The right to disconnect came into force for employees of small businesses with under 15 employees on 26 August 2025. The new workplace right will place a burden on small business employers, many of whom have a very small number of employees that they rely on to manage their operations. We outline the key changes and steps small business employers should take to adapt to these new requirements.

The Australian High Court has refused Corporate Air Charter’s special leave to appeal the Full Federal Court decision and we consider how the industry might respond.

Norton White is pleased to announce the promotions of Andre Bemmer and Andrew Dunn to Senior Associates.

The Full Federal Court has overturned the decision of the Federal Court which had struck out the claims by passengers of a Qatar Airways flight who were subjected to an invasive search at Doha Airport. 

The proposed Aviation Customer Rights Charter and Aviation Industry Ombuds Scheme display some fundamental misunderstandings of airline operations for both our full service carriers and regional operators alike.

The High Court of Australia has handed down judgment in the matter of Renae Evans & Anor v Air Canada [2025] HCA 22.  A unanimous Court found that Air Canada had not waived its right to rely on Article 21(2) of the Montreal Convention. 

Full Federal Court confirms shipowners cannot limit liability for expenses associated with wreck removal

The Full Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by Corporate Air Charter Pty Limited, confirming that pilot standby time constitutes paid “work” under the Air Pilots Award and must be counted towards the average 38-hour work week.  

The Treasurer flagged in Tuesday night's budget a proposed prohibition on non-competes in employment contracts.  

Amendments have been proposed to the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 to address new threats to aviation, including new reporting requirements for cyber security breaches

Aviation Customer Rights Charter Out for Consultation

Following on from the Aviation White Paper, the Federal Government has now released the draft Aviation Customer Rights Charter for consultation. 

The Sydney Airport Demand Management Act 1997 (Cth) (‘the Act’) was passed nearly 30 years ago and regulates the allocation and use of slots for aircraft to take off and land at Sydney airport.

In our newsflash Air Pilots Award 2020 Payment Rates for Overtime and Standby Considered on 14 November 2023, we reported that the South Australian Employment Court had held that:

On 18 October 2024, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) announced that the limits of liability under the Montreal Convention 1999 (the Convention) will be increasing. The announcement comes as part of the Convention’s five-year review mechanism under Article 24, which was designed to ensure that passenger compensation remains relevant over time.  

Will a yacht insurer’s limitation claim in England stifle a shipowner’s dreams of a sunny vacation (and claim) in Greece(‘s Courts)? Find out in our case note for Zurich Insurance Company Limited (trading as Navigators and General) & Ors v Halcyon Yacht Charter LLP & Ors [2024] EWHC 937.

The Federal Court has ruled that a Fee Error Term in standard form contracts will be considered an unfair contract term if it allows companies to retain fees wrongly charged to a customer without the customer’s knowledge and limits the time within which the customer can dispute the fee.

On 12 December 2023, Justice Rothman of the New South Wales Supreme Court issued a judgment which held Part 2 of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) (CLA) applied to the determination of the quantum of damages recoverable by the Plaintiffs, who alleged they were injured during turbulence on board an Air Canada flight.

On 21 June 2024, the New South Wales Court of Appeal delivered a judgment in which it held that rule 105C(1)(a) of Air Canada’s International Tariff General Rules (Tariff) did not have the effect of waiving Air Canada’s right to invoke a defence under Article 21(1) of the Montreal Convention in order to limit its liability by proving that the damage is not due to negligence or other wrongful act or omission of Air Canda or its servants or agents.

The United Kingdom Court of Appeal has upheld a finding that no binding salvage contract was concluded for refloating surfaces after the Ever Given was salvaged in the Suez Canal, meaning the entity which performed the salvage was entitled to salvage under the International Convention on Salvage 1989 or the common law.

On Friday 24 May 2024, the New South Wales Court of Appeal delivered a judgment in Western Freight Management Pty Ltd v Toll Transport Pty Ltd [2024] NSWCA 124 unanimously dismissing the appeal with costs in favour of Toll Transport Pty Ltd.