Potential reform of Australia’s federal discrimination laws
The Australian Human Rights Commission is currently reviewing Australia’s federal discrimination laws and considering what reforms should be made to those laws. To that end, the Commission recently released a discussion paper, “Free and Equal: An Australian Conversation on Human Rights“, setting out its preliminary views on the priorities for reform. The paper notes that […]
ReadmoreNew whistleblower laws: ASIC consults on whistleblower policy requirements
We recently published a comprehensive guide to the new obligations for employers and the expanded protections for whistleblowers, under Australia’s revised corporate whistleblowing regime. That regime commenced operation on 1 July 2019 and creates a significant compliance burden for all companies, including the requirement for some companies to have a whistleblower policy. Who must […]
ReadmoreDoing Business in Australia
The Australian Government welcomes foreign investment. With well-developed infrastructure, a stable political environment, robust economy and easy access to Asia Pacific, Australia is an ideal investment location for foreign companies looking to grow internationally. There are important considerations for foreign investors to make when deciding on how to enter the Australian market. Whether it’s the […]
ReadmoreModern Slavery Act – impact on Local Government
The Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (‘Act’) commenced on 1 January 2019 and requires organisations with an annual consolidated revenue of more than $100 million to report annually on the risks of modern slavery within their supply chain. The Act is similar to the UK legislation. Organisations will be required to submit their first report after the […]
ReadmorePublic servants can be liable for social media posts
In the landmark case of Comcare v Michaela Banerji[1] handed down on Wednesday, the High Court unanimously overturned a ruling that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship imposed an unjustified burden on the implied freedom of political communication when dismissing Banerji because of her contentious political tweets. Background While employed at the Department of […]
ReadmoreNew penalties for avoiding employee entitlements
The Commonwealth Government has introduced legislation targeting the misuse of the taxpayer-funded Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) scheme by directors, officers and related entities of insolvent companies. Click here to view the full size PDF.
ReadmoreStrengthening Employee Entitlement Protections in the Corporations Act Amendment in focus – disqualification from managing corporations
Earlier this year, the Corporations Amendment (Strengthening Protections for Employee Entitlements) Act (Cth) commenced. This article will focus on the provisions introduced to disqualify wrongdoers from managing corporations. Please refer to our article summarising the other critical changes and key concepts for more information. The amendments introduce provisions empowering ASIC and the Court to disqualify company directors or officers […]
ReadmoreStrengthening Employee Entitlement Protections in the Corporations Act Amendment in focus – offences and civil penalty provisions
Earlier this year, the Corporations Amendment (Strengthening Protections for Employee Entitlements) Act (Cth) (the Act) commenced. This article will focus on the key changes made to the employee entitlements provisions. The purpose of the Act The objective of the Act is to stop sharp corporate practices which improperly burden the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) scheme under the Fair […]
ReadmoreStrengthening Employee Entitlement Protections in the Corporations Act Amendment in focus – employee entitlement contribution orders
Earlier this year, the Corporations Amendment (Strengthening Protections for Employee Entitlements) Act (Cth) (the Act) commenced. This article will focus on the provisions introducing employee entitlement contribution orders. Please refer to our article summarising the critical changes and key concepts introduced by the Act. The amendments aim to deter corporate groups from adopting structures where the insolvency of a corporate […]
ReadmoreModern slavery reporting: NSW legislation update
Over a year since the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW) (Act) was passed by Parliament, the legislation is still yet to come into force, or even have a date set for doing so. Since that time, the Federal Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) has passed and come into effect (see our previous article on that […]
ReadmoreNew whistleblowing laws – are you ready?
The Australian corporate whistleblowing regime has recently been significantly amended by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Act 2019 (Cth), which was passed by the Federal parliament on 19 February 2019. That legislation comes into operation from 1 July 2019 and creates a large compliance burden for employers. To understand the legislation, new obligations […]
ReadmoreRelease of liability clauses: how far can they go?
It is a well-established legal principle that a release clause in a settlement deed will only be effective to the extent it releases a party from liability in respect of matters that are in the contemplation of the parties at the time it is provided. Notwithstanding this, it is not uncommon to see release clauses […]
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