Mark Hanna Lawyers

19/03/2026

Very saddened by the death of one of Australia's finest legal minds and jurists. Sir Anthony was instrumental in some of the most significant High Court decisions such as:
* Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992): where the doctrine of terra nullius (land belonging to no one) was overturned and native title for Indigenous Australians recognised for the first time.
* Church of the New Faith v Commissioner of Pay-roll Tax (Vic) (1983), Sir Anthony Mason (then Acting Chief Justice) co-authored the leading judgement that established the legal definition of religion in Australia and unanimously recognised Scientolology as a religion.
* Australian Capital Television v Commonwealth (1992): Established the existence of an implied freedom of political communication within the Australian Constitution, striking down laws that restricted political advertising.
* Church of the New Faith v Commissioner of Pay-roll Tax (Vic) (1983), Sir Anthony Mason (then Acting Chief Justice) co-authored the leading judgement that established the legal definition of religion in Australia and unanimously recognised Scientolology as a religion.
* Commonwealth v Tasmania (The Tasmanian Dam Case) (1983): Mason's majority judgement broadly interpreted the Commonwealth's external affairs power, allowing the federal government to stop the construction of the Franklin river dam and secured the protection of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage.
* For contract law fans, Waltons Stores (Interstate) Ltd v Maher (1988): is a foundational case in contract law that expanded the doctrine of promissory estoppel, preventing parties from backing out of "handshake" agreements if the other party relied on them to their detriment.
* Dietrich v The Queen (1992): Ruled that an accused person is entitled to publicly funded legal representation in serious criminal trials to ensure a fair trial.

10/02/2025

Pleased to announce that in addition to my position as a tribunal member at ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Principal at Mark Hanna Lawyers, the NSW Attorney General has just appointed me as a Tribunal Member at NCAT.

25/07/2024

Recently, this firm managed to get a child that had been effectively abducted to China not just returned to Australia to the care of his mother but measures put firmly in place to prevent it happening again.

The joy this created for this family is measureless.

12/03/2024

In a world where approximately half of all marriages end in divorce, this story of a 100 year old veteran's marriage stands as a beautiful counterpoint.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-12/us-world-war-ii-veteran-to-get-married-near-d-day-beaches/103576070



It was his daughter Joanne Schoscheim who introduced her to her now fiancee in 2021.

"She gave my dad such joy," Joanne said of Jeanne. "I didn’t want her to be lonely."

But it wasn't love at first sight.
Love at second sight

After Thelma's death, Harold wasn't interested in other women and barely noticed Jeanne.

"I didn’t even look at her. I didn't even talk to her," he said.

"I looked at him. He looked at me," Jeanne said, but "it was like nothing".

Even so, Harold's buddy Stanley Eisenberg took them to dinner the next night. He wanted to see who his friend had dismissed.

It was love at second sight.

"I had never seen him lit up like that," Stanley said.

Harold couldn't talk or eat, and that's not like him.

"I said, 'You're in love,'" Stanley said. "He said, 'I don't know. I've never had these feelings before.'"
World War II veteran Harold Terens, 100, right, and Jeanne Swerlin, 96 snuggle on the couch during an interview
The couple kiss, dance and hold hands like high school sweethearts. (AP Photo: Wilfredo Lee)

fter that date, Jeanne said Harold "didn't give me a chance" to turn him down. At 94, she also was in love.

"She got hysterical" with delight, he said.

"I thought I'd have to help him up, but he's so macho," she said.

The couple and their families will head to Paris in late May, where Harold and a handful of surviving World War II veterans will be honoured. Of the 16 million American World War II veterans, only 120,000 remain, the government says.

It will be Harold's fourth D-Day celebration in France. He received a medal from President Emmanuel Macron five years ago.

The families then will travel to the town of Carentan-les-Marais, where the couple plan to be married on June 8 by Mayor Jean-Pierre Lhonneur in a chapel built in the 1600s.

The mayor said because of the American sacrifice on D-Day, more US flags fly in the area than French.

"Normandy is the 51st state," he said.

He explained legally he is only allowed to marry town residents, but he thinks the local prosecutor will let him make an exception.

"It will be a pleasure for us," the mayor said.

AP

Harold Terens and his fiancee Jeanne Swerlin might be in their 100s and 90s but the couple kiss and hold hands like high school sweethearts.

26/11/2023

Judging at the 18th Annual LAWASIA moot in Bangalore India. This round, universities from Vietnam and India.

