Australia: Healthcare

Ministerial Direction 105 allows the government to issue instructions to Home Affairs on how skilled visas should be prioritised, typically taking into account regional needs, sponsorship status and critical sectors.

In the recent decision by the Supreme Court of New South Wales (the Court), in Stott v Rashid[1], Justice Fagan held that proving that a practitioner failed to warn a patient of a material risk of a procedure is only half the battle in medical negligence cases. The plaintiff must also establish, on the balance of probabilities (i.e. more likely than not), that had they been advised of the risks, they would have declined the procedure (causation issue).

Finding into death without inquest: Geoffrey Paul McConachy. Coroners Court of Victoria [COR 2023 005213]