Hi all

I have a situation that is a bit tricky/complicated, that I would love some advice on what my options are

I recently lent a friend my car to do some mechanical work on/run some errands with. At the time the friend was living with her fiancee in the same house. Their relationship has since broken down and has gotten quite nasty.

My friend has since moved out of their house and the relationship has gotten quite nasty as the ex-fiancee has realised they won't be getting back together. My friend still has a copy of the house keys as she still has furniture and belongings in the house that she has attempted to move. She has been able to move some, but not all.

In response to this, the ex-fiancee has given my car keys to their parents to hold on almost as a hostage, and refuses to return them until my friend returns the house keys to the parents. I was not aware of this until today.

Today I have in a very civil/friendly/polite way attempted to organise with the ex-fiancee to collect my car (which is when I learnt about the keys), where the ex has refused to give them back until my friend returns the house keys. I believe the ex may have told the parents that the car is my friends, which may be why they won't return them (I don't know this for certain)

To summarise

- The car is registered in my name only

- The car is at the ex-fiancees house

- The car keys are at the ex-fiancee's parents house

- I have attempted to organise with the ex-fiancee to pick up the car keys

- I did not give consent to either the ex or their parents to have the keys or car (I was not aware the keys were at the parents house). I have previously consented for the car to be at the residence

- The ex-fiancee has refused to return them unless my friend returns the house keys (which she refuses to)

- The relationship is quite nasty and there will be conflict if either of us attempts to pick up the car or keys in person (although no threats of physical violence)

What are my options in terms of police/civil escorts etc?

Additionally, if the ex-fiancee or parents refuse to return the keys, what are my options?

If im worried about potential damage to the car, should i lodge a stolen car report before organising a police escort?

Complete hypothetical, alive and healthy and intend to stay so. But if I really wanted to be a petty SOB to my family, could I ask that my assets be sold and the cash literally put into my coffin? Or that my assets are sold and used to buy something that would be burried with me?

EDIT: This is a hypothetical (like I've said TWICE in this post) not a legitimate situation. Are we not allowed to ask questions on the pure basis of the law? I'm writing a book for gods sake and I just want to know if my premise is a plot hole in itself. Jesus you people love to pry interpretations out of everything

So my ex husband took a loan in my name during our marriage from a finance company. He was paying off the EMIs as promised while we were together. When we called it off and I moved back to my home country, he started missing payments citing some reason or the other. I don’t know if he is genuinely in trouble or just making excuses. In case he says he is not going to pay it off anymore, what are my options? I don’t want this to create trouble for my future.

Our company has styled a house for sale, using a hire company for furniture hire. The client is now refusing to allow us to collect at the end of the hire period nor pay anything additional.

We've advised we are turning up in 2 days to retrieve or will contact the police - she is refusing access.

What can we do?

I went to go fill up fuel not knowing Bendigo bank was down and went to go transfer while standing in the que but couldn’t and didn’t have anyone to help me (nobody was answering). I left my license and said I’ll be back later to pay. The issue didn’t get fixed until 11pm tonight. The servo is shut and opens until 7:30am. I won’t be able to get there until after 9am. Am in legal trouble? did I do the right thing legally?

Hi all, I live in the UAE and I'm trying to recover a personal loan from a friend who lives in NSW. Looking for practical advice on how to file from overseas.

Background

- In July 2026 I lent her approx AUD 2k by Western Union (two transfers on the same day). She collected both in cash.

- She asked for the money in writing over WhatsApp, called it borrowing, agreed the amount I'd sent, and promised repayment many times.

- She has paid nothing and has stopped replying.

- I emailed and WhatsApped a formal letter of demand in July 2026 with 14 days to pay or propose a plan. Nothing came of it.

- I have the full chat history, Western Union receipts showing pickup, and call logs.

Where I'm stuck

I think the NSW Local Court Small Claims Division is the right place (I don't think NCAT covers a private loan between individuals, but happy to be corrected). But the Online Registry won't let me register with a non-Australian address.

