A claim for misleading or deceptive conduct under s 18 of the Australian Consumer Law is one of the most commonly used causes of action in commercial litigation in Australia, including in disputes on major projects in mining,...more
The Situation: The Australian Federal Parliament has passed the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Act 2024 ("Act"), some six years after a bill to create a 'failure to prevent' foreign bribery offence...more
In Short -
The Situation: The Victorian Court of Appeal in Australia has delivered a decision with guidance to lawyers on their duties when dealing with witnesses in civil cases where there is a risk that the witnesses'...more
The Situation: For over a decade, all Australian jurisdictions have had in place security of payment ("SOP") legislation—statutory regimes providing for the submission and payment of progress claims, and resolution of payment...more
In Short -
The Situation: The recent decision in Lanskey Constructions Pty Ltd v Westrac Pty Ltd [2022] WASC 90 involved an application by a contractor for injunctive relief in relation to a call on its security. The case...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
Under the latest New South Wales Public Health Order, all non-urgent work at construction sites in Greater Sydney has been paused from 12:01 a.m. on Monday 19 July until 11:59 p.m. on Friday 30 July....more
U.S. criminal law has a long reach outside the borders of the United States. Australian companies and individuals whose activities touch on the United States—even without having offices or any physical presence in the United...more
6/4/2021
/ Australia ,
Australian Securities and Investments Commission ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Evidence ,
Extradition ,
Law Enforcement ,
Legal Professional Privilege ,
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLAT) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
White Collar Crimes
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
On 31 August 2020, the Australian Law Reform Commission's Final Report on Corporate Criminal Responsibility was tabled in Parliament. The Final Report makes significant recommendations for reform of corporate criminal...more
10/12/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Australia ,
Board of Directors ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Code ,
Criminal Liability ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
The Corporations Act ,
White Collar Crimes
Australia-wide, companies are navigating the uncertainties arising from COVID-19. Our previous White Papers identified the risks arising for construction projects and observed that the fallout is likely to give rise to...more
In 2019, companies incorporated in England, Luxembourg and the Netherlands were awarded €229 million against the Kingdom of Spain in an investor-state arbitration. On 24 February 2020, the Federal Court of Australia enforced...more
The Situation: The Australian Law Reform Commission ("ALRC") has released its much anticipated Discussion Paper on Australia's corporate criminal responsibility regime, which provides the ALRC's preliminary views in relation...more
The Situation: At the direction of the Attorney General of Australia, the Australian Law Reform Commission ("ALRC") is undertaking a comprehensive review of Australia's Commonwealth corporate criminal liability regime. The...more
11/21/2019
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Australia ,
Board of Directors ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Code ,
Criminal Liability ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
The Corporations Act ,
White Collar Crimes
The Situation: The Federal Government has introduced a proposal to create a Commonwealth Integrity Commission ("CIC") to replace the current "multiagency approach" to integrity and anticorruption arrangements of the federal...more
The Commonwealth Senate Economics Committee (a standing committee composed by members of the upper house of Parliament) handed down its long-awaited final report on corporate tax avoidance in Australia. The final report is...more
The Situation: Statutory adjudications continue to be deployed readily on projects in the construction and engineering fields.
The Result: There have been a host of cases on the operation and scope of such adjudications in...more
On 6 December 2017, Australia's Federal Government tabled the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2017 ("Bill"), which contains various amendments to Australia's foreign bribery regime, including...more
12/22/2017
/ Amended Legislation ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Australia ,
Bribery ,
Due Diligence ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Relations ,
Joint Venture ,
OECD ,
Risk Assessment ,
Self-Reporting ,
UK Bribery Act
On 6 December 2017, the Commonwealth Government announced its intention to significantly reform Australia's existing anti-foreign bribery regime.
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2017, now...more
As part of a wide-ranging crackdown on multinational tax avoidance, the Australian Federal Government and the Australian Tax Office have introduced significant reforms to the country’s transfer pricing regulations. The...more
12/5/2017
/ Arms Length Transactions ,
Australia ,
Australian Tax Authority ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Diverted Profits Tax ,
Foreign Tax ,
International Tax Issues ,
Multinationals ,
New Rules ,
OECD ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Transfer Pricing
Since late last year, there have been several major decisions from Australia's highest courts on important issues for stakeholders in the construction, mining and infrastructure industries. Below, we provide a summary. Some...more
6/15/2017
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Jurisdiction ,
Appellate Review ,
Assignments ,
Australia ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Conditions of Payment ,
Construction Contracts ,
Construction Defects ,
Construction Industry ,
Contract Terms ,
Error At Law ,
High Court of Australia ,
Infrastructure ,
Insolvency ,
International Construction Projects ,
Joint Venture ,
Leave to Appeal ,
Liquidation ,
Payment Terms