In an important appellate decision, on 6 August 2013 the majority of the Full Court of the Federal Court upheld, for the first time, a damages award for breach of an implied term of mutual trust...
The new government has announced that it will conduct a "root and branch review" of Australia's competition laws within the first 100 days of taking office. A "root and branch" review will examine...
On 5 June 2013 ASIC released its revised policy about the content of registered managed investment scheme (scheme) constitutions: Regulatory Guide 134 Managed Investments: Constitutions...
In Resource Capital Fund III, L.P. v Commissioner of Taxation [2013] FCA 363, the Federal Court held that a Cayman Islands limited partnership...in which 97% of the partnership interests were held...
On 27 June 2013, the Federal Government passed legislation to amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act). The new laws are part of the second tranche of changes made to the FW Act from the Review Panel...
Two South Australian decisions concerning the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2009 (SA) have cut across the effectiveness of adjudication determinations and in one case...
The carbon pricing mechanism put in place under the Clean Energy Act 2011 (Cth) moved into its second year on 1 July 2013. It is uncertain whether the mechanism will reach its third year or what...
In the Federal Budget handed down on 14 May 2013, the Government announced that it would accept a series of Treasury recommendations to protect the corporate tax base from ...erosion... and close...
Regulations made on 28 June 2013 under the Corporations Amendment Regulation 2013 (No.5) (Regulations) have clarified or confirmed significant matters relating to conflicted remuneration under the...
Administrative treatment, and transfers under farm-in transactions -- This article summarises Duties Act Public Ruling DA000.12.1, "Transfer duty - exemption for farm-in transactions in the resource
The Standing Council on Energy and Resources (SCER) continues to develop a suite of reforms to wholesale gas and power markets in the Eastern states. Its broad themes are market integration and
Three recent ACCC merger informal clearance decisions reinforce the ACCC's view that 3:2 mergers will be presumed to be anti-competitive unless the parties can clearly demonstrate that structural...
On 25 October 2012, the Productivity Commission (PC) was asked to review the National Access Regime in Part IIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 to assess its role and efficacy and propose...
The WA Court of Appeal recently revisited the incorporation of contractual terms through prior dealings in La Rosa v Nudrill Pty Ltd [2013] WASCA 18. The decision indicates that there are no...
Topics discussed in this update include Australia's signing up to the International Foreign Bribery Taskforce; Australia's consideration of reforms to anti-money laundering and counter terrorism
This article sets out an overview of the key proposals drafted under the Maritime Powers Bill 2012, the Maritime Powers (Consequential Amendments) Bill 201 and the Marine Engineers Qualifications
The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Compliance Measures No. 2) Act 2013 (Amendment Act) was passed on...
The common practice of courts endorsing negotiated settlements involving 'agreed penalties' between private parties and prosecuting regulators was the subject of judicial criticism in the recent
On 9 May 2013 the Coalition released its industrial relations policy (Policy). As the title suggests, in the Policy the Coalition has committed to improving the 'Fair Work Laws' while largely
On 6 December 2012 the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendments Act 2012 came into effect. The legislation imposes new obligations on employers in reporting employee and board gender...
In a blow to the ACCC after its eight year battle against internet search giant Google, the High Court held that Google did not engage in misleading and deceptive conduct by publishing third party...
On 30 January 2013, Gzell J of the New South Wales Supreme Court handed down the decision in CTI Joint Venture Company Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2013] NSWSC 20. The decision...
A recent Federal Court decision highlights the ACCC's readiness to heavily enforce mandatory safety standards, especially in circumstances where the safety of vulnerable consumers may be...
At the conclusion of the 2012 AGM season, we conducted a survey of the business of AGMs of ASX listed companies in 2012 on a similar basis to our surveys of the 2010 and 2011 AGM...