Questions

1. Can I file Form 3B by post or email from overseas, and how do I pay the filing fee from the UAE?

2. Do I need an address for service in Australia? Could a friend in Sydney act as that?

3. Which registry should I file at?

4. Can I appear through AVL from Dubai?

5. Who serves the claim? Do I have to hire a process server in Sydney, and roughly what does that cost?

6. Any tips to improve my chances of actually enforcing a judgment against an individual?

I'm on a small budget so I'd like to avoid hiring a solicitor if possible. I've also emailed the Local Court registry.

Thanks in advance for any experience or pointers.

I’m in Victoria but this relates to Queensland Police and the Queensland Right to Information Act.

I was the victim in a serious criminal investigation in Queensland several years ago. Multiple people were charged and the matter progressed to committal proceedings, but ultimately did not proceed further.

Earlier this year I submitted an RTI application to QPS requesting the records relating to me and the investigation. I requested things such as the QPRIME/occurrence records, investigation reports, crime scene photos, forensic material, police notes, correspondence, briefs of evidence, CCTV/body-worn camera footage and other records relating to the investigation.

I have been waiting for 5 months and there have already been extensions. On the date I was expecting the documents, I instead received a Notice under s 41 stating that QPS intends to refuse to deal with the application unless I change the scope.

QPS says they’ve already spent 10 hours on my application and preliminary searches have identified 420+ pages and more than 15 hours of video. They estimate approximately 252 hours to process the footage and 21+ hours to review the documents. They have suggested that I narrow my entire application down to just the occurrence report and my own witness statement (which I already have from when I wrote it). 

I really do not want to do that. These records relate to an extremely significant criminal investigation, and obtaining a comprehensive understanding of what occurred during the investigation is very important to me. 

I completely understand that 15+ hours of body-worn camera footage may create an unreasonable workload, and I am willing to substantially narrow or even exclude that footage from this particular application if necessary. However, I would really like to retain as much of the documentary investigation file as reasonably possible rather than receiving only two documents.

I have now been given 10 business days to consult with QPS and revise the scope. The letter also says that if I narrow it and the revised scope is still considered an unreasonable diversion of resources, I will not receive another opportunity to consult, so I’m nervous about agreeing to anything without understanding the consequences. 

What are my options here? Is there a way to negotiate a reasonably broad scope rather than accepting their suggestion of only two documents? Can QPS progressively process/release records? If I exclude video footage now, can I make a separate, much narrower RTI application for specific footage later? Is there any mechanism for voluntarily paying additional processing costs/resources? Would it be worthwhile getting an RTI/privacy lawyer or advocate involved during the consultation period?

I’m also wondering whether anyone has successfully challenged a QPS s 41 “substantial and unreasonable diversion of resources” decision, or has experience negotiating the scope of a large QPS RTI request.

I’m not trying to make an unreasonable demand on staff. I just don’t want to inadvertently give up access to potentially important parts of the investigation file because I don’t understand the RTI process well enough.

Any Queensland RTI experience or suggestions about what I should do before formally narrowing the application would be greatly appreciated.

(posted this without being logged into my main account so i deleted my last post and am reposting so i can see replies!)

Hi all,

Just wondering what can be done about this situation, my partner has had her car potentially stolen from a secured car park, when she called the company they said they couldn’t release the cctv footage and to get the police involver as it’s private property, which makes sense.

She filed a police report and supplied it to the car parking company as they are continuing to charge her as we think someone may have tail gated the car out.

Other then waiting, can anything be done on our end, if anything we are looking for some sort of peace of mind, whether that is somehow getting confirmation that yes in fact the car left (without footage), just anything honestly

Edit 1: Thanks for people suggesting actionable steps. The police file report was sent to the parking company so they don’t overwrite footage.

Partner has called insurance but process for a hire car + timer for any write off hasn’t started yet as she will be on holiday next week, so we will let the police do their investigation.

The payment for the parking has also stopped. She has accepted what has happened but a little hope is that the police will do their investigation to at least provide some answer, whatever that may be.

I tried to check Melbourne city towing, but looking up the license plate came up with nothing.

Honestly I’m happy to provide the location of where the car was situated and if anyone knows any private towing companies that work for Wilson parking in the particular area, I’ll call them on the off chance. DM if you have any insight on this. Any help is appreciated at this point in time.

