The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") recently announced that it had conducted a sweep of more than 2,000 Australian retail websites that found some businesses' return policies and website terms and...more
4/16/2025
/ Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Australian Consumer Law ,
Contract Terms ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Goods or Services ,
Internet Retailers ,
Misrepresentation ,
Penalties ,
Retail Market ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Websites
On 13 February 2025, the Australian Federal Parliament passed the Scams Prevention Bill 2025 (Cth) ("Bill"), the first of its kind worldwide....more
The Australian federal government recently released its response to the independent review of Australia's amended continuous disclosure regime (the "Independent Review")....more
Australia has now officially passed laws that will introduce a mandatory climate-related financial disclosure regime from 1 January 2025. This is one of the most significant reforms to corporate financial reporting in...more
The Development: Recently, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") published draft guidelines designed to assist businesses to understand how they can collaborate on sustainability initiatives without...more
Australia's mandatory climate-related financial disclosure regime is inching closer to implementation after the proposed legislative reforms were passed by both Houses of Parliament in September 2024. As discussed in our...more
ESG-related enforcement remains a top priority and focus for Australia's corporate regulators. Since our last update, there has been a steady stream of enforcement activity aimed at climate-related representations and...more
9/17/2024
/ ASIC ,
Australia ,
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) ,
Australian Consumer Law ,
Climate Change ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment
The Development: On August 22, 2024, the Australian Senate passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 ("Bill")....more
The Background: The Australian Treasury has released its second quarterly report of the 2023–24 financial year covering the regulation of foreign investment in Australia during the quarter ended 31 December 2023....more
The Situation: The Australian government has restated its commitment to foreign investment and announced procedural reforms to Australia's foreign investment framework. The government aims to attract the significant foreign...more
The Background: The Australian Federal Treasurer recently announced sweeping reforms to Australia's merger review regime. These reforms will overhaul the current merger review regime in Australia to introduce mandatory filing...more
On 27 March 2024, Australia's climate disclosure regime moved a significant step closer to implementation, with the federal government's introduction of proposed legislation into Parliament. Any organisations with a presence...more
4/17/2024
/ ASIC ,
Audits ,
Australia ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Reporting ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sustainability
Australia continues to be a highly active jurisdiction for climate-related lawsuits. Since our last update in August 2023, we have seen a steady stream of suits commenced against corporations and government bodies in relation...more
3/18/2024
/ ASIC ,
Australia ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Claims ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Environmental Violations ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Net Zero ,
Popular ,
Renewable Energy
The Australian Treasury has released its first quarterly report ("Report") for the 2023-24 financial year covering the regulation of foreign investment in Australia....more
The Situation: The Australian government has released its widely anticipated exposure draft legislation for the introduction of Australia's national mandatory climate-related financial disclosures regime....more
Australia continues to be a highly active jurisdiction for climate-related lawsuits. The last few years have seen multiple suits commenced against corporations and governments in relation to climate issues, with more filings...more
In Short -
The Situation: In 2018, the Australian federal government obligated Australian corporates to engage with modern slavery risks in their supply chain by enacting the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) ("the Act")....more
In Short -
The Situation: From July 1, 2023, foreign investors in Australia will be subject to new registration requirements under Australia's foreign investment regime....more
Australia has significantly increased penalties for competition and consumer law breaches and also expanded the scope of the law that prohibits unfair contract terms ("UCT")....more
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") also cautions government agencies to be alert to potential bid rigging in the procurement process for public tenders. ...more
The Background -
Despite plentiful natural resources and a healthy domestic demand for energy, Australia's offshore renewable energy sector has lagged behind comparable jurisdictions. While the offshore wind sector is...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
Recent Merger Review and Litigation in Australia -
Australia's antitrust merger laws have remained largely unchanged since 1993. The law prohibits the acquisition of assets or shares with the effect or likely effect of...more
The New South Wales Government recently announced that the land available for gas exploration will be significantly reduced.
The Future of Gas Statement published by the New South Wales ("NSW") Government outlines plans...more
Australia's competition authority settles allegations that port operator misused its market power.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") secured a declaration in its first action under Section 46 of the...more