents are typically issued by an actuary, attesting to the accuracy of certain financial calculations based on predefined criteria and assumptions. The certificate serves as an official confirmation that the actuary has examined the figures, methods, and assumptions used in the calculations and found them to be in accordance with accepted actuarial principles and regulations.

Actuarial certificates are thus a fundamental instrument in instilling confidence and trust in the integrity of financial and risk assessments. They provide an objective evaluation that validates calculations, facilitating informed decision-making.

Where Actuarial Certificates Come into Play

Actuarial certificates are used in numerous areas of the legal field. One of the most common uses is in the realm of self-managed super funds (SMSFs). Here, the certificate helps determine the proportion of an SMSF’s income that’s attributable to pension phase and accumulation phase, a necessary step in the accurate calculation of tax liabilities.

Another area where actuarial certificates play a significant role is in the insurance industry. In this context, they’re used to certify the adequacy of insurance reserves, ensuring that enough funds are set aside to cover future claims. This is crucial to ensure the financial soundness of the insurance company and protect policyholders’ interests.

Furthermore, in cases of personal injury or wrongful death litigation, actuarial certificates can provide an objective analysis of the present value of future economic losses. This includes potential earnings, medical care costs, and other relevant factors that a court may need to consider when deciding on a fair settlement.

The Legal Value of Actuarial Certificates

From a legal standpoint, an actuarial certificate serves as a potent piece of evidence. It’s a testament to the objectivity and accuracy of financial calculations and risk assessments. This not only safeguards the interests of the parties involved but also provides the court with a trustworthy resource to base its rulings.

Moreover, regulatory bodies often require actuarial certificates to ensure companies’ financial solvency and adherence to compliance standards. For instance, insurance companies and pension funds frequently need these certificates to demonstrate their financial health and the sufficiency of their reserves.

Conclusion

In conclusion, actuarial certificates, backed by professional actuarial services, play a pivotal role in the legal field. Their ability to accurately predict financial outcomes, assess risk, and validate complex calculations lends to their indispensable value in various legal scenarios. They not only ensure that transactions are underpinned by sound financial understanding but also uphold the integrity of legal procedures and regulatory compliance.

Understanding the function and importance of actuarial certificates is integral for any legal professional dealing with financial matters. These powerful documents are an essential tool, acting as a safeguard for both individuals and corporations alike in the ever-evolving legal landscape.

That is not to say that every dentist should be working under a cloud, but rather that they are aware that the possibility of legal action such as malpractice exists and, as such, should ensure that they do all that can to ensure it never happens.

One principle in the law relating to malpractice has meant that was an additional reason why a patient might sue, and that legal concept is called ‘loss of chance’.

Today, if a patient were to bring a malpractice claim against a dentist, in order to win their case, they and their legal representatives would primarily have to prove that two things existed. The first is negligence, and this would be that their dentist failed to show a duty of care to their patient.

The second that has to be proven is causation, and by that, it means it has to be proved that any harm or injury suffered by the patient was caused by the dentist’s negligence. It is important to note that if either negligence or causation are not proved, then the malpractice case is likely to fall.

So, if the patient has an injury but their lawyer cannot show that the dentist acted negligently, then there is no case. Likewise, if it cannot be shown that the cause of that injury was negligence, then again the malpractice case is not likely to succeed.

The level to which the patient’s lawyers have to show that the dentist’s negligence was the cause is based on the balance of probabilities, and thus it does not need to be shown to be 100% of the cause. In other words, even if a dentist’s negligence is shown to be 51% of the cause of a patient’s injury, then the patient is likely to win the case, and as such be entitled to full compensation.

With the loss of chance previously being a cause for the patient to sue their dentist, it brought a heightened risk of legal action. The reason was that loss of chance gave the patient the right to sue for having lost the chance of a better outcome due to their dentist’s negligence. In other words, no injury need have occurred, only the patient‘s belief that the outcome could have been better.

This clearly meant dentists were at risk of being sued, due to the fact that if a patient thought that their treatment should produce a better result than had occurred they could seek damages. An example would be dentist implanting crowns for a patient, but the patient believing that the crowns looked wrong and felt the dentist had been negligent in fitting them.

That was the legal situation that dentists found themselves in until a medical negligence case in 2010 called ‘Tabet v Gatt’. The court rejected the negligence claim, as it was based on the loss of a chance of a better outcome. Instead it ruled that loss of chance was not permissible as a reason for court action, and that the probability of damage, or injury due to negligence, had to be shown.

The days of the Family Court being the arena where all divorces are played out is long gone and this now tends to be the exception, rather than the rule. That occurs, firstly, because many couples can settle all divorce matters, including property and their children, amicably and through their family lawyers facilitating an agreement between them. All the Family Court then does is confirm the settlement is fair and grant the divorce.

Federal Circuit and Family Court Rules 2021

The second reason why the Family Court is not involved in the earlier stages of a divorce is Family Law and recent changes to it. In September 2021 new rules relating to divorce came into effect, namely the Federal Circuit and Family Court Rules 2021. These rules laid down principles that obligate separated couples to use all their efforts to try to negotiate an agreement before they seek intervention from the Family Court.

The term given to these new obligations is “Pre-Action Procedures” and they are not an option for couples to seek an agreement but are instead compulsory and must be followed before any court proceedings are allowed to be instigated. As such each of the parties must undertake the following steps:

#1 – Where appropriate and safe to do so, a) Provide the other party with a copy of the Pre-Action Procedures, b) Make enquiries regarding the available dispute resolution services, and c) Invite the other party to participate in any dispute resolution process.