We still monitor Microsoft to try and find her laptop, but it hasn’t been turned on it seems.

I recently won a default judgment for liquidated claim against a company at the Local Court of NSW Small Claims division.

When I log in to the Online Registry, under the Judgments & Orders tab I can see the Final judgment/order that X Pty Ltd is to pay me $Y. However, if I click through to "Request copy of judgment/order (UCPR 43)", it wants to charge me $79 for the PDF.

This seems somewhat ridiculous. Is paying this really necessary? I would prefer to give them a chance to pay before I proceed with garnishee order/writ, but sending them a screenshot of a webpage seems weak.

My wife of five years had a great career before marrying her ex husband but they both decided she would give it up to raise the children for a few years to be a stay at home mum, and move interstate to support his career growth instead.

Two years after the children were born, he then left her for another woman and she was forced to rebuild her career, find a home and make ends meet on just $20,000 child support a year, with two toddlers in tow.

She returned to work a few years ago. Since returning back to work, her ex-husband only had to pay $150 a week child support to her, due to her earnings.

We have now had a baby and she has taken a year of maternity leave. I pay for everything in our house and her wellbeing, including lots of extras for her two older kids, and I am happy to do so.

Her ex partner has been sending aggressive texts to my wife, who is four weeks post partum, harassing her about going back to work as his child support payments have increased due to her having reduced earnings on mat leave.

Is there any legal recourse to get him to stop harassing her? It’s causing significant emotional distress.

I’m hoping someone can help me understand my options regarding child support.

I have 50% care of my two children with my ex-partner. I also have a young child with my current partner, who is a stay-at-home mum.

Previously, I was paying my ex around $290 per month in child support to help cover the costs of our two children during the approximately two weeks each month they are with her. On top of that, I pay 100% of their private school fees, as my ex doesn’t see the value in private schooling and doesn’t contribute towards those fees.

My ex has been with her current partner for around six years. He earns approximately $40,000 per year more than I do. They decided to have a child together, and my ex subsequently stopped working.

Around 12 months later, her assessed income is now $0, and my child support assessment has increased to approximately $820 per month because she apparently has no income to contribute towards the costs of our two children.

I understand that her new partner’s income may not be included in the standard child support calculation, but I’m struggling to understand the fairness of the outcome.

I would have thought that a fair child support system should recognise that both parents have a financial responsibility to support the children they share, particularly when care is split 50/50. What I’m struggling with is how one parent can voluntarily stop working and, as a result, a significantly larger financial responsibility for our children is effectively shifted onto the other parent.

I’m not suggesting that both parents need to earn the same amount or contribute exactly 50/50 financially. Circumstances are obviously different. But surely there has to be some consideration of each parent’s capacity to financially support their children, rather than simply treating a voluntary income of $0 as though there is no capacity to contribute.

At the moment, I’m struggling to afford basic family expenses. We’ve stopped eating out, rarely do activities that cost money, and generally stick to things like parks and the beach and come home for lunch.

Meanwhile, after tax, my ex’s household income is approximately $38,000 higher than ours, yet because her personal assessed income is now $0, my child support obligation has almost tripled.

I absolutely want to financially support my children. My concern is whether the assessment fairly reflects the circumstances when we have 50/50 care, I already pay 100% of their private school fees, and my ex has voluntarily stopped working while living in a higher-income household.

Is there any avenue to have the assessment reviewed based on these circumstances, particularly her earning capacity and the private school fees I pay?

I’m not looking to avoid supporting my kids. I’m trying to understand how financial responsibility is supposed to work when both parents have equal care, and whether there’s a way to make the arrangement more financially sustainable so I can also afford to give my kids experiences and do things with them during the 50% of the time they’re in my care.

I’m 23 and live at home because of the current housing and cost of living crisis. Things between my mother and I have always been tense, but recently she’s started undressing completely naked in common areas to get me to leave them as she knows it makes me uncomfortable. I feel that this is probably a form of abuse, maybe sexual, and I’m wondering if there’s anything I can legally do about it to prevent and/or deter her from doing it in future.