30/11/2022

Just a reminder to all company directors in Australia. Company Directors had until November 30 to apply for a new unique 15-digit Director ID identifier, with fines for board members, registered Australian charity organisations and foreign companies that failed to sign up to the anti-fraud system.

Whilst this has now been extended to 14 December, the process can be a little time consuming so if you have not yet started, get onto it immediately.

08/11/2022

My budgie has really taken to his new career in law...

01/09/2022

Brave and overdue words.
Violence is violence no matter where, black or white, male or female.

Justice Judith Kelly uses speech on Indigenous domestic violence to claim there’s a ‘culture in some communities that tolerates violence against women’

30/06/2022

Important Changes of Law to note for Australian small businesses start July 1 - see below:

At this time of the year, small businesses are busy making sure their taxes are in order. But amid the rush at the end of the financial year, certain changes that will come into effect on July 1 need to be noted.
From an increase in the national minimum wage to a change in the monthly superannuation threshold, the start of financial year 2022-23 will bring with it a set of legislative changes that affect small businesses hip pocket.
Here’s a guide to important changes your business needs to be aware of.
Minimum wage increase
The national minimum wage will increase by 5.2% and this change will kick in on July 1.
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From July 1, Australian employees will be entitled to a minimum take-home weekly pay of $812.60, or $21.38 an hour. This represents a weekly increase of $40 a week, with some 2.7 million Australians covered by the minimum employment standards.
Minimum Modern Award wages will also go up by 4.6% on July 1, subject to a minimum increase of $40 per week. What this means is that all finance teams should now be checking to ensure each of their employees are being paid the equivalent of any applicable Modern Award, including wages, penalty rates and overtime.
All employers will be able to check how the new rates will apply to their business via the Fair Work Ombudsman’s updated Pay and Conditions Tool.
Superannuation guarantee rate
The amount of superannuation employers need to pay their employees will also change next month, thanks to a scheduled increase in the superannuation guarantee (SG) rate.
The SG rate will increase from 10% to 10.5% on July 1, 2022, and is legislated to increase further to 12% by 2025.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is reminding employers that they will need to use the new rate to calculate super payments on or after July 1, even if some or all of the pay period covers work that was done before July 1.
More information about the superannuation obligations of employers is available here.
Superannuation monthly threshold
The number of employees that receive superannuation contributions from their employers is also set to increase.
From July 1, 2022, the $450 monthly eligibility threshold for SG payments is being removed, which means employees can be eligible for superannuation payments regardless of how much they earn.
As Brooks explains, “this means that as of 1 July 2022, you will be obligated to pay all employees — except for employees under 18 years old with less than 30 hours per week — superannuation contributions of 10.5%, regardless of whether they earn more than $450/month, or less”.
Professional service firms profits
Small businesses that operate professional services firms will need to be aware of a new approach by the ATO for how it treats the profits of such businesses, which will come into effect in July.
The Practical Compliance Guideline (PCG) 2021/4 is effectively a new way of assessing the risk level of profits generated by professional services firms, and how these profits are flowing through to the business owners, and their related parties, who are sharing in those profits.
The new guidance is likely to affect professional practices such as lawyers, accountants, architects, medical practices, engineers and architects.
Unfair dismissal threshold
The high end threshold for unfair dismissal claims also changes at the start of each new financial year.
The Fair Work Commission has confirmed that the threshold will increase on July 1 to $162,000, up from $158,000. This figure excludes superannuation.
Effectively employees that earn above this number and who aren’t covered by a Modern Award or enterprise agreement, are not able to bring an unfair dismissal claim.
The maximum amount of compensation that can be ordered by the Fair Work Commission in an unfair dismissal case will also increase to $81,000 for dismissals occurring on or after July 1, 2022. This is an increase of $2000 from the previous year.
Employee share schemes
The ATO is also reminding employers about recent changes to employee share schemes (ESS), which will come into effect on July 1.
The changes relate to how employees are taxed on shares received under an ESS, with employees no longer becoming liable for taxation on their shares if they leave the business on or after July 1, 2022.

02/06/2022

A truly great Australian has passed. Mabo, Wik, Church of New Faith - all cases in the High Court that changed the legal landscape. A brilliant and ethical man has passed but will not be forgotten.

Sir Gerard served on the High Court for 17 years and played a significant role in shaping Australia's legal system, including writing the lead judgement on the Mabo decision.