#2 – Attend any dispute resolution meetings and make a genuine effort to make them work and thus resolve any disputes. If this succeeds and disputes are resolved at this stage, the parties can proceed to formalise their divorce, using the services of family lawyers if necessary.

#3 – If disputes cannot be resolved and no agreement can be reached, then Family Court proceedings can be instigated but only after the following notices have been sent by and to the respective parties:

i What issues are being disputed?

ii What orders are being sought from the Family Court?

iii What genuine offers were made to resolve any disputes?

iv A timescale for a response to be given by the other party which is not less than 14 days.

Even at this stage, the Family Court will expect to see evidence that every effort has been made to resolve any disputes, including in the interim period, before court proceedings commence.

If again, no resolution of the disputes relating to the couple’s divorce can be achieved, a “Genuine Steps Certificate” will need to be filed with the Family Court, outlining what disputes exist, what steps were taken to resolve them, and confirming that all the Pre-Action Procedures were followed and complied with.

Dispute Resolution Not Taking Place

It is important that divorcing couples are aware that the Family Court will expect to see real and genuine evidence that efforts to resolve their disputes were made. If it feels that no or little effort was made by either party, then it can dismiss their application and rub salt into the wound by making a costs order against the couple.

The only allowable exceptions would be circumstances where it is deemed dangerous for one of the parties to attend dispute resolution such as if their partner has been abusive to them in the past. Another is when the court proceedings need to be undertaken urgently and therefore time did not allow for the dispute resolution process to take place.

Licensing requirements for surgeons

All surgeons performing laser eye surgery must be licensed. Surgeons must also be certified by the appropriate medical board and credentialed by the hospital or ambulatory surgery centre. Ensuring that the surgeon is accredited and meets all of the necessary licensing requirements for the specific type of laser eye surgery is very important. By familiarizing yourself with the legal requirements of laser eye surgery, you can be sure you are in the best care possible.

Potential risks and complications

Although laser eye surgery is a relatively safe process, there are still potential risks and complications associated with the procedure. Common hazards include dry eyes, discomfort, and temporary loss of vision. More severe complications are infrequent, but they have infections, over or under-correction of sight, and damage to the cornea. Discuss the potential risks associated with laser eye surgery with your eye doctor in detail before making any decisions.

Adequate informed consent

Informed consent is a crucial element of the legal process for any medical procedure, including laser eye surgery. Before any operation, the patient must give their informed consent indicating their understanding of the procedure’s risks and benefits. Adequate informed consent requires that the patient has the opportunity to discuss the process with the doctor, have all the risks and benefits explained to them, have the chance to ask questions, and then make an informed decision. Patients may be at risk of harm without adequate informed consent, and the doctor may be held legally responsible.

Pre-operative screening

Pre-operative screening is critical to laser eye surgery, as it determines the patient’s eligibility. During the pre-operative screening, the doctor will assess the patient’s vision, evaluate any existing medical conditions, and look for eye diseases or abnormalities. The doctor will also review the patient’s medical history and lifestyle habits to determine if the patient is a good candidate for the surgery.

Postoperative follow-up care

Postoperative follow-up care is an essential component of any laser eye surgery procedure. Patients must be provided with appointments to monitor the progress of their vision, including an initial examination within 24 hours of surgery and follow-up appointments after the procedure. These follow-up appointments must be documented in the patient’s medical files and should include visual acuity measurements, refraction, and any other relevant tests. The patient should also be given instructions on how to care for their eyes and when to contact their doctor in case of any complications.

Laser eye surgery is a safe and effective way to correct vision. However, it is vital to research the legal aspects of the surgery, such as the qualifications and credentials of the surgeon, the laws concerning informed consent, and the potential risks involved. Ensuring you know and know all the legal aspects before undergoing laser eye surgery will ensure you have a safe and successful surgery.

This is why CSAs, tax advisors, receptionists, and administrative staff are all necessary for a dental practice to thrive, and we submit that there is another professional who is essential to your business, and that is a commercial lawyer. They might not be someone whose services you require each week or even every month, but when they are required, they can provide advice and representation that could mean the continued existence of your dental practice.

We say that not to alarm you, but to highlight the fact that some dental practices and dentists would not be operating today had it not been for the representation provided by a commercial lawyer in a serious legal matter. Thankfully, such instances are rare, but we are certain that the dentists involved are delighted they had the foresight to acquire the services of a competent commercial lawyer, and more to the point, one that proved to be the right choice.

So, if you do not have a commercial lawyer, or you wish to retain one for your dental practice but are unsure how to go about choosing one, the next few paragraphs are going to help. What we have is a four-step guide to assessing and choosing the right commercial lawyer for your dental practice.

Step #1 – Determine What Level Of Legal Representation You Require

As with any service you might require, when it comes to legal representation for your dental practice you must first determine at what level you need it to be and choose a commercial law firm that offers all that you need. For example, if you have employees you will want employment law advice. Likewise, if you are planning to expand your business you may need advice on leasing additional commercial premises for those new dental practices.

Step #2 – Seek Referrals From Others

There are few better ways to learn of potential commercial lawyers who might be suitable for your dental practice than to hear of them via referrals from those you know and trust. Whilst it is no guarantee any lawyers referred to you will fit all your needs, it at least gives you some reassurance that they have provided acceptable levels of legal services in the past.

