Prostitution In Australia – Is It Legal?

Prostitution is one of the largest markets in the world. Unfortunately, people throughout the world work as both male and female sex workers every day. Often, these people work in poor conditions or illegally, which has led to a lot of countries cracking down on the sex trade.

In Australia, prostitution is something of a complicated subject. In some places, and in some ways, it’s legal. However, there are also a lot of situations where it isn’t legal, so it’s important to know the rules if you’re either a sex worker or a client. An experienced criminal lawyer like Adelaide Lawyers will be able to help you out if you’ve been caught on the wrong side of the law, but it’s best not to put yourself in that position in the first place.

With this in mind, I’ve put together a quick overview of prostitution in Australia, outlining the main points of its legalities and illegalities.

When Is Prostitution Legal In Australia?

Although the exact rules surrounding prostitution in Australia differ by state and territory, many of the laws are consistent across the country. In general, prostitution is legal, but profiting from someone else’s prostitution isn’t – except in specific circumstances.

(more…)

When is My Relationship Considered ‘De Facto’?

De facto relationships are becoming increasingly common in the modern world as less and less people marry at an early age. Instead, people often decide to live together without getting married, which leads to them being considered a ‘de facto’ couple under the eyes of the law at some point.

Now, there are important legal considerations that you need to be aware of once you are considered to be in a de facto relationship. The best way to understand these is to speak with your local family lawyer, Family Lawyers Perth, but we’ve done our best to provide a brief overview below.

What is a de facto relationship?

The exact definition of a de facto relationship does differ by state in Australia, but basically it involves a serious relationship between two people who aren’t married, but who live together as if they are. There are a lot of things to think about when working out if you’re in a de facto relationship or not, including:

  • How long you’ve been together.
  • How long you’ve been living together. Usually you need to be living together at least part of the time to be considered de facto.
  • Whether there’s a sexual relationship and whether you have children together.
  • Whether you share joint bank accounts or own major joint assets.
  • Whether you act as if you’re married or in a serious relationship when you’re in public.

As you can see, there are a lot of factors that contribute to help the law identify if you’re in a de facto relationship or not. If it’s particularly important for you to know then consider speaking to your local family lawyer.

(more…)

9 Things to Consider When Starting Your Own Transport Company

Many people who love driving trucks decide to start up their own transport company. The kind of freight they take may depend on the size of the truck and whether they want to travel interstate, intrastate or just in the same city. No matter what kind of business you start, with the help of a good commercial lawyer there will always be the need to do it properly and adhere to the rules and regulations for your industry.

Here are 9 things to consider when starting up your own freighting company.

  • Choose a business structure. Operating as a sole trader is the cheapest option and you can still employ people. Other common options are partnership, company and trust. These take a little longer to organise and cost more, but not all that much.
  • Register for an Australian Business Number (ABN). This is free and only takes around 15 minutes. It is not essential, but there are good reasons for doing so, such as claiming tax credits. You’ll also need to register your business name, register for GST if you expect your GST turnover to be $75,000 or more, get a business or personal tax file number and you may need to register for PAYG.
  • You may also want to register a trademark for your business.

(more…)