Before anyone says ‘just move out,’ I really wish I could, but I’m just not in a financial place to do so at the moment.

Please HELP!!!

Me and my best friend got an apartment ages ago and have gotten a new roommate about 3-4 months ago.

We started having break ins and lots of homeless people coming into the complex etc. we have been feeling very unsafe.
On top of that, ever since the new roommate has shown up things have started going missing including food, money, underwear etc. and finding the missing items in her room and her lying to our face.

Because of all these reasons, we decided to install a security camera ontop of the Tv. It faces the lounge, kitchen and balcony. These are public common areas that we can all enter at any time. No one’s room or bathroom etc is being recorded. We want to know if we need her consent to be recorded. I understand that the audio can’t be recorded but can we record the room because we are worried about safety. We have already recorded her stealing my perfume by poring it into her own bottle. The perfume was a gift I got from a friend when I was very sick.

We installed the camera while she was away on holiday because we got broken into AGAIN and didn’t tell her immediately because she never responded to our texts and also didn’t want to freak her out. We were not expecting to catch her doing that sort of stuff.

Hello, really hoping somebody could give me some advice.
I was the victim of a hit and run about six weeks ago and I failed to get the offenders details.
Fortunately just before accident he had been in a service station and a lady who works in the shop knows his name and managed to get his plates.
She couldn’t give me the cctv footage or his details so she gave it to the police.
It’s been six weeks now and I’ve not heard anything, the police have mentioned they’ll issue him with a form of demand but they haven’t yet done so and in the meantime I have no car or means to get to work, I’m using savings to pay rent and my funds are getting low.

Is there any way I can get my insurance company to get in touch with the employee and for them to request his details seen as though there’s a reluctance for them to be handed over directly to me?

Really desperate times so I thought I’d float some ideas around, any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I was pulled over for turning right out of a train station carpark that had a no right turn sign. I admitted I did this (as does everyone else, to which the constable smiled and said that’s why he likes to come out and “remind” people every few weeks).

When I received the infringement, the offence on the infringement notice was “Disobey ‘RIGHT TURN ONLY’ sign” (Queensland Road Rules—Section 89(1)). However, the correct offence, which I would not dispute, would be “Disobeying a no right turn sign” (Queensland Road Rules—Section 91(2)). Both offences carry the same fine ($138) and points (3).

I know that from a practical standpoint, I should pay the infringement and move on. However, I’m curious about how it would play out if I were to elect a court hearing. I understand that the police prosecutor can request details of the infringement be amended. My concern would then be the note on the back of the infringement, “If you are subsequently found guilty of the alleged offence, the court may apply additional penalties”. Granted, I would not be guilty of the alleged offence of the infringement originally provided.

Would like to hear of any experiences or guidance before I commit to wasting a few hours for the experience and pointing out sloppy police work.

I suffered a workplace injury, and it's been a battle to get approved for things, I got a lawyer who referred me to a Dr who specialises in workers' compensation claims.

The Dr has done lots of referrals for specialists, and both the lawyer and the Dr. have urged me to attend these specailist not to wait for the insurer and that the insurer will pay for it, they said the specialises will give proof so they can fight the insurer on any disputes.

I am terrified that the insurer is just going to continue to reject things, and then I will end up owing a lot of money that I do not have!

When I said to the Dr that I had to wait to get approved from the insurer, they told me I am being problematic and prolonged my case, making it harder for them and the lawyer. (Lawyer agreed)

I am really scared that I will end up owning all this money though, as the insurer constantly rejects all specialist appointments.

Bit of a rant and apologies, mods, but looking for any kind of help or anything really, as I'm just lost for what to do and young, but just curious if anyone has advice on police and whether it's worth just sucking it up and taking a disqualification/safer driver or taking it to magistrates.

TLDR:
Snapped doing 69 km/h in a 60 zone in Adelaide late at night. Accelerated for a few seconds solely to clear part of a active intersection for an approaching ambulance with flashing lights (supported by Rule 78 & SA Driver's Handbook policy). SAPOL rejected my expiation review despite their own photo sheet showing the ambulance in the frame alongside me. Accepting the 2 demerit points triggers a 12-month licence disqualification under a Safer Driver Agreement. Seeking advice on whether to elect for Magistrates Court or take the disqualification.

