Legal Corner

Tax time: 10 expenses nurses might not know they can claim

Nurses are leaving permanent employment for contracting work at an unprecedented rate, and although that decision offers better working conditions…

Parts of ACT’s voluntary assisted dying bill to be rewritten

Australian Capital Territory officials have been tasked to rewrite parts of the voluntary assisted dying (VAD) bill after an inquiry…

Voluntary assisted dying is different to suicide. But federal laws conflate them and restrict access to telehealth

Michaela Estelle Okninski, University of Adelaide; Marc Trabsky, La Trobe University, and Neera Bhatia, Deakin University Voluntary assisted dying is…

VAD: Federal Court rules telehealth illegal

Doctors who give patients information about euthanasia over the phone could face criminal charges, the Federal Court ruled. Federal Court…

Dementia and voting in the Voice referendum

Dementia Australia (DA) is asking the families, carers and doctors of those living with dementia to start the conversation about…

Victorian aged care homes most likely to be victims of theft

According to recent data, theft was the number one crime in nursing homes. In the year to March 2023, aged-care…

Police wait on crucial report that will reveal how 95-year-old Clare Nowland died

Police are waiting on a crucial report that will reveal the cause of death for Clare Nowland, a 95-year-old woman…

OPAN pushes for law to stop abuse in aged care: Q&A

The nation's top advocacy group for older people has called for new laws to give aged care residents more power…

Check twice, click once: The legal implications of incorrectly sending patient information via email

Nurses are required to maintain patient confidentially due to their legal, moral, ethical, employment and professional duties as they are…

COVID-19: Can a nurse legally refuse to work?

Nurses are presently working amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But can a nurse legally refuse to work? Most nurses are employed…

Unfairly fingered: Is your employer allowed to collect your biometric data?

Increasingly, healthcare employers are using biometric and electronic databases and surveillance cameras to monitor their employees, who need to be…

Face value: cosmetics court case a warning to nurses

Many nurses are engaging in cosmetic and beauty practices for commercial benefit, either as an employee or sole practitioner. While…

Needle and the damage done: moment of carelessness lands nurse in court

In any action alleging negligence by a nurse, it is for the plaintiff to prove a number of ‘ingredients’. One…

What one doctor’s ‘vulgar’ online posts mean for all health professionals

When nurses use social media, whether at home or at work, they need to be aware of their professional obligations.…

Court imposes restricted social media usage for disabled consumer

This unique case from the UK brings to light the fine balance courts have to maintain between a disabled consumer’s…

Nurses brush up on role in voluntary assisted dying

Victoria will see voluntary assisted dying become law in June next year and nurses are still working through what the…

Unauthorised access to medical records: just don’t do it

An increasing number of hospital and health services are collating, storing and utilising medical and nursing records in electronic databases.…

Human rights and their impact on one aspect of mental health legislation

Australia is a signatory to a number of international agreements on human rights. The most important in relation to mental…

Nurse naps: what are the consequences of sleeping on the job?

There is an obvious employer expectation and condition of employment that when nurses are at work they are awake and…

Sexual assault by patients: what is a nurse’s duty of care?

Once a patient assumes an in-patient status in a hospital, it thereby creates a duty of care concerning protection of…

Duty of care: where does a nurse’s responsibility end?

The potential liability of health services, hospitals, day surgeries and clinics does not, depending on the nature of the treatment…

Criminal acts of employees: are nurse managers legally responsible?

Nurses and managers should be aware of a recent High Court of Australia decision concerning liability for the criminal acts…

Patients with medical injury sound off on hospital reaction

People who have experienced a medical injury need to be heard by clinicians and feel that the hospital is taking steps…

Sex with patient’s wife: nurse faces tribunal

If a nurse has an intimate, consensual relationship with a patient, it is deemed unacceptable to the profession. But what…

Notes on a nursing scandal

Directing another nurse to write inaccurate notes is a serious matter, as this case study illustrates. The making of nursing…