Step #3 – Ensure Any Commercial Lawyer You Consider Has Experience Representing Dentists

Taking referrals, and indeed any other possible lawyer you might consider to another level of scrutiny, you want to know that the representation of dentists and dental practices are what they have knowledge and experience of. The legal needs of your dental business will differ greatly from a local bar, a parcel delivery company, and a travel agency, so you want a lawyer who is aware of that, and what those legal needs are.

Step #4 – Arrange To Meet Candidates Face-To-Face

By now you should have a shortlist of two or three potential commercial lawyers, but before choosing which is going to represent you and your business, we highly recommend arranging to meet them. Your commercial lawyer potentially could play a key role in protecting your business and your livelihood should you encounter a huge legal problem, so you want to feel confident in them and know that you can have a positive and professional relationship with them.

If you own or run a landscaping business, you will likely be closely involved in the contracts created for clients. Each of these will be unique in the sense that no two projects will be the same, regardless of any recurring landscaping features which you are usually asked to create. The reason for this is that it is highly unlikely that any two locations will be identical, and even if they were, no two clients are going task for the same landscaping features

Although each contract will have specifics related to the project, they will also have clauses that are common in each one. Some of the details may differ, but these sections should appear in every landscaping contract you create. As for what clauses you should include in each landscaping contract, if you read further you will discover we have outlined seven of them.

Essential Clause #1 – Landscaping Services

The most obvious clause within a landscaping contract will be what work has been agreed upon between your landscaping business and the client. This will include details of the planning stage, and thereafter the specifics of the features that are going to be created, purchased, installed, or planted by you within the landscape design.

Essential Clause #2 – Dates/Times/Duration

Both you and the client will want to have an agreed timescale so that you both know how long the project is going to take. Simpler contracts might only have an agreed completion date for the whole project, whereas others might have a series of milestones that are due to be completed as the project proceeds. There may also be agreed times of day when the work can take place at the property.

Essential Clause #3 – Full Cost/Deposit/Payment Terms

This is an extremely important clause and one which is it is imperative that both parties fully understand. This will have details such as the total cost of the landscaping project, the deposit if applicable, and the agreed date and conditions for final payment by the client. It may also have payment terms should an agreement be in place for the client to make multiple payments towards the fee.

Essential Clause #4 – Guarantees And Warranties

Here is where you will be outlining what guarantees and warranties exist for the landscaping work you are doing for the client. Specifics will be how long these warranties will exist for, what remedial work you will agree to do, and what specific elements of the landscaping project are included, and which are not.

Essential Clause #5 – Cancellation/Termination Terms

There is always the possibility that before or during the landscaping project the client may have to or wish to terminate the contract. The possible reasons are numerous and, to be fair to the client, it could be for something which is outside of their control. This is why a cancellation/termination clause should be in every contract you create, including the terms and what potential financial penalties there might be.

Essential Clause #6 – Limitation Of Liabilities

This is a clause that has saved landscaping businesses tens of thousands of dollars. What it does is state what you are willing to accept liability for whilst you are working at the property, and what you are not. An example is the landscaping project being delayed due to severe weather not being your liability if the completion date is missed as a result.

Essential Clause #7 – Complaints Procedure/Dispute Resolution

Despite your best efforts and even though there is a contract in place, a dispute can still arise between your landscaping business and the client. You can pre-empt this by having a clause in your contract which outlines how such disputes will be handled and the process for resolving them.

The reason we say that is this article is going to explain some of the most important clauses in a commercial business premises lease, and they are terms you should be aware of. Whilst we always recommend that you hire a commercial lawyer to aid you through the process of leasing a commercial building, it will prove helpful if you understand some of the terms they are advising you on. We cover just seven of them, and they are simpler than you might imagine.

Commercial Lease Term #1 – Rent Payable

One of the most obvious clauses you would expect in a commercial lease is the amount of rent you have to pay to the landlord. Agreements might be made as to the payment frequency whether that be monthly, quarterly, or even annually whereby a discount might apply. This may also state if and when a review of rent payable will take place, and what any increase will be based upon, such as inflation rates.

Commercial Lease Term #2 – Duration Of Commercial Lease

Another key term of agreement within your commercial lease will be how long it runs. Assuming you want your dental practice to be an ongoing concern you will want this to be as long as possible and it is possible to obtain a commercial lease for at least ten years.

Commercial Lease Term #3 – Permitted Uses

This is a clause most commercial landlords will insist upon and justifiably. They will want to know that the uses to which the building they own will be put will be congruent, not just with local regulations, but with the safety and integrity of that building. For your dental practice, it may state dental services and may also refer to some of the equipment and substances allowed such as the anaesthesia gas for patients you store on site.

Commercial Lease Term #4 – Making Alterations Within Premises

Whilst we doubt this will apply to many dental practices, it could be an issue. For example, if you wish to take down a partition wall to increase the size of your patient waiting area. This clause will either state that such an alteration cannot take place, or at least state the process you must follow to obtain permission from the landlord to do so.

Commercial Lease Term #5 – Options For Renewal

This is a vital clause that often catches business tenants out. It will state what the options are for renewing your lease when the current one expires. If you see your dental practice as a long-term venture then you must ensure that an option for renewal is present, otherwise, you may find yourself having to move your entire dental business to another location.

Commercial Lease Term #6 – Responsibility For Repairs And Maintenance

In most cases tenants expect their landlords to be responsible for maintenance and repairs and that includes business tenants and their landlords. However, do not assume they will fix everything. Ensure you are aware of what your landlord’s responsibilities are, and what yours are when it comes to maintaining the building and making repairs within it.