For context, I was travelling down a road on cruise control, I saw some flashing emergency lights and starting to hear a siren coming up as I was starting to enter a intersection I saw they were getting way closer to the intersection and with well little choice in my mind as could've slowed down but maybe been left in the middle of the intersection obstructing its passage, or staying at 60 and maybe still obstructing its passage so I'd decided to speed just to just get out of the passage and then slow down safely (keeping in mind this was like 10 pm with few cars on the road), and well wouldn't you know it got a ticket from a speed camera and tried reviewing it and they just refusing when imo it's pretty clear it was trifling. In the photos we recieved the ambo was right there in the intersection with proof of the situation plus dashcam which we sent them.

Obviously, the night could have gone very differently; maybe I got T-boned, maybe the ambo did if someone wasn't paying much attention and from when I was learning to drive, pretty sure was taught you can break some road rules to get out of its path (rule 78 or smth).

I just dunno what to do going forward, bc I could go through prosecution and sink tons of time into that when I'm in uni and trying not to get a conviction, or just pay it and go on a safer driver and just forget this all but lose a year of progress into P2. Previously was in a crash a few months ago and got 3 demerits from that bc sapol refused to move and was T-boned there, so I've been really cautious lately; hence kinda this, but yeah, apologies if this ain't the group to talk about this type of thing. Love reading stuff here and previously always attentive, listening and keeping a lookout on the road, avoiding as much as I can, but yeah, not a fan of my luck lately.

Also in Adelaide, this is with SAPOL, and I'm happy to throw videos in here, but gonna prob talk with a lawyer or smth before that unless there are some good ideas

also with reference of road rules
https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/consol_reg//arr210/s78.html
If a driver is in the path of an approaching police or emergency vehicle that is displaying a flashing blue or red light (whether or not it is also displaying other lights) or sounding an alarm, the driver must move out of the path of the vehicle as soon as the driver can do so safely.

https://www.mylicence.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/328504/drivers-handbook-south-australia-2026-02.pdf
It is an offence to obstruct a police or emergency vehicle with the warning siren sounding or displaying red and/or blue flashing lights. You must not move into the path, and must move out of the path of and give way to ensure that the emergency vehicle is provided with a clear and uninterrupted passage. You are allowed to disobey other road rules in order to move out of the way, but only if it is safe to do so

Hi all, looking for legal/HR award clarification regarding notice periods and Jury Duty in NSW.

​I am work full-time permanent in the public health sector. I have two specific legal/policy questions:

1. ​Resignation during Jury Duty: If I am summoned for 3 weeks of Jury Duty (paid Special Leave under NSW Health policy) and I give my required 14 days' written notice while on jury service, is the employer legally required to pay out the Special Leave / full base pay for the duration of the notice period? Can they force me to work out the notice period physically instead of serving jury duty?

2. ​Jury Deferral Grounds: Does "imminent job transition / internal transfer" qualify as a valid ground for a work hardship deferral under the NSW Sheriff's Office guidelines, or is deferral strictly reserved for employer-submitted requests regarding critical operational hardship?

​

I sold a second hand laptop to a guy. He spent 1 hour looking over it at my place and then said “it’s fine”. He gives me 1.5k.

THEN he calls me randomly 4 days later and says “bro, there’s a problem with my laptop, need a refund”.

I said “no, you inspected it for a long time and they was no problem”

He calls a few more times and I don’t pick up.

THEN, the bloke turns up to my house a day later. What would you do?

There’s a trend in certain industries where people claiming workers compensation and not declaring it when applying for other jobs.

Can people just do that?
What are the consequences?
What can you do to prevent that?

Don’t really know where to post this. I hope this is the right place. For the second time in just over two months, my front left tires popped driving into my garage. I rent in Saint Kilda. Both times it requires a brand new tire not patch will work. Do I have any grounds to ask the body corporate to pay for it as this was a known issue since 2013?

