Category W & G Lawyers

This article was written by Jialin Liu Solicitor at W & G Lawyers.

Is your subclass 500 plan still on track?

Are you in Australia on a Working Holiday, Temporary Graduate or work visa and planning to move to a Student visa? Have you completed a bachelor degree and planned to study a vocational course next? Or were you intending to bring your partner or children after your Student visa was granted?

From 2 October 2026, new rules substantially restrict who may apply for a Student visa in Australia, when family members may be included, and transfers between education providers. Current Student visas remain valid, but future applications and study plans may be affected.

This article explains the main changes and identifies practical issues to check before you lodge an application, change courses, travel or make financial commitments.

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October is Cyber Security Action Month in Australia. Until last year it was known as Cyber Security Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is “Take a second. Stay secure.” Scammers rely on speed, pressure and distraction. Pausing to check before you act may be the simplest and most effective way to protect yourself.

When you engage a lawyer, you share some of your most sensitive information, such as your identity documents, your financial records and details about your family. In many matters, large sums of money also change hands. This article explains the one scam you most need to know about and the simple steps you can take to keep your money and your information safe.

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This article was written by Nancy Wang Principal Solicitor at W & G Lawyers.

Picture the moment. You hold a call option over a development site. The deposit, a substantial sum, was paid to the owner months ago and the deed says it is non-refundable unless the owner is in breach. The option expires in a matter of days. During the option period a government proposal has surfaced that may take a strip of the frontage, and with it the viability of the project. Nobody has breached anything. The owner is sympathetic, and the owner has your money.

You are standing at a crossroads where every road appears to lead somewhere you do not want to go. This article is about that crossroads, and about the counter-intuitive road that a buyer took in a 2024 Supreme Court of Queensland decision to recover a $275,000 deposit. The buyer did not step back from the deal. It stepped further in.

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This article was written by Nancy Wang Principal Solicitor at W & G Lawyers.

You have bought a block with room for a second dwelling or a small subdivision. The engineer’s report arrives, and it says the stormwater from the new lots has to drain downhill through the property behind you. The neighbour is not interested in selling a strip of land, and is not interested in an easement either. Or you are that neighbour, and a letter has arrived with a deed to sign and a compensation figure already worked out.

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On 24 September, the W & G Lawyers team gathered over food, drinks and conversation to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival a day early. It was also an opportunity to farewell Isabel Pope on her last day with the firm before she moves to New South Wales for university.

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This article was written by Grace Blake Solicitor and Nancy Wang Principal Solicitor at W & G Lawyers. 

Each year the Queensland Public Trustee runs Wills Week to encourage Queenslanders to stop and think about their will. This year’s Wills Week ran from 7 to 13 September under the theme “Life changes, so should your Will”. A will is not a document you sign once and forget.

The Public Trustee’s latest research found that fewer than half of Queenslanders aged between 40 and 60 have a will. Among Queenslanders over 65 who do have one, around one in three have never updated it. An out-of-date will could leave out the people who matter most to you now, or name an executor who can no longer act.

This article walks through the moments in life when your will deserves a fresh look.

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This article was written by Nancy Wang Principal Solicitor at W & G Lawyers.

Each month the Commonwealth Bank publishes its Household Spending Insights report, built from the de-identified transactions of around seven million of its customers, roughly 30 per cent of all consumer transactions in Australia. The August 2026 edition, released on 22 September 2026, paints a picture that many Queensland families will recognise. Spending is still growing, but only just, and the growth that remains is going on the things you cannot avoid rather than the things you enjoy.

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If you are a director of a small company, you carry the same core legal duties as the director of a large one. The company may be just you, a laptop and an ABN, and the duties still apply.

In August 2026, ASIC launched a new online resource to help directors of small companies understand and meet those duties. It is called the Small Business Director Essentials hub, and it brings ASIC’s guidance for small company directors together in one place.

Here’s what you need to know.

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This September, our team took part in an AI course and a golf event organised by BAMIT, combining professional development with an enjoyable opportunity to connect outside the office.

With artificial intelligence continuing to evolve at a rapid pace, AI has become one of the most widely discussed topics across many industries and areas of everyday life. The course gave our team an opportunity to learn more about current developments in AI, explore key concepts and applications, and consider how emerging technologies may shape the way we work and live in the future.

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This article was written by Jialin Liu Solicitor at W & G Lawyers.

Running a company together requires trust and clear expectations. When relationships between shareholders or directors break down, disagreements can affect financial management, business decisions and everyday operations. If the company is also struggling to pay its debts, the situation can become urgent.

You may be asking: Can I access the accounts? Can I challenge a transaction? Can I leave the company or recover my losses? Could the company’s debts put my personal assets at risk?

We can help you understand your position, assess the risks and identify a practical way forward.

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