Commercial Lease Term #7 – Other Agreed Clauses

Whilst most commercial leases will have more or less the same types of clauses, there is always an option for the landlord and tenant to add clauses that they both agree to. This can cover anything from the types of fascia and signage you can have on the building to how many parking spaces you are allocated.

Whilst a rare scenario, nonetheless it is one which landscapers need to be prepared for, as occasionally a project will not go to plan due to circumstances out with their control. It might be that a landscaping business can negotiate with the client to resolve whatever problem has arisen, but what if that is not possible? Well, this is where an organisation called The Landscape Association could be the solution.

What Is The Landscape Association?

The Landscape Association (TLA) was formed in 1979  and since then it has grown to be a highly respected body that represents hundreds of landscapers and landscaping businesses. Some of its main objectives are to raise the public’s awareness of the landscaping industry and to promote the highest quality and standards in specific areas of landscaping such as design, construction, and maintenance. Other objectives of TLA include:

• Acting as a united voice for the industry and its members in matters such as legislation, regulations, and working conditions
• Advocating industry recognised training and qualifications
• Advancing discussions relating to environmental matters
• Holding annual awards for excellence in areas such as design, innovation, and skills
• Creating links and common interests with other industries, organisations, and government bodies
• Promoting the landscaping industry in the media, online, and at trade shows and exhibitions

The Landscaping Association’s Code Of Ethics

Underpinning much of the work that TLA does is its Code of Ethics which all landscapers who become members must adhere to. Each member must commit to:

• Treating all clients fairly
• Upholding high standards of work
• Complying with the prevailing local building, construction, and safety standards
• Treating employees with respect, fairly, and ensuring their safety
• Doing nothing to discredit the association or the industry

In addition to its code of ethics, The Landscape Association also has a code of fair business practices, and it also insists that all its members act with financial integrity at all times.

TLA’s Dispute Resolution Process

One of the roles that The Landscape Association plays to the benefit of both its members and the clients of its members is in dispute resolution and this involves its mediation process. If a client has tried to resolve an issue with a landscaper and no satisfactory resolution can be agreed upon, TLA can offer this mediation process to try and unblock the en passe.

The first step is for the client to complete and submit the TLA’s ‘Complaints and Mediation’ form. Upon receiving this form, TLA will contact both the client and the landscaper for further details and confirm that both are happy for TLA to intervene.

Once TLA has all the details, one of the following three outcomes may transpire.

• TLA conducts telephone discussions with both parties to seek an early resolution that both are content with
• If the dispute relates to incomplete or defective work, TLA will conduct an on-site inspection and determine whether the work is indeed defective or incomplete. The TLA will then issue its findings and its recommended outcome.
• if the issue relates to a financial matter such as unpaid fees or a dispute over extra costs, the TLA will usually recommend the parties seek resolution via a civil claim in court.

In particular, there are three formal agreement documents that you will find, not just landscaping businesses use,  but businesses of all kinds. These three agreements are Service Level Agreement, Employment Agreement, and Partnership Agreement. Read on and you will discover exactly what these agreements are and when they should be used by a landscaping business.

Service Level Agreement

What Is It?

A service level agreement, or SLA, is the contract that is created between a client and the landscaping business. It outlines in detail what work the landscapers have agreed to undertake and the expectations related to the services provided. It is created so that both parties are fully aware of their respective obligations so that no misunderstandings occur. Specific details that should be included in an SLA are:

• Services provided and service requirements
• Standards, terms, and conditions of the service
• Timescales
• Responsibilities of both parties
• Dispute resolution procedures
• Respective stakeholders
• External service providers
• Penalties and indemnities for a breach of service
• Terms relating to subsequent amendments being made to the SLA

When Should You Use It?

There are several circumstances in which an SLA is appropriate and recommended. These include:

• Management of a project’s progress
• Setting measurable and clear objectives
• Defining the expectations and obligations of each party
• To reward or penalise performance and targets being met or not
• Contracting external service providers

Employment Agreement

What Is It?

For those landscapers, whose business employs other workers whether they be part of the landscaping team, or administrative and support staff, an employment agreement should be used. An employee agreement will set out what the employee’s obligations and rights are and will include specifics such as the duties they are required to perform in their role, holiday entitlement, policies related to sickness, and it may also include their remuneration details.

Given that a degree of flexibility can be required by landscaping businesses, there are three types of employment agreements that they can use, which are full-time, part-time, and casual employment agreements.

When Should You Use It?

Quite simply, whenever you take on a new employee, an employment agreement for that individual should be created. It should be printed and signed by both the employee and the employer prior to the individual’s first day of work.

Partnership Agreement

What Is It?

This is the rarest of the three agreements that we are looking at. A partnership agreement is used when two parties agree to work together on a business venture and it is the legally binding contract that forms that partnership. It outlines the rights, duties, obligations, and responsibilities of each partner so that their respective interests are protected. Examples are two landscaping businesses joining forces to form a single business, or working as one business entity on a large project.

When Should You Use It?

A partnership agreement should be completed and signed by both parties before the partnership is confirmed as a legal entity. This ensures that both are clear on their rights and that no disputes occur thereafter.

We say that because the last thing any landscaping business needs is to find itself being taken to court, not through any nefarious actions, but due to ignorance of employment law, or one of the specific terms that relate to it. Bear in mind, in legal cases, whether they be civil or criminal, ignorance of the law is no defence, and that ignorance could be extremely costly if the court rules against you.

So, to take a small step towards ensuring you know key employment law terms, we have outlined ten of the most important below.

#1 – Notice Period: Each employee should be given what is termed their ‘statutory minimum notice of termination’ should a situation arise, and you wish to terminate their employment. Longer periods are possible, but they must be written into their employment contract.

