Crownmark Lawyers | Property & Conveyancing For as long as Victorians have bought property at auction, the seller’s reserve has been the one number nobody outside the vendor’s camp was allowed to know. Buyers researched comparable sales, sat through open homes and arranged finance, then bid against a figure that was only revealed, if at all, when the auctioneer announced the property was “on the market”. That changes on 1 October 2026. The Consumer Legislation Amendment Bill

Crownmark Lawyers | Property & Conveyancing Buying a property at auction can move quickly. You may spend weeks attending inspections, reviewing comparable sales and arranging finance, only for the final decision to come down to a few minutes of bidding on auction day. But once the bidding starts, it is usually too late to begin thinking about the legal terms of the purchase. In Victoria, buying at auction is different from buying through a standard private sale. The contract

Crownmark Lawyers | Property & Conveyancing When a property is being prepared for sale, much of the early attention naturally goes to the campaign. Photography is booked. The property is styled. Marketing is prepared. Open homes are scheduled. But one important part of the sale can easily be left until later: the legal preparation. Having the contract and disclosure documents underway before buyer interest becomes serious can help reduce avoidable delays and give both the ven

Crownmark Lawyers | Personal Injury A fall in a supermarket, restaurant, shopping centre or other public place can lead to more than immediate pain. Medical expenses, time away from work and ongoing treatment can quickly affect your day-to-day life. However, being injured on someone else's property does not automatically mean they are legally responsible. In Victoria, a public liability claim will generally depend on whether the person or organisation responsible for the prem

Crownmark Lawyers | Personal Injury Psychological injuries can have a significant impact on a person’s ability to work, maintain relationships and manage everyday life. Workplace stress, burnout, bullying, harassment and exposure to traumatic events can all contribute to mental injury. However, changes to Victoria’s WorkCover scheme have altered the eligibility requirements for psychological injury claims. For mental injuries sustained on or after 31 March 2024, the rules are

Crownmark Lawyers | Commercial & Property The sale of a small business tends to end the same way. Stock is counted, staff are transferred, the incoming operator signs the assignment of lease, the landlord consents, and the keys change hands. Everyone shakes hands and the file is closed. Two years later a letter arrives from the landlord's solicitor about rent arrears at premises the seller has not set foot in since. The business that owes the money is not theirs and has not b

Crownmark Lawyers | Immigration Law Division The Department of Home Affairs has introduced Ministerial Direction 119, which changes the order in which certain skilled visa and nomination applications are processed. The Direction commenced on 25 July 2026 and replaced Ministerial Direction 105. It applies to eligible applications lodged from that date, as well as earlier applications that had not been finally determined. A key change is that processing priority now depends on

Crownmark Lawyers | Commercial and Employment Disputes A hire that started well does not always end well. Sometimes a valued employee leaves on bad terms, challenges the way they were let go, or disputes something in their agreement after the fact. For many business owners, this is the moment they discover what the workplace dispute system actually feels like from the employer's side of the table. It can be a surprise. The system is accessible and inexpensive for the employee

Crownmark Lawyers | Property & Conveyancing Most people think the legal work on a property ends at settlement. Contracts are exchanged, the loan is drawn down, the keys change hands, and the file is closed. What that view misses is that owning property in Victoria carries its own ongoing obligations, ones that exist independently of how or why the property was bought, and that keep applying for as long as you hold it. In 2026, several of those obligations have widened in scop