Latest News

Pre-Litigation Requirements (as at May 2011) - 24-Jun-2011
Recent legislative amendments spell big changes for the way in which lawyers and clients must now approach civil litigation matters, both at the State and Federal level. This information focuses on the State legislative requirements under amendments ..
Parental leave/Flexible work requests - 26-May-2011
Unilateral change to an employee’s role by an employer potentially amounts to constructive dismissal giving rise to a claim for compensation for an employee. The recent decision in Fair Work Australia (“FWA”) of Maria &ndas..
OHS Harmonisation - towards a national system in January 2012 - 25-May-2011
Employers must start preparing for the 2012 implementation of the model Occupational Health & Safety laws in order to ensure compliance with the new legislation. The Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council has approved model provisions ..
Enterprise Agreements - Australia Flexibility clauses - some tips to ensure approval - 24-May-2011
ENTERPRISE AGREEMENTS 1.1. Approval by FWA (a) By way of background, it is worth noting that Fair Work Austalia ("FWA") does not have a general discretion under the Fair Work Act ("the Act") to determine whether an enterprise agreement sho..
The elephant in the room - What steps has your Club taken to deal with Mandatory pre-commitment - 23-May-2011
Most if not all Clubs would now be aware of the Federal Parliamentary Joint Select Committee report on gambling reform which was handed down in May 2011. The chair of the committee was Mr Andrew Wilkie MP. The report sets out in detail reco..
Fraser-Kirk v David Jones – Is your business protected from sexual harassment claims? - 22-May-2011
Employers need to ensure that adequate policies and procedures are in place to avoid and to mitigate against the risks posed by sexual harassment claims. In 2010, Australia's biggest ever sexual harassment case - Kristy Fraser-Kirk v David Jone..
Unfair Dismissal - is your business protected from unfair dismissal claims? - 21-May-2011
The introduction of the Fair Work Act and the new unfair dismissal laws in July 2009 has resulted in a significant increase in coverage of employees within the unfair dismissal claims jurisdiction. Since that time, statistics show that there has..
Intellectual property - Are you legally entitled to maintain the usage of your business name? - 20-May-2011
It is important that businesses take all necessary steps to protect their intellectual property to avoid the loss or damage to their branding and intellectual property. This issue often arises in circumstances where businesses in related industr..
Managing ill and injured Employees - 19-May-2011
Employers should focus on ensuring reasonable management action and preventative steps when managing ill or injured employees to avoid workers compensation claims/other claims and the significant adverse effects and costs that are caused by such cla..
Are you paying your Club employees the correct entitlements under the Modern Award - 18-May-2011
Most registered clubs and their employees are now covered by the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award 2010 since 1 January 2010 when modern awards introduced by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) commenced operation to replace awards that existed before tha..

Eastern Commercial Lawyers

Our Team

John Murray

John Murray is admitted as a solicitor in New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts with a double major in Japanese Language and Japanese Studies from Monash University.

John previously worked as a partner in Workplace Relations in a large National firm until 2007. He is a founding partner of Eastern Commercial Lawyers.

A Workplace Relations and Commercial Litigation specialist John’s areas of expertise include advice to employers on:

Compliance with the Fair Work Act, other Federal and State based employment related legislation and Modern Awards
Litigation in all courts and tribunals and dispute resolution including mediation
Defending unfair dismissal proceedings
Advising on and defending Occupational Health & Safety prosecutions
Executive appointment and remuneration, negotiation and restraint of trade provisions
Preparation, drafting and implementation of workplace agreements including Enterprise Agreements and other industrial instruments
Preparation, drafting and implementation of occupational health & safety policies and procedures
Preparation, drafting and implementation of workplace policies and procedures on anti – discrimination, sexual harassment, and disciplinary procedures
Drafting employment agreements and independent contracts and other commercial agreements

Tony Johnston

Tony worked for a number of years in large city law firms before becoming a founding partner of Eastern Commercial Lawyers in early 2007. He has extensive experience in the registered clubs industry, and has managed a range of projects for registered clubs over the past 10 years.

Tony acts for a range of large and small registered clubs, wineries, gaming machine manufacturers, hotels and resorts and liquor manufacturers and retailers throughout Australia.

Tony’s practice is built on a reputation of providing prompt, clear, concise and practical legal solutions to his clients in a broad base of commercial areas including:

Advice concerning income diversification for registered clubs
Amalgamations of registered clubs
Commercial drafting including service and catering agreements
Corporate governance advice
Construction contracts
Liquor and gaming licence applications (new licences, removals, transfers, increases in gaming machines)
Large complex property transactions and developments
Statutory interpretation