Background -
Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd, Nationwide News Pty Ltd and Australian News Channel Pty Ltd all maintain public Facebook pages allowing comments from members of the public. Dylan Voller commenced...more
NSW Court of Criminal Appeal rules that any admissions made in civil proceedings can be used in future criminal proceedings.
In Turnbull v Office of Environment and Heritage [2021] NSWCCA 190, the NSW Court of Criminal...more
Overhaul of ASIC's Internal Governance Framework ASIC's Corporate Plan for 2021-25 is the first of its kind released under new Chair Joseph Longo and new Deputy Chair and Head of Enforcement Sarah Court, who each started in...more
The Facts In April 2020, a climate action group called Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action Incorporated ("BSCA") filed civil enforcement proceedings against the EPA in the NSW Land and Environment Court....more
9/9/2021
/ Australia ,
Breach of Duty ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Policies ,
Global Warming ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Statutory Requirements
On 26 August 2021, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility ("ACCR") initiated proceedings against Australian gas-producer Santos Limited, challenging statements and policies which the ACCR considered...more
BEAR, which came into effect throughout 2018 and 2019, imposed extensive accountability obligations on ADIs and expanded APRA's enforcement powers. You can read our previous Commentary on BEAR here. ...more
Australia's product liability regime is a combination of provisions contained primarily in the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)). These provisions apply to Australian made...more
On 10 August 2021, the Australian Parliament passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill, which will permanently reform its continuous disclosure regime and related prohibitions on misleading conduct by...more
Climate Change Regulatory Issues & Updates -
European Climate Law Sets a Binding Objective of Climate Neutrality by 2050 -
The recently adopted European Climate Law calls for the necessity to address "the growing...more
7/28/2021
/ Cap-and-Trade ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Fair Dealing Exception ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Mineral Leases ,
NEPA ,
Offshore Lease ,
Oil & Gas
This edition of the Update covers: Key Legal and Regulatory Developments Financial Markets The Australian Regulators Reiterate Their Expectations for a Smooth Transition Away From LIBOR On 4 June 2021, ASIC, APRA, and the RBA...more
7/21/2021
/ AML/CFT ,
ASIC ,
AUSTRAC ,
Australia ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Inter-Bank Offered Rates (IBORs) ,
ISDA ,
Libor ,
Over The Counter Derivatives (OTC) ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Short Selling
The Situation: In a landmark judgment, on 27 May 2021, the Federal Court of Australia ruled in Sharma v Minister for the Environment [2021] FCA 560 (Sharma) that, when deciding whether or not to grant approval to a coal mine...more
This edition of the Update covers:
1. Recent legal and regulatory developments, including the release of ASIC's immunity policy for market misconduct offences, a FATF consultation on proliferation of financial risk and...more
The Situation: It is increasingly common for Australian class actions to be brought by private plaintiffs at the same time as regulatory proceedings are brought by Australia's corporate, competition and other regulators in...more
There is no "one size fits all" approach to competing class actions.
Five competing and overlapping shareholder class actions were commenced in two separate Australian courts against AMP Limited. All actions were...more
REST and Statewide Superannuation become the first industry superannuation funds to be caught in the crosshairs of ASIC's "why not litigate" approach to enforcement.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission...more
The Situation: Australia's Federal Government has announced that it intends to make permanent reforms introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to continuous disclosure requirements for ASX-listed companies. The temporary...more
Climate Change Regulatory Issues & Updates -
Biden Administration Takes Early Action on Climate Change -
In its first week in office, the Biden Administration took initial steps to meet its ambitious goals to address...more
The Situation: Australia has become a hot spot for class actions fueled in large part by litigation funders, who have operated for many years in a largely unregulated market and have derived spectacular returns from their...more
A major superannuation fund has promised to enhance its management of climate change risks, disclose to members how those risks are addressed and align its investment portfolios to net-zero emissions by 2050.
In mid-2018,...more
Australia's corporate regulator has released its Corporate Plan, which outlines its strategic litigation goals and governance initiatives over the next four years.
On 31 August 2020, the Australian Securities and...more
The Situation: Following a boom in class actions backed by litigation funders, the Australian Federal Government has introduced new regulations which classify litigation funding schemes as "managed investment schemes" and...more
Australia's landmark Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry that was conducted throughout 2018 and reported in early 2019 highlighted numerous examples of potential...more
The Situation: A line of authority, typically associated with Rich v Harrington [2007] FCA 1987, (2007) 245 ALR 106 ("Rich"), has held that for legal professional privilege to be claimed in relation to advice from an in-house...more
The Background: The competing class actions, particularly in relation to shareholder claims, have increased in Australia due to the incentives in the Australian legal market, namely minimal regulation of litigation funding...more
On 20 September 2019, the Federal Court of Australia delivered its much-anticipated judgment in the highly publicised proceedings brought by APRA against IOOF's Chairman, Managing Director, three senior executives and two...more