Author Archives: Chris Teng

The ABC interviewed partner, Kevin Stephens regarding the implications of Aboriginal land claims on popular fishing spots around Darwin.  You can read more here.

Kim Zindel was a lawyer in Switzerland for several years before she decided to explore Australia in 2014. After falling in love both with the Top End and one of its residents, she lives with her now-husband in Darwin’s rural area.

Kim joined Ward Keller in March 2018 as a legal secretary in the firm’s family law division in Darwin.

‘The people are very friendly and supportive’, she said. ‘The atmosphere here is very nice.’

Kim said she loves the Top End weather, coming from Switzerland. In her spare time, she loves gardening, helping her husband on their rural property, and cooking.

This time round, Vanessa started with Ward Keller as a part-time Conveyancing Assistant in March 2018.

She first worked for the firm almost 20 years ago doing ‘a bit of everything’ for a few years: starting as a receptionist then working through roles of settlements clerk, conveyancing assistant and legal secretary.

In her hiatus from Ward Keller, Vanessa moved to Brisbane then went overseas for a few years, where she ‘imported a husband from Scotland’.

‘We were back in Darwin, and I’d had a few different jobs. I was thinking about getting back into conveyancing when the role at Ward Keller came up. So here I am!’ she said.

Vanessa supports conveyancers Theresa and Kim in Ward Keller’s Palmerston office. ‘I’m really enjoying being back’, she said.

Vanessa is a busy mum to two boys. ‘I’m really interested in health and also in property; we have two investment properties of our own’, she said.

Stella Noor joined Ward Keller in December 2017 as a legal secretary and gained experience in the Mining and Resources team as a law clerk while completing her law degree at Charles Darwin University.

Admitted in December 2020, Stella now practices in the energy, mining, pastoral, Aboriginal land, native title, associations and corporations area of law within the Mining and Resources division. Stella supports senior lawyers and partners in a wide variety of matters, including commercial property leasing, settlements of pastoral and commercial land sales, due diligence reporting, and legal research and analysis.

Stella enjoys being involved in the firm’s legal work. ‘I find the work challenging yet thoroughly interesting.’

Born in Paddington NSW, Stella moved to Darwin at the tender age of 14 months and has lived in Darwin all her life. She is also a huge fan of the Carlton Football Club and is an avid believer that they will make the grand final, one day.

Outside work (if she ever makes it, because she practically ‘lives at the firm’), Stella volunteers for Darwin Community Legal Service which provides free legal services to members of the community as she believes access to justice is important because it is an essential element to the rule of law.

Stella also loves a good book, occasionally enjoys a well done G&T, and does a bit of yoga.

Melinda Carmichael and her family moved to Darwin from Wollongong in 2017. She joined Ward Keller’s litigation division in Darwin in February 2018, where she helps support four busy lawyers.

Melinda has always worked in the legal field and brings 10 years of legal assistant experience in personal injury law. ‘In New South Wales, I helped with motor vehicle accidents, workers’ compensation and medical negligence matters’, she said.

Melinda loves her new workplace. ‘Ward Keller is wonderful’, she said. ‘The people are friendly and approachable; there’s no stuffiness or arrogance. I can see myself being here for a while.’

Melinda loves travelling and has lived and worked in the UK and the USA.

‘Now I’m excited to check out the Top End, she said. ‘I love the outdoors and am looking forward to exploring the wonders of the Northern Territory with my family. We really enjoy living here.’

Karen first joined Ward Keller in August 1988. She’s worked remotely and part time in stints but has never worked anywhere else in all that time.

‘There’s a bit of loyalty there, you could say!’ she said. ‘I guess I’ve grown up with Ward Keller.’

Karen said the firm’s culture hasn’t changed in all that time. ‘They’re such a wonderful group of people’, she said. ‘I’ve seen a few partners come and go, but the mentality and the feel of the place hasn’t changed.

‘I really do feel the partners have the staff’s best interests at heart and work hard to create a nice environment for everyone to work in. I love working here.’

Karen started off doing rounds then moved through the roles of paralegal, accounts clerk, settlements clerk and precedent development, eventually practising as a lawyer.

After taking leave to have children, she returned to do precedent development and is now the Practice Manager.

‘My job involves keeping an eye on the firm’s expenses and financial data, helping prepare monthly management reports, complying with Law Society requirements, and satisfying bank covenants and other workplace regulations, among lots of other things’, she said.

Karen has been in Darwin since 1986. She loves to play touch footy and has played with the same core group of girls for more than 25 years. She’s also a passionate Broncos and Queensland State of Origin supporter.

Di officially joined Ward Keller in December 2017 after two years of external work behind the scenes when the firm changed its database system.

‘In the changeover, all the firm’s documents and letters had to be recoded, so I did a lot of coding work, and I managed the workflow to make the users’ lives a little bit easier and cut down on their time to access the new documents’, she explained.

Di has had senior admin roles most of her career. ‘But always with an IT element to them’, said Di, whose previous role with a local real estate agency was to help switch databases.

She now maintains the new system and is the firm’s go-to IT person. ‘If anyone needs help with printers or computers or the network, they come to me’, she said. ‘It’s quite a challenge, but I really enjoy it. And no two days are the same!’

Di loves the culture at Ward Keller. ‘It’s a brilliant place to work’, she said. ‘Everyone is very friendly and supportive.’