#2 – Unfair Dismissal: Term used when it is deemed an employer has dismissed an employee in unreasonable, unjust, or harsh circumstances. Also applicable when an employer states the dismissal reason was redundancy when it was not.

#3 – Redundancy Entitlement: If you make any employees redundant, they are legally entitled to redundancy pay based upon their employment length. Payments normally equate to between four and 16 weeks’ salary.

#4 – Carer’s Leave: A full-time employee who needs to care for a sick family member or one who requires personal care of some kind, has an entitlement to 10 days of leave per year, and this leave is paid.

#5 – Long Service Leave: If you have long-term employees who have been working for your landscaping business for many years, they are entitled to additional leave. After 7 years, this is 6 weeks’ leave, and after 10 years it can rise to 13 weeks.

#6 – Parental Leave: This applies to employees who are to become fathers, including those who are adopting a child. If they have worked for you for at least a year, their parental leave can be as long as 12 months, although not all will request it to be that long.

#7 – Gender Equality: This only applies to large landscaping businesses with more than 100 employees. As such, they must report their ‘gender equality indicators’ to ensure that their recruitment and salary policies are not biased towards one gender.

#8 – Modern Awards: The specifics of this will differ from industry to industry but in effect, modern awards specify the minimum entitlements of employees regarding their annual leave, minimum wage, working hours, and overtime rates.

#9 – Enterprise Agreements: Where a union or an employee group represents the employees of a business, enterprise agreements are the specifics relating to pay and conditions agreed with those organizations, rather than following the applicable modern awards.

#10 – Transfer of Undertakings: This is the legal term used to indicate that an employee’s rights and entitlements as specified in modern awards or enterprise agreements are retained should the ownership of a landscaping business change hands.

Before we go any further, we are not suggesting that the owners of landscaping businesses must become legal experts in consumer law. Still, they would certainly benefit by having some knowledge of it. However, the minimum you should do is seek advice from, and ultimately entrust your landscaping business’s legal matters to, a commercial lawyer.

That being said, we did mention that landscaping business owners should have some basic knowledge of consumer laws, so the landscaping professionals from Garden Spec have highlighted below some of the core elements of consumer law that can apply to landscapers.

Limitation Of Liability

A limitation of liability is essential for all businesses, including landscaping businesses, to protect themselves. Whilst you are obligated to put right any faults or failures that occur within your landscaping work, this is not open-ended. In other words, the client cannot demand you fix or rebuild something that they, or a member of their family, damaged due to their negligence, neglect, or misuse.

Consumer Guarantees

Consumer law states that if you provide a product or service, you must also back these with a mandatory consumer guarantee. Specific clauses say that the services offered must be done with due care and skill, that they are fit for purpose, and that they are provided within a reasonable time. You would usually include your guarantee within your terms and conditions, and it is imperative that you also declare for how long the guarantee is valid.

Privacy Policy

In our internet age, where people provide their data far and wide, there is a significant focus on data protection and individual privacy rights. These are dealt with in consumer law. If you collect clients’ data, you must have a privacy policy that states how that data and information is stored, how you will use it, and under what circumstances and for what valid reasons you will provide any client’s private data to a third party.

Complaints Procedure

No business is immune to receiving complaints, and no matter how good a job you do for some clients, there will be those who wish to complain anyway. Notwithstanding this, there could be genuine complaints, so you must have a complaints procedure set out in your terms and conditions. How you deal with individual complaints is a matter for you, but as a minimum, you should provide contact details and seek to resolve issues promptly.

Website Terms Of Use

We assume most landscapers reading this have a website, but if you do not, for commercial reasons, we highly recommend you take steps to create one for you. Within every website, there should be one or more pages that explain the terms of use for that website. Specifics will include limited liability, a privacy policy if you collect visitors’ information, the copyright you have for the content, and you may also set out your intellectual property rights.

Much of that advice will understandably focus on Indonesian property laws as that is the laws that would be in play if you were considering property ownership in Bali. Let us highlight one huge and obvious hurdle and that is that as it stands, Indonesian law prevents foreigners from owning the freehold on property in Bali. As such, when you see or hear discussions about ‘owning’ Bali villas, there will be several caveats to that.

So, owning the freehold if you are not an Indonesian citizen is not possible under current laws, and so the question is, “What can you do?”. One option some entrepreneurs try is to use a nominee. A nominee is an Indonesian citizen into whose name the title for the freehold of the property is given. This is a highly risky procedure and there have been some investors who have seen that investment disappear either through nefarious activity by the nominee or a legal wrangle.

That being said, the are many investors who use nominees successfully,  but any agreement must be created and overseen by a notary. This necessitates that you seek sound and watertight legal advice and proper legal representation to protect your interests.

A second way to ‘own’ a villa to rent it to tourists is to lease one from an Indonesian citizen who owns the property. In effect, the lease agreement gives you a long term ‘ownership’ of the property for periods over 25 years. The landlord owns the property title but to all intents and purposes, the villa is yours which would include being able to rent it out to tourists. You even have the legal right to sell the lease or pass it on to your heirs.

Although less risky than using a nominee, leasing property is not without risk, so again you must seek legal advice and a notary to draw up the lease agreement to protect your interests, and conversely those of the landlord leasing the property to you.

A third option that is noteworthy for those wishing to run a Bali villas business, is to have the property purchased in the name of a company. This is a company in Indonesia that is set up similarly to limited companies in Australia. However, this option allows foreigners to own a company wholly or partly in Indonesia.

