Recorded Webinar: Property Law CPD Compulsories

This webinar comprises 3 one-hour sessions covering each of the compulsory CPD subjects for property lawyers for the CPD year ending 31 March 2024.

Session 1: Professional Skills

GST Complexities: A Toolkit for Property Lawyers

GST and property transactions often go hand-in-hand. Despite this, the application of GST legislation and rules are not always simple and can often be an afterthought.  GST needs to be on every property lawyer’s checklist and considered each and every time. This practical session explores the key issues property lawyers need to navigate, including:

• Understanding when and how GST applies to different types of property and why it matters
• When will an isolated transaction for the sale of a property trigger the need for GST registration?
• Availability of input tax credits for property-related expenses and acquisitions
• The role and applicability of the margin scheme – key issues to consider
• Practical examples and case studies

Session 2: Practice Management & Business Skills

Strengthening Your Defences Against Scams, Phishing and Cyber Security Attacks

Around 300,000 cyber crimes are committed in Australia every year. Many of these incidents arise not from hacking but from the behaviour of people who fall prey to scams, phishing and other social engineering methods. Lawyers are no exception, with property lawyers particularly vulnerable. This session assists practitioners keep on top of their cyber-security risk by examining:

• The different methods currently employed for scams and the unique risks property lawyers face in practice 
• Tips for how to identify scams and fraudulent communications
• Suggestions for systems, policies and steps property lawyers can take to minimise their risk
• Spotlight on cyber security awareness with deposit-taking and release
• Potential consequences that can arise following a breach and what practitioners should do if they suspect a breach
• Lessons from recent examples

Session 3: Ethics

Caveat Use and Abuse: Ethical Considerations for Practitioners

The complexities in identifying and describing a caveatable interest have long occupied the courts, and further complications have resulted from the move to electronic registration. This session will examine recent developments in caveat law and registration, with a focus on the ethical challenges that can trip up practitioners. Key issues covered include:

• What constitutes a “caveatable interest”? A review of the grounds for lodging a caveat and its intersect with ethical obligations
• Understanding key professional obligations under the Electronic Conveyancing National Law
• Lodging caveats wisely – the who, what, why and how
• When to engage counsel to provide an opinion on lodging caveats
• Ethical dilemmas: opting for an injunction over a caveat – navigating the way forward
• Spotlight on:
  • Withdrawing a caveat without instructions
  • Terminating the retainer where a caveator will not take a practitioner’s advice
• Making mistakes when lodging caveats - lessons from Brose v Slade [2022] NSWSC 1785; Giurgis v JEA Developments Pty Ltd [2019] NSWSC 164
• Unpacking the disciplinary consequences for practitioners lodging and maintaining improper caveats over land
• Recent examples, including:
  • Victorian Legal Services Commissioner v Souki
  • Youssef v NSW Legal Services Commissioner