Insights

Climate Change Litigation and international litigation trends

There has been a substantial uptick in novel climate change litigation in Australia, particularly in the Federal Court of Australia and the Land and Environment Court of NSW.

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ESG, anti-bribery and corruption

Anti-bribery laws in Australia are divided between Commonwealth laws applying both within and to some extent outside Australia, and State and Territory laws applying within each State and Territory.

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Biodiversity Offset and Credit Schemes

A biodiversity offset is a measure used to compensate for impacts on biodiversity resulting from development or vegetation clearing if there are no other means available to avoid, mitigate or...

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Financial services regulation

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Waste, resource recovery and recycling

In Australia, waste management and resource recovery is primarily the responsibility of state and territory governments.

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Work health and safety

In Australia, work health and safety (WHS) (otherwise referred to as occupational health and safety) is governed by a national regime. State based legislation reflects the ‘model law’ as developed...

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Offshore Renewable Electricity

On 2 December 2021, the Commonwealth Parliament enacted the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 (Act) to establish a regulatory framework for the construction, installation, commissioning,...

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Modern Slavery

At its simplest, modern slavery is any instance of slavery, servitude or forced labour to exploit children or other persons which may occur in the supply chains or internal operations of government...

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Native title in Australia

‘Native title’ refers to the communal or individual rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in relation to land or waters, held under traditional law and custom...

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ESG and Australia's consumer & competition laws

The intersection of ESG with Australian competition and consumer law aligns with the overarching purpose of regulation in this area: to enhance the welfare of Australians through the promotion of...

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Responsible tax policy and risk management

In recent years, the measurement of a business’ tax performance has gradually expanded beyond traditional metrics such as effective tax rates to include qualitative factors such as responsible tax...

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Casual Employment

In 2021, the Federal Government passed legislation which redefined the concept of casual employment and introduced a statutory right for casual workers to be offered conversion to permanent...

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Sustainable Investment

From an investment funds perspective, the consideration of ESG factors is most clearly present in the creation of investment objectives and in determining the investment mix that will achieve that...

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Business and Human Rights in Australia

The proliferation of rights language in the corporate sphere is a relatively new phenomenon, however traces of it can be seen over the centuries.

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Wage underpayment

Investigations by the Fair Work Ombudsmen have revealed widespread, systematic underpayment of wages and other entitlements across the Australian employment landscape. In response, a number of...

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Climate change and COP26

World leaders met at Glasgow for the 26th annual Climate Change Conference of the Parties for the purpose of accelerating the goals of the Paris Agreement and UNFCCC.

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Sexual Harassment

In 2020, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins published the Respect@Work Report following the Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces in...

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Renewable Energy Certificate and Carbon Credit Schemes

The Commonwealth government established the Renewable Energy Target to ensure that at least 23.5% of Australia’s electricity is generated from renewable sources by 2020.

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Australia's Whistleblower laws

In Australia, a whistleblower in the private sector is entitled to make anonymous disclosures and be protected from any detrimental conduct resulting from that disclosure where they divulge...

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Universities and defamation: a new defence clears some space in the defamation minefield

Changes to Australia’s Uniform Defamation Laws will include a defence for scientific or academic peer review, providing greater comfort for academic publishing, but defamation risks for...

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Small businesses, franchisees and fuel retailers will soon be allowed to collectively negotiate

While competition law strictly prohibits competitors acting together or agreeing on prices, collective negotiation by small businesses, franchisees and fuel retailers has traditionally been...

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Pre-feasibility study on Bowen Basin Pipeline – Queensland Government

On 20 August 2020, the Queensland Government announced that it will invest $5 million towards a pre-feasibility study of a potential new gas pipeline from the Bowen Basin.

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ACCC red lights not fatal for mergers

A red light from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) is not necessarily fatal when it comes to seeking approval for mergers but red light Statement of Issues (SOI) are becoming...

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COVID-19 responses in the commercial leasing market

We are in daily communication with our clients, commercial property landlords, agents, consultants and tenants.

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