Di has lived in Darwin on and off for 30 years. When she’s not at work, her passion is travelling. ‘I spend a lot of time researching our next place to explore!’, she said. Mostly overseas at the moment—she’s saving exploring Australia for her ‘grey nomad’ phase later in life.

The Greater Darwin region is still recovering from the damage caused by Cyclone Marcus.  Local residents are now asking who is responsible for the cost of repairs to a dividing fence when the damage has been caused by a fallen tree from a neighbouring property during the storm.

The general legal position in the Northern Territory is that where damage is caused to a dividing fence, the owners of land on either side of the fence must equally contribute to the cost of the repairs.  This includes damage caused by a natural disaster such as a cyclone.  In this circumstance, the neighbour should be approached to discuss the damage and the appropriate repairs that need to be made to the fence.

A Notice to Repair can be served on a neighbour requiring them to contribute to one half of the repairs.  The Notice to Repair must identify the part of the fence that is to be repaired and the nature of the repairs.  The repairs must reinstate the fence as it originally was and should not include upgrades to the fence.  If an agreement still cannot be reached, and a month has passed, the repairs to the fence can be completed and half the costs recovered from the neighbour.

There is, however, an exception if it can be established that the damage was caused by a neighbours’ negligence.  If negligence is proved the neighbour must pay for the full cost of the repairs to the fence.  But how can negligence be proved when it seems the tree has fallen because of severe winds in a cyclone?

Negligence can be proved if there was an obvious risk, before the cyclone, that the tree was likely to cause damage and the neighbour failed to do anything about it.  Examples include noticeably dangerous trees that are decaying, falling down or losing branches, suffering termite infestation, trees that have been planted in an inappropriate environment or where complaints by neighbours have been made about the tree and ignored.   Neighbours may also have an obligation to inspect a tree if there is something to indicate it could be dangerous for example when building work has occurred too close to the tree and caused damage.  However if the tree appears to be healthy and an inspection would not have revealed any obvious danger, the neighbour will not be negligent.

If it can be proved a fence was damaged due to a neighbour’s negligence the neighbour must repair the fence.  If after a month the fence has not been repaired, the fence can be repaired and the costs recovered from the neighbour.

It should be noted that negligence would be difficult to establish in this circumstance as it must be proved something other than the cyclone contributed to the tree falling down.  Whether a neighbour is negligent will depend on the individual circumstances of the case and independent legal advice should always be obtained.

Any disputes that arise in relation to repairs to a fence can be taken to the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal.  For more information visit: http://ntcat.nt.gov.au/.

Disclaimer

The advice provided in this article is of a general nature only and should not be substituted for obtaining your own independent legal advice.  If you think your fence has been damaged due to a neighbours’ negligence please contact Ward Keller on (08) 8946 2999 or wardkeller@wardkeller.com.au for further advice. 

By Sarah Borrows

The Greater Darwin region is still recovering from the damage caused by Cyclone Marcus.  Local residents are now asking who is responsible for the cost of repairs to a dividing fence when the damage has been caused by a fallen tree from a neighbouring property during the storm.

The general legal position in the Northern Territory is that where damage is caused to a dividing fence, the owners of land on either side of the fence must equally contribute to the cost of the repairs.  This includes damage caused by a natural disaster such as a cyclone.  In this circumstance, the neighbour should be approached to discuss the damage and the appropriate repairs that need to be made to the fence.

A Notice to Repair can be served on a neighbour requiring them to contribute to one half of the repairs.  The Notice to Repair must identify the part of the fence that is to be repaired and the nature of the repairs.  The repairs must reinstate the fence as it originally was and should not include upgrades to the fence.  If an agreement still cannot be reached, and a month has passed, the repairs to the fence can be completed and half the costs recovered from the neighbour.

There is, however, an exception if it can be established that the damage was caused by a neighbours’ negligence.  If negligence is proved the neighbour must pay for the full cost of the repairs to the fence.  But how can negligence be proved when it seems the tree has fallen because of severe winds in a cyclone?

Negligence can be proved if there was an obvious risk, before the cyclone, that the tree was likely to cause damage and the neighbour failed to do anything about it.  Examples include noticeably dangerous trees that are decaying, falling down or losing branches, suffering termite infestation, trees that have been planted in an inappropriate environment or where complaints by neighbours have been made about the tree and ignored.   Neighbours may also have an obligation to inspect a tree if there is something to indicate it could be dangerous for example when building work has occurred too close to the tree and caused damage.  However if the tree appears to be healthy and an inspection would not have revealed any obvious danger, the neighbour will not be negligent.

If it can be proved a fence was damaged due to a neighbour’s negligence the neighbour must repair the fence.  If after a month the fence has not been repaired, the fence can be repaired and the costs recovered from the neighbour.

It should be noted that negligence would be difficult to establish in this circumstance as it must be proved something other than the cyclone contributed to the tree falling down.  Whether a neighbour is negligent will depend on the individual circumstances of the case and independent legal advice should always be obtained.

Any disputes that arise in relation to repairs to a fence can be taken to the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal.  For more information visit: http://ntcat.nt.gov.au/.

Disclaimer

The advice provided in this article is of a general nature only and should not be substituted for obtaining your own independent legal advice.  If you think your fence has been damaged due to a neighbours’ negligence please contact Ward Keller on (08) 8946 2999 or wardkeller@wardkeller.com.au for further advice. 

Partner Leon Loganathan and senior lawyer Bradly Torgan, featured on the NT News to discuss how Ward Keller can assist Territory businesses with nagivating U.S. contract complexities.

News article courtesy of the NT News.