AANA upping the ante in fight against advertiser greenwashing – new Environmental Claims Code in force from 1 March 2025
Starting from 1 March 2025, Australia’s leading marketing industry body, the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA), will be ramping up its efforts against greenwashing in ads and marketing through a new and more extensive Environmental Claims Code (Code), replacing the current version that has been in effect since 1 May 2018. The Code will […]
ReadmoreAustralian government bans DeepSeek: National security déjà vu
After the explosive debut of Generative AI models, particularly in the United States of America, a new contender has recently entered the AI landscape. Despite only being founded in 2023, DeepSeek, a Chinese tech company, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model which has drawn significant attention, both from users, governments and various financial markets. […]
ReadmoreLegal Professional Privilege and Voluntary Disclosure to ASIC
The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has upheld an appeal by ASIC, finding that providing documents to ASIC pursuant to a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement does not necessarily constitute a waiver of legal professional privilege. Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Noumi Ltd [2024] FCA 349 is an important decision for the regulated […]
ReadmoreTrade Mark Trickery: Fraudulent demands from fake IP firms
Our intellectual property (IP) team has been noticing a recent surge in sophisticated scams within the IP space using fraudulent emails purporting to be from legitimate IP firms – even using names of real Australian IP practitioners. This alert highlights key warning signs and suggests some protective measures to help businesses avoid falling victim to […]
ReadmoreHCF Life’s ‘pre-existing condition’ clause in life insurance contracts declared misleading but not an ‘unfair contract term’ by Federal Court
Following proceedings commenced by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Federal Court declared on 28 October 2024 that a term used by HCF Life Insurance Company Pty Ltd (HCF Life) in consumer contracts was misleading, but not an unfair contract term. The HCF Life case follows a number of other high profile cases […]
ReadmoreThe Goldmate appeal: Statutory disregard and just terms compensation for compulsory acquisition of land
The NSW Court of Appeal in Goldmate Property Luddenham No 1 Pty Ltd v Transport for New South Wales has allowed an appeal against the Land and Environment Court’s assessment of the amount of compensation payable for the compulsory acquisition of property pursuant to the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (NSW) (the Act). The decision has […]
ReadmoreCaps are back: The Supreme Court confirms caps on a rent review are permitted in Victorian retail leases
The Supreme Court of Victoria has recently handed down a decision which confirms that a cap on a rent review is not prohibited under section 35 of the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) (RLA). The decision overturns an order of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) which held that a cap on a rent […]
ReadmoreAppointment of Australia’s First Anti-Slavery Commissioner
Further to our previous article on modern slavery reporting, available here, the Federal Government has recently appointed Mr. Chris Evans as the inaugural Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner. Mr. Evans has been selected following a merit-based selection process and commenced the five-year term on 2 December 2024. Previously, Mr. Evans served as the Chief Executive Officer of […]
ReadmoreFixed term contract restrictions: a further lifeline for select sectors
Restrictions affecting the use of ‘fixed term’ contracts have been in place since December 2023, however regulations were passed last year granting certain sectors a temporary reprieve by delaying the commencement of those restrictions until 30 June 2024. You can read our article on those regulations here. From 1 November 2024, the Fair Work Amendment […]
ReadmoreHigh Court rules employer liable for psychiatric injuries resulting from breach of employment contract
In the recent decision of Elisha v Vision Australia Ltd [2024] HCA 50, the High Court allowed an appeal awarding $1.44 million in damages to a former employee for psychiatric injuries resulting from breach of a disciplinary procedure contained in an employment contract. Background Mr Adam Elisha was employed by Vision Australia as an adaptive […]
ReadmoreWorkplace law changes in 2024
The past year saw numerous workplace law and rule changes and we recap some of the key updates in this article. The changes largely come from the staggered introduction of changes in the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes Act No.2) Act 2024 (Cth) (see our article here) plus Fair Work Commission activity. What employers […]
ReadmoreBunnings’ use of facial recognition technology found to breach the Privacy Act – What lessons can be learned?
On 29 October 2024, after an almost 2-year investigation, the Australian Privacy Commissioner (Commissioner) determined that retail giant, Bunnings, had, through its use of facial recognition technology at 62 of its retail stores around the country between 6 November 2018 and 30 November 2021, interfered with the privacy of hundreds of thousands of customers.[1] Facial […]
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