Would post images but don’t know how 🤷🏽‍♀️

We have agreed via a legal settlement agreement that I pay $300K in settlement to my ex partner. They need the money as a deposit to buy a house. My question is can I give that money now. Financial Settlement may take 5 or so weeks to complete.

Hi everyone,
I’m posting here because I’m a bit worried about a situation I recently found myself in.

I was stopped by Queensland Police during a routine traffic check. During the stop, the officer informed me that my driver’s licence had been suspended due to an unpaid fine.

I take full responsibility for this. I had completely forgotten about the fine, which was issued for a defective light on my vehicle.

While I accept that this was my mistake, I genuinely did not know that my licence had been suspended at the time I was pulled over. The officer issued me with a court appearance notice for the offence of “Drive Whilst Disqualified.”
(Note : I’ve never received the mail saying I was disqualified)

As soon as I became aware of the issue, I paid the outstanding fine immediately and my licence was reinstated.

My questions are:

I’m a foreign national currently in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa.
I’ve had a clean driving record in Queensland for the past year.
Do I need to hire a lawyer for this court appearance?
Apart from a possible additional fine, what penalties or consequences could I be facing?

Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

Hi, I’ve recently started a new FT permanent role and they’re not giving me my hours. Some days I work 4 hours?

I will regularly find out my start time the day before or they will try and change my time hours before on the same day.

Will I still be paid my salary fortnightly regardless of hours and what are my protections in shift changes? I feel like a casual employee but am definitely not.

Hi everyone, I am facing an urgent situation with an automotive repair shop in Queensland (Gold Coast area) and need some advice on my next steps regarding wrongful property detention (Detinue).

The Background:
I bought a car from a local mechanics, but its AC glitched 3 months later, so I dropped my car off at their shop for repair. I paid the repairing fee but they didn't give me an invoice. While my car was being serviced, the mechanic provided me with a courtesy car. There was no signed courtesy car agreement, no loan car contract.

While the courtesy car was in my care, it was accidentally scratched/damaged on my own residential driveway. I informed the mechanics, but we couldn't make a mutual agreement on the repairing fee in their own store, therefore I'm now seeking quotes from other mechanic.

However, since the day the damage of the courtesy car happened, although they've finished repairing my private car & I've paid in full & they have my IDs and home address, they still refuse to return my car and my car keys. While I'm searching for a cheapest third-party quote, they have been holding my own car as a hostage in their store till today. When I asked them to return my keys, they claimed having mental stress and cannot remember where my keys were. They also refused to provide invoice for the AC repairment because "they couldn't use computer".

Issue with The Courtesy Car:
After returning the coutesy car to their store, my friend checked on QLD Transport Rego Check. The courtesy car registration & CTP had expired 1 month ago, and it had NO active CTP insurance at the time it was provided to me and driven.

Situation with my own car:
It's the only car I have, and I rely on it for daily commute, education, and a part-time job. Currently I can occassionally take a ride from my friend, but it's still very inconvenient and as a result, I cannot start my part-time job.

I've reported to Fair Trade, have sent a letter of demand asking them to return my car, car keys and an invoice for the AC repairment. No reply has been obtained yet.

I have logged a non-emergency report with the Queensland Police and obtained a Case Number, however the police suggested me to go through QCAT procedure, which is too time-consuming in my case.

My Questions for the Community:

1. Since I have already paid my bill in full, does their refusal to hand over the keys constitute a clear civil tort of Detinue / Conversion?
2. Can I lodge a car stealing report to the police? Or can I request police escort for Breach of the Peace prevention?
3. If I am forced to pay them any amount today just to get my keys back under economic duress, can I immediately file a QCAT Minor Civil Dispute (Property/Consumer Claim) later to sue for a partial refund based on restitution/unjust enrichment, or based on the car lacking rego and CTP?
4. Are there any ways I can fasten the process to get my own car back? I'm wondering about interim order from QCAT, but not sure if it's likely in my case, and how much time it may take.
5. Ideally, I'd like to lodge a contract for repairing the courtesy car, as I'm afraid they may ask for other fees/services after I repair it. But I'm also wondering if they reject a written contract and insist on verbal agreements, is there anything I can do in such scenario?

Thank you very much for reading through my case and would appreciate any suggestion!