The laws which preclude foreign individuals from owning properties in  Bali are not applicable when it come sot certain types of business, and thus your Indonesian registered company could be the vehicle by which you can purchase one or more villas for your holiday rental business.

One point we must mention is many entrepreneurs believe that can buy land and build a villa to rent it out to tourists. This is not the case, as this only allows residential builds, not business use properties. Also, multiple restrictions exist that limit what properties can be used for within designated zones.

For any dentists who may have been given notice that they or their dental business is subject to a legal claim, the one thing that must be avoided is to panic. Being sued or taken court is not something that happens to someone every day, and when it does occur it can come as a complete shock. However, getting stressed and panicking is not how to solve the problem.

As for why any business, and particularly dentists might have legal action taken against them, there are several reasons:

• Non-payment of due bills and debts
• Breach of contract
• Misleading patients or other businesses
• Infringement of intellectual property rights
• Employees claiming discrimination or unfair/unlawful dismissal
• Professional negligence
• Public liability

There are many others besides these, and within each of the above examples, there will be specific circumstances that exist. In terms of what you should do if someone takes your dental practice or you as an individual to court, we have three extremely important tips for you which are explained below. These tips can both help you if someone does take legal action against you, but also act to prevent it from ever happening in the first place.

Make Sure You Have Professional Legal Representation

Just as you are the professional whom patients trust and rely upon to give sound advice concerning their dental health, your lawyer has that same role when it comes to legal matters. That is why we recommend that you have a lawyer or lawyers on retention. It may be that they never have to represent you in court but just in case it is required, you want the best available. Your lawyer can also act so that any legal action taken can be stopped long before it ever gets to court.

Actively Take Steps To Prevent Legal Cases

As a dentist, you will stand by the mantra that preventing dental health problems with good oral hygiene is better than having to treat them. That same philosophy exists when it comes to preventing legal action rather than having to fight it. That means that the day to day operation of your dental practice should have systems and procedures in place to ensure nothing can ever get as far as a legal case.

Examples of how you achieve this include ensuring staff are fully trained, that patient care is the top priority, that all bills are paid on time, that your terms and conditions are clear and legally watertight. Another positive action is to make it a goal that any patient complaints are handled quickly, professionally, and courteously.

Take Out Appropriate Insurance Policies

No matter the precautions are taken and how professional you are, the possibility exists that you are taken to court and lose the case. This does not make you any less a dentist, but it can dimmish your business’s finances severely. This is why insurance policies are essential to protect your business from financial penalties resulting from legal action. They can literally save your business with policies available for workplace accidents, public liability, and even negligence, for example.

This begs the question, “If Indonesian law forbids foreigners from purchasing property in Bali, how can any foreigner own a villa In Bali?”. The law, as it applies in Bali, forbids outright ownership of property by foreigners, but that does not mean they cannot enter into legal arrangements that would allow them to own and run a Bali villa rental business.

As you will discover as you read, there are various categories of property ownership in Indonesia, which means that in Bali, you can obtain either ownership or the use of a villa to rent it out to holidaymakers. Here are some of your alternatives based on firsthand knowledge of villa ownership from the specialists at Luxury Villas Bali.

Property Ownership In Bali

Under Indonesian law, there are three main categories of property ownership.

Hak Milik: This is the freehold ownership of property or land, and as Indonesian law currently stands, this is only open to citizens of Indonesia or specific legal entities in that country. As such, it means foreign citizens cannot own property, but keep reading as we will come back to the legal entities.

Hak Pakai refers to the right to use a property, but only for residential purposes. This is open to foreigners who can have the right to use a property as their residence for up to 30 years, although that can be extended to a total of 80 years.

Hak Guna: This is the right to build. This right applies to companies registered in Indonesia, allowing them to make properties, including villas, for up to 30 years, although extensions can add another 50 years.

Foreigner Rights Relating To Property

From what we have just discussed, it is clear that Hak Pakai and Hak Guna are options for foreigners, albeit the Hak Pakai could not be used to run a Bali villa rental business. Even with these rights, there would be several points that you would need to clarify with the local authorities, including your intention for the property, your residence status, and the current land title.

How To Purchase A Bali Villa To Rent It Out

You could purchase a Bali villa in two main ways, although legally, you would not own it. The first is for you to use an Indonesian citizen who would act as a nominee for the purchase. In effect, their name would be on the property title, and they could claim sole ownership under Indonesian law. This is a hazardous venture that must be done with the utmost care.

The second, more legitimate way is to purchase a property using an Indonesian corporation. To do this, you would set up a PT PMA (Perseroan Taratas Penanaman Modal Asing), giving you the right to conduct business in Bali and earn profits. It obviously would also allow you to purchase a Bali villa, although it would be the company that owns it rather than you as an individual.

There are indeed many enlightened employers, education establishments and credit organisations that look past someone’s criminal past and try to look at the attributes the person now has rather than judge them for past indiscretions. It is to their credit that many of these organisations see someone going through a drug rehab program as a positive and proof that they can show commitment to achieving a goal.

It has to  be said that achieving the goal of giving up drugs, as you may well know, is one that requires a lot more grit and determination than many goals we could mention. Ultimately, it proves you can focus on something difficult to achieve and stay the course until you succeed. Many employers and others decide upon your value as a person who shows admirable courage and puts your drug rehab in the plus column rather than the minus column.

However, as you may have experienced, not all potential employers or others who might have made decisions regarding your future take the same view. At first sight of any kind of criminality, it sees your application sent directly to the ‘Declined’ pile. The question you may now have is, ‘Can I Fix This?’

