The amendments to the Corporations Act1 to broaden the ‘safe harbours’ for directors on an insolvency were passed by Parliament on 12 September 20172 and are awaiting a date for commencement.
On 12 September 2017, some of the most significant reforms of Australia’s corporate insolvency laws in recent years were passed by both Houses of the Australian Federal Parliament. These reforms...
The Australian Competition Tribunal has given competition approval for the $11bn merger of Tabcorp and Tatts. Although the Tribunal was the first instance decision maker in this case, under...
All companies, however large or small, will need to comply with these proposed laws when (rather than if) they are enacted.
Important developments in Australia and overseas in foreign bribery policy, investigations and regulation to 20 May 2016, including international the role of intermediaries in Unaoil and the Panama...
Shareholder class actions for alleged breaches of a listed company’s continuous disclosure obligations are an established part of the Australian legal landscape with more than 50 shareholder class...
Legal issues from July 2016.
When a transaction with a direct or indirect connection to Australia is proposed, foreign investors and their counsel should consider whether notification is required or advisable.
While there is a divergence in views among courts in Australia as to whether ambiguity remains a prerequisite for the admissibility of...
Determining whether legal professional privilege applies to the communications of in-house counsel has traditionally involved the preliminary question as to whether the employed lawyer is...
The High Court of Australia recently considered two issues relating to a liquidator's power to disclaim a lease granted by the company in liquidation. The first issue was whether a lease is a...
The position in Australia and the EU -- The ACCC's Immunity Policy is a crucial tool for detecting illegal cartel conduct by providing incentives for cartel participants to 'blow the whistle' and
ASX's new Guidance Note 8: Continuous Disclosure: Listing Rules 3.1 - 3.1B (GN8) became effective on
2012 was a busy year in employment law and workplace relations. With a Federal election to be held this year, it is likely that 2013 will be another eventful...
In Mansfield v The Queen & Anor; Kizon v The Queen & Anor [2012] HCA 49 the High Court found that, in cases concerning 'insider trading', it is irrelevant whether the information traded on is true
Is your desk bending under the weight of a pile of monotonously similar, simple, clear-concise-and-effective, two-part retail bond prospectuses? No? Before you call your broker, read...
The Parliamentary Secretary released an Exposure Draft - Corporations Legislation Amendment (Remuneration Disclosures and Other Measures) Bill 2012 and the associated Explanatory Memorandum to the
The High Court will soon rule on two key corporate and securities law decisions. In each case, Acumen has reported on the lower Court decisions...
At the conclusion of the 2010 "AGM Season" we conducted a survey of the business of
ASIC has issued Consultation Paper 143: Expert reports and independence of experts: Update to RG111 and RG112. In CP143 ASIC proposes changes to its two regulatory guides dealing with content of...
Chartered Secretaries Australia and the Australasian Investor Relations Association have issued guidance on handling confidential, price-sensitive information. This is in response to ASIC's...
The Short Term Trading Market (STTM) is a mandatory wholesale gas market which operates at various hubs,1 initially at the Sydney Hub and the Adelaide...
In the highly anticipated decision of Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Barker [2014] HCA 32 (10 September 2014), all five members of the High Court of Australia have held that there is no term of...
It is standard practice for a company to have clearly articulated policies about consumer refunds including the circumstances in which the company may seek to repair or replace defective products...