Significant increases to Competition and Consumer Law penalties proposed
Last Friday afternoon, Treasury released exposure draft legislation proposing significant increases to the maximum penalties that apply to various contraventions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) by companies and individuals. Interested parties will have to be quick with any comments on the proposed changes, because public consultation […]
ReadmoreEmbedded networks live on as Victorian reform for residential embedded networks slowly takes shape
New embedded networks in residential apartment buildings will be banned from January 2023 unless 100% of electricity is sourced from renewable energy, with at least 5% being sourced from on-site generation. Existing embedded networks in residential sites, including apartment buildings, retirement villages, social housing and residential/caravan parks, will transition to a new regulatory regime, moving through […]
ReadmoreDirect ‘.au’ domain names are coming. Threat or opportunity?
After being on the cards for several years, the administrator of the .au country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD), au Domain Administration Limited (auDA), has recently announced the launch of .au direct registrations in the ‘second level’ (e.g. gadens.au) effective from 24 March 2022. Separately, the Australian Government is currently reviewing the terms on which it […]
ReadmoreASIC provides ‘no action’ relief for conducting virtual meetings and delayed AGMs
After the Federal Government’s proposed legislation to extend the temporary relief for corporations to conduct virtual meetings stalled in the Parliament, we speculated in our recent update as to whether ASIC would issue a ‘no action’ position, electing not to take regulatory action against companies conducting virtual meetings despite requirements to do so in the […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | No extension to temporary reforms to permit electronic signing of company documents
In a blow for advocates of efficiency (both technological and practical), the temporary reforms under Corporations (Coronavirus Economic Response) Determination (No. 3) 2020 (Determination), which had permitted the conduct of virtual meetings, electronic execution of documents and split execution of documents under section 127 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) expired on 21 March 2021. Unless, and until, a replacement relief […]
ReadmoreCOVID-19 | Electronic signing and virtual meetings: New temporary relief for companies a significant step on a longer journey
In a significant development for companies, the Treasurer has utilised his new power to modify the Corporations Act 2001, the Corporations Regulations 2001, the Insolvency Practice rules, and the Passport Rules so that, for a period of six months effective from 6 May 2020: entities can hold virtual meetings without the need for a physical location; […]
ReadmoreFairness in Franchising – Franchising Taskforce Releases Regulation Impact Statement
Following on from the Issues Paper issued by the Franchising Taskforce in August, the Franchising Taskforce released a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) on 11 November, which will assist the Franchising Taskforce in making recommendations to Government regarding reforms to the franchising sector. The Taskforce and is inviting submissions by 6 December 2019. The Franchising Taskforce […]
ReadmoreLarge retailers may be given the green light to collectively purchase electricity
You may or may not have seen in the media that on 20 September 2019 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a draft determination and interim authorisation giving members of the Large Format Retail Association (LFRA) a green light to begin the initial steps to collectively negotiate to purchase electricity. Members of the […]
ReadmoreEmbedded networks draft report released – major changes foreshadowed
As we noted last year, the Australian Energy Markets Commission (AEMC) had initiated a review of the regulatory framework for embedded networks after previously indicating that it did not regard the current regulatory regime as being fit for purpose. On 31 January, the AEMC released its draft report, proposing a “comprehensive reform package”. At this stage, […]
ReadmoreElectricity regulatory framework under further review – changes ahead for both embedded networks and stand-alone power systems
The Australian Energy Markets Commission has recently announced two separate reviews – one into the regulation of embedded networks and the other into stand-alone power systems. With the national electricity framework having been founded on a centralised electricity supply model, the explosive growth of both embedded networks and large-scale localised generation options has presented challenges […]
ReadmoreMalicious or criminal attacks the main cause of notifiable data breaches
The number of reported data breaches in Australia significantly increased in the period of 1 April to 30 June 2018, according to the second report on the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The scheme, which commenced on 22 February 2018, requires private sector and federal government entities […]
ReadmoreGovernment position on regulation of Victorian embedded networks set – draft General Exemption Order now available for comment
The next milestone in the review of the regulation of Victorian embedded networks was reached last month when the Department of Environment, Land Water and Planning (DELWP) released its final position paper on the Victorian electricity licence exemptions framework (the Position Paper) including a draft revised General Exemption Order (GEO). Following on from changes made […]
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