Justice vs Compensation – What’s the Difference and Why It Matters
Before making a claim for historical abuse it is important to understand the differences between civil justice and compensation.
Expert cross-border transactions lawyers
Through globalisation many businesses operate in multiple jurisdictions and they often encounter a range of challenges and requirements to comply with different legal obligations. At Koffels, we understand the needs of your business and can provide solutions based on our experience in representing many international clients in Australia as well as Australian businesses operating and seeking to expand internationally.
We are affiliated with Lawyers Associated Worldwide (LAW) with over 100 members with 4,000 lawyers located in over 50 countries and IR Global, with over 950 members consisting of world’s leading legal, accountancy and financial advisers across 150 jurisdictions. Our alliance with global associations allow us to provide top quality international legal resources to our local and international clients on all cross border dealings.
To meet the needs of clients pursuing business strategies across the globe, we can assist with international corporate dealings including:
- Company set-up in Australia and in other jurisdictions
- Off shore sales, mergers, joint ventures and acquisitions
- Corporate finance and securities
- Corporate governance and migration
- Business and investment related activities including Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) applications and advice
- Financial planning and international taxation, asset management
- International licensing arrangements
- International competition, insurance and trust laws
- Shipping, maritime and aviation law
- Import/export
- Intellectual property dispute and defence
- Employment and workplace relations
- All forms of litigation for corporate and commercial transactions and dispute resolution
For individuals, we can provide assistance with your personal matters whether you are in Australia or in another country. Our expertise in personal cross border dealings include:
- Purchase of overseas real estate or purchase of Australian real estate by residents of other countries.
- FIRB advice and applications for foreign purchaser of real estate and/or investment in Australia
- Personal migration (in particular USA, UK, Canada)
- Personal injury and compensation law including sexual abuse
- Medical negligence or malpractice
- Probate, Succession, Wills and Estate planning
- Family law disputes including Hague Convention on Child Abduction and enforcing judgement in Australia and other jurisdictions
- Litigation of contentious matters including court actions, arbitration, mediation and other forms of dispute resolution.
Related news and updates
How Australia’s Counter‑Terror Laws Are Creeping Into Protest Policing
Australia’s counter-terror laws have expanded steadily for more than two decades, each reform justified by the urgency of crisis. From the sweeping legal response to 9/11 to the aftermath of the Lindt Café siege, successive governments have built an increasingly preventative security framework. The legislative reaction to the December Bondi attack may represent a new stage in this trajectory. Measures framed as responses to extremism now reach beyond terrorism itself, regulating protest activity and political speech. Viewed through the lens of incrementalism, these developments raise complex questions.
The Trouble With ‘Good Character’ in Sexual Assault Trials
NSW is on the cusp of reshaping one of the most influential rules in criminal trials – the use of good character evidence. The proposed reforms are poised to recalibrate how character evidence is deployed, signalling a shift in how NSW criminal law balanced faitness to the accused with the realities of institutional and sexual abuse cases.
High Court Rules Diocese Liable in AA v Maitland-Newcastle
The High Court has allowed AA’s appeal in [2026] HCA 2, finding the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle liable under a non-delegable duty of care and overturning Lepore. Koffels represented AA. The decision has significant implications for institutional abuse survivors across Australia.