First the bad news is that you cannot wipe clean your conviction from the record as soon as you pay a fine or are released from prison. The simple fact is this is a process for which you must be patient. However, given that it can have an impact on your life for many years to come, it is worth it.

What you need to request is that your conviction be regarded as spent. This removes from the publicly accessible records that you were convicted of a crime. More importantly, it removes any obligation on you to disclose that you have been convicted of a crime in your past when applying for jobs, credit, and the like. However, you must understand that it will remain on your court and police files and may be considered if you are convicted of any crimes in the future.

The procedures and the specific authority you contact to have your conviction spent will depend on whether your crime is regarded as a serious conviction or a lesser conviction. Serious is a crime with more than one year imprisonment or a fine greater than $15,000. a lesser conviction is one where the term of imprisonment was less than one year, or the fine was less than $15,000.

Regardless of which authority you need apply to, the usual waiting time before you request that your conviction is spent will be between 5 and 10 years. It might seem a long wait, but it will be worth pursuing if means that the opportunities which are opened up to you increase and improve for you as time passes.

If you have found yourself in this very situation, it’s essential to know when you can make a botched cosmetic surgery claim, and what comes next. Read on to find out more.

The Medical Professional Breached Their Duty of Care

You may have read up on all the risk factors of cosmetic surgery and even made sure you gave yourself some time to think about the procedure before you went ahead with it. All this planning may be all for nothing if the medical professional you trusted to undertake the procedure breached their duty of care.

You may have a legal leg to stand on if they displayed poor skills, didn’t follow the rules, or were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, resulting in a less than desirable result.

You Experienced Unreasonable Damage

No cosmetic procedure is without its risks. Even Botox treatment, which is reasonably straightforward, doesn’t always come without a few side effects that lead to Botox legal issues. However, you may be able to make a botched cosmetic surgery claim if your procedure resulted in unreasonable damage.

This might be something like excessive scarring above and beyond what is expected, poor cosmetic results, and even nerve damage.

Your Surgeon Had Insurance and a License

All commercially practicing surgeons must have professional indemnity insurance. However, if you went overseas for surgery because it was cheaper and the surgeon was not accredited, you may not be able to make a claim.

In saying that, if you had every reason to believe they were insured and licensed and found out later that they were not, you might be able to claim for cosmetic surgery negligence. It can be worth requesting help from a lawyer to find out for sure.

You Were Not Given the Correct Prescription or Anaesthesia

All licensed and commercially practicing surgeons must prescribe the proper medication of the correct dose and in the right situation. If that doesn’t happen, or they failed to take note of medical conditions that affected the type of medications you could have, you may be able to make a botched cosmetic surgery claim.

You Didn’t Receive Cosmetic Surgery in a Clinic or Hospital Environment

All cosmetic surgeries must be performed in sterile environments with equipment to handle all situations. If your surgery was performed outside of a hospital or clinic environment, you might have a solid case to receive compensation, especially if complications arose and were not able to be taken care of due to the surgery environment.

Proving Your Case

Even though the above things can signal that you may have a good case to take to court, you still have to prove negligence. Essentially, your lawyer will need to ensure that any injuries you experienced after surgery could have been avoided if the surgeon had acted differently.

If you have proven this to be the situation, you may be able to receive compensation for your medical expenses, home care expenses relating to your injuries, a loss of earnings, and physical or psychological harm.

Cosmetic surgeries happen all around the world every day. They are primarily performed by trained, experienced, and licensed surgeons. However, even for something as simple as Botox, things can go wrong. It’s helpful to know when you can make a claim and what that situation involves.

There are many problems that can cause litigation: –

• Poor standards of safety in the workplace. As we know, poor safety standards cause accidents. If employees are hurt on your premises, they can easily sue you. If a customer trips and falls, they can sue you.
• Poor working conditions. This is slightly different from poor safety, as it could be something like overcrowding, lack of amenities, poor lighting and so on.
• Not supplying proper and adequate protection for workers who deal with chemical or other hazardous substances. This can result in chemical burns or lung problems that don’t show up for years, as we know from asbestos inhalation.
• Not training employees in safe practices. For instance, if there is a spill in a supermarket and an employee mops it up then leaves the area unattended to get a warning cone, someone could walk on the wet floor and fall, breaking multiple bones. With proper training, the area would not have been left unattended.

• Not keeping accurate and signed documentation about how problems were handled. One practice that every business should implement is keeping documentation about everything that happens. It should be very detailed about what was said and done to solve the problem, dated, then signed by all those involved.
• Allowing discrimination and harassment of any kind to go unchecked. The workplace is often a hotbed of discrimination and harassment. It is up to you as the business owner to instigate policies and procedures to deal with such problems. You need to create an open door policy so that employees are not afraid to offer feedback about the problems that arise and will have confidence that something will be done about them.
• Any kind of illegal activity including fraud. Naturally enough, if you or your employees indulge in such activities, it will eventually all come out. Keeping excellent and detailed records will help you to avoid such a problem.
• Not paying the proper wages, overtime or holiday pay. Some larger businesses have been sued for back pay amounting to millions. Make sure this can’t happen to you by paying the right award wages at all times.
• Discarding hazardous waste incorrectly. While not litigation in a civil sense, this can cost you a great deal as a criminal lawsuit.

Ensuring your business is fair, honest and compliant in all areas will reduce the likelihood of litigation being brought against you.

