ACCC preliminary report on Google and Facebook could lead to major privacy law changes
On 10 December 2018 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission released its preliminary report in relation to the Digital Platforms Inquiry which the ACCC has been conducting at the direction of the Commonwealth Government. The Inquiry is into the impact of online search engines, social media and digital content aggregators on competition in the media […]
ReadmoreNew NES entitlement: Unpaid Domestic and Family Violence Leave
In its final flurry of legislative activity for 2018, the Federal parliament has today passed an amendment to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) that will enshrine the right for employees to take up to five days unpaid leave to deal with family and domestic violence. This amendment follows a decision in March this year […]
ReadmoreProfiles in Privacy | Justin Geri, Ferrier Hodgson
Welcome to the December edition of Profiles in Privacy. In this series we profile prominent players in privacy and data protection in Australia Justin Geri is Director – Forensic IT at Ferrier Hodgson in Melbourne. Justin’s services are in high demand amongst organisations that suffer a cybersecurity breach – or that are trying to avoid […]
ReadmoreHuman rights at the forefront
On 31 October 2018, the Queensland Government introduced new human rights legislation into Parliament. Although not constituting a statutory bill of rights, the Human Rights Bill 2018 (Qld) (“the Bill“), if passed, will increase the focus of government, courts and tribunals on internationally recognised civil and political rights,[1] while providing modest new remedies for some […]
ReadmoreProcedural fairness not readily ousted
Administrative decision makers are subject to a common law duty to accord procedural fairness for decisions which affect rights, interests and legitimate expectations, unless the governing statute clearly provides otherwise.[1] This is a subset of the broader principle of legality, that courts will not interpret legislation as abrogating or contracting fundamental rights or freedoms unless […]
ReadmoreNot all errors are equal
The nature of jurisdictional error has long confounded and confused. Not all errors of law are equal. Some errors deprive decision makers of authority, others do not. Some errors may be reviewed; the review of others may validly be excluded. There is a distinction of principle between errors characterised as jurisdictional errors and errors characterised […]
ReadmoreWhen is a decision subject to judicial review?
The Judicial Review Act 1991 (Qld) (JRA) provides an avenue for a person aggrieved by an administrative decision to seek judicial review. However, the right of a person to make an application for review of a decision[1] and the power of the Court to make orders[2] depend on the existence of ‘a decision to which […]
ReadmoreWhen is it too late? The equitable right to discharge a mortgage right before the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer
In Six Bruce Pty Ltd v Jadig Finance Pty Ltd [2018] VSC 552, the Supreme Court of Victoria considered whether the Court should grant an urgent interlocutory injunction to stop an auction the very next day on the basis that the defaulting mortgagor had secured an unconditional offer to refinance. What happened? Six Bruce Pty […]
ReadmoreTwo for one: The Court may issue two arrest warrants for failure to attend an examination
The appeal of the decision of the Federal Court in the case of Mensink v Parbery [2018] FCAFC 101 examines the governing principles the Court considers when granting: an arrest warrant to secure appearance at an examination; and an order for contempt of court for failing to comply with an order requiring attendance for examination. […]
ReadmoreMere assertion is not enough: The Federal Court provides a reminder of the evidence required to set aside a creditor’s statutory demand for genuine dispute
In Aussie Hoist Property Pty Ltd v Mulqueen [2018] FCA 1493, the Federal Court has given a timely reminder that a company receiving a creditor’s statutory demand (Stat Demand) cannot have that Stat Demand set aside on the basis of genuine dispute as to the existence or amount of the relevant debt merely by asserting […]
ReadmoreLinc Energy: Special leave refused by High Court
In the final instalment of the Linc Energy Case,[1] the High Court has refused to grant the Queensland State Government special leave to appeal a decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal with respect to the liability of liquidators to comply with an environmental protection order (EPO). Background The litigation has been ongoing since 2016 […]
ReadmoreData protection and the human error curse: Part 1 | Why CEOs and Directors need to be concerned
Something as simple as inadvertently sending a customer’s personal information to another person could cost your company dearly – lost earnings, lost customers, lost business partners, damage to reputation and increased compliance costs. If your company is governed by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), is a credit provider, deals with personal or health information or […]
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