Now, if you are reading that and thinking to yourself that your law firm’s website is far from being modern, and worse, it is ineffective in generating prospects and clients, then it is highly likely that the time has come for your law firm to have a new website designed. This leads us to the question of what sort of website design is suitable for a law firm, so let us answer that by highlighting a few essential design elements.

Your Website Should Have A Purpose

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when designing a website is for it to have no definitive purpose. If it serves only to ‘be there’ and nothing else, anyone visiting will have little idea what the website is about, and once that happens they will leave pretty quickly.

Your Website Should Stand Out From The Legal Crowd

Before we go any further by ‘standing out‘ we are not talking about your law firm having a website with loads of flashing colours and garish images. Instead, you want it to stand out from the crowd, with the crowd being the other law firms in your local area. You will notice that many of them will follow the same tired, old format and layout and thus have nothing to distinguish them from any other law firm.

Ensure that your website designer is aware that you want your law firm’s website to be, like Family Lawyers, remarkable without being outlandish. Get them to include the branding of your law firm, have clear and distinctive images, and an overall look that distinguishes it from other legal websites.

Highlight Your Law Firm’s Expertise

One of the things any visitor to a law form’s website will be expecting to see is proof of that law firm’s expertise and its track record of helping its clients. This can be achieved within your website’s design by having pages that highlight each lawyers’ education, their legal credentials, and their track record. Other desirable pages are testimonials from past and long-term clients and any awards and certifications your law firm has.

Make Your Website Easy To Navigate

One of the quickest ways to lose visitors to a website is to make it seem complicated and difficult to navigate. If that is their first impression they will click away immediately. You want your website to be welcoming and unconfusing so the home page should not be cluttered, but instead, be clean and easy to follow.

In addition, the menu system within the website should be easy to navigate with all the main sections of your website clearly labelled. Also, ensure that there is a button marked ‘Home’ on every page within your website so that visitors feel assured that they can easily return there.

Give Them A Way To Contact You

Presumably, you want your website to generate prospects and ultimately, clients for your law firm, and the only way that happens is if those visitors get in touch. Make sure the means to contact you is front and centre on most pages and that any contact form is easy to complete.

Financial agreements can be very simple or much more complicated, and you are unlikely to understand the implications of everything you read in it, even if you think it is clear.  In business, there are many ways of saying things legally that spin the meaning around to give favour to the person who is offering the agreement.  Unless you have a lawyer go over it and explain it all to you, you could be disadvantaged in some way.

When a lawyer examines the agreement, he or she can tell you if it is fair and whether it could be worded differently to ensure you only pay what you are legally required to. Your solicitor will be able to add a clause or adjust one so that there is no chance of you being taken advantage of.

Never sign anything that has not been through such a process, especially if the other person seems to be hurrying you along. That is a sign that he may be trying to get your signature on something that is much more in his favour than yours.

If the other person cannot wait until you’ve had legal advice over the agreement, you can be sure there is something in it that you wouldn’t like or agree with. Many business people don’t think it is dishonest to take advantage of another person like that. They think it is up to you to find out if something is not to your liking and if you don’t do this, too bad for you and good luck for them.

So whether the financial agreement is something to do with settlement after a divorce, or whether it is to do with the sale of a property or business or even in running a business, be sure you consult with a lawyer to ensure you are not scammed and that everything is legal and above board.

Not doing so is being naive and almost asking the other person to take advantage of you. And if you are the one who has the financial agreement drawn up, always make sure it is fair to the other person, especially in business where your reputation really matters. If your business gets a reputation for poor or shabby treatment of customers, suppliers or contractors, you won’t be in business for long.

This is particularly true in Australia from a legal perspective, because following an amendment to the Family Law Act in 2006, there is no such thing as mother’s rights, nor for that matter, do father’s rights exist.

There is one very simple, and laudable, reason for this to be so, and that is that in Australian law, the highest priority is making sure that the rights of the children are promoted and protected, rather than the rights of the mother and father of those children.

For the above reason, when it comes to divorce and consideration of what is the best interests of the children of that marriage, the default position is that the parents have shared responsibility for their children. The legal terminology is ‘Equal Shared Parental Responsibility‘.

Now you might think that surely if the children are living permanently with one of their parents, that parent is the one who has custody of them, but that is not how family law works in Australia.

Yes, they are obviously going to spend most of their time living with that parent, but that does not mean this parent dominates their life, nor makes all the major decisions for them.

The implications of current family law are that one parent will no longer be seen to have ‘custody’ of the children, nor will they have the final say over the important aspects of their life. Instead, each parent will be expected to discuss and agree on what is best for their children with regards to their schooling, health, and religious and cultural education.

This co-parenting model is designed to ensure children have influences upon their lives from both of their parents, rather than the one who has so-called custody, be that their mother or their father.

It is not impossible, and actually it is more than likely, that not every decision that one parent wants to make is accepted by the other. This can be positive or negative depending on how you view it.

It is positive in the sense that no one parent dominates the decision-making process, and also it serves as a check or balance against poor decisions being made by one of the parents.

On the negative side it can result in a stalemate whereby a decision needs to be made in the best interests of the child, and none is forthcoming. Also, if the parents argue about decisions in front of their children, it is not exactly beneficial for any child to see or hear that.

Although joint parental responsibility is the default position, it is not always applied, especially where there are mitigating circumstances. One of the most obvious is where the father was violent or abusive towards his children, or he is in a situation where his influence might be detrimental to the children, such as drug addiction or alcoholism.

Here the court may grant sole parental responsibility to the mother, but even then, they are still likely to grant visitation to the father. It may only be extremely limited, and will almost certainly be supervised unless and until the father is seen to be mending his ways.