Jones Day (JD Supra Australia)

134 results for Jones Day (JD Supra Australia)

  • Australian Financial Services Regulatory Update - May 2021

    This edition of the Update covers: 1. Recent legal and regulatory developments, including the release of ASIC's immunity policy for market misconduct offences, a FATF consultation on proliferation of financial risk and digital currency, and ASIC and APRA's focus on the management of cyber risk and climate risk; 2. A recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia upholding

  • "Last Refuge of the Desperate"—Western Australia Supreme Court Rebuts Procedural Fairness Challenge to Arbitrator's Award

    The Situation: In line with other UNCITRAL Model Law jurisdictions, in Australia, the grounds on which to challenge the outcome of a commercial arbitration are narrowly circumscribed. Having chosen to resolve their disputes via binding and final arbitration, parties will not be readily afforded a second chance to re-agitate their claims before national courts. The Development: A recent...

  • Australia Obtains First "Misuse of Market Power" Settlement Under Amended Competition Law

    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 Competition and Consumer Act ("CCA"), amended in 2017, that prohibits "misuse of market power". The 2017 amendment prohibits a company with market power from pursuing...

  • Australian Government Foreshadows Significant Reform to Australia's Offshore Oil & Gas Regulation

    The Australian government has announced proposed reforms to Australia's offshore oil & gas regulation, which are aimed at achieving appropriate stewardship of assets by increasing government scrutiny over oil & gas transactions and expanding the current trailing liability provisions for decommissioning and remediation. This month the Australian government released a consultation bill...

  • Australia's Full Federal Court Affirms That Judicial Impartiality Overrides Case Management Considerations

    The Situation: It is increasingly common for Australian class actions to be brought by private plaintiffs at the same time as regulatory proceedings are brought by Australia's corporate, competition and other regulators in respect of the same subject matter. A judge of the Federal Court of Australia determined that he would hear consecutively a civil penalty proceeding and a related class action,

  • Legislative Update: New Australian Insolvency Law Reforms Enacted for Small Businesses

    In response to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia in 2020, the federal government injected an unprecedented level of stimulus into the Australian economy and introduced temporary law reforms aimed at protecting against an anticipated "tidal wave" of insolvencies. These temporary law reforms included a moratorium on civil liability for insolvent trading for directors and increased

  • Australian High Court Rejects "First to File" Approach to Choosing Between Competing Class Actions

    There is no "one size fits all" approach to competing class actions. Five competing and overlapping shareholder class actions were commenced in two separate Australian courts against AMP Limited. All actions were transferred to the NSW Supreme Court and all plaintiffs sought to stay all of the other class actions, except their own.

  • ASIC Doubles Down on Civil Penalty Proceedings Against Industry Superannuation Funds

    REST and Statewide Superannuation become the first industry superannuation funds to be caught in the crosshairs of ASIC's "why not litigate" approach to enforcement. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission ("ASIC") has filed civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against two trustees of not-for-profit industry superannuation funds, namely, Retail Employees...

  • ASIC Signals Increasing Expectations for Climate Change Disclosures

    The Situation: After conducting a period of market surveillance, Australian Securities & Investments Commission ("ASIC") Commissioner Cathie Armour recently released a statement reiterating ASIC's expectation that disclosing and managing climate change risk is a key responsibility of directors. The Result: ASIC identified that since its last review in 2017-2018 there has been a significant...

  • Slowing the Growth of Shareholder Class Actions? Australia Announces Permanent Changes to Continuous Disclosure Laws

    The Situation: Australia's Federal Government has announced that it intends to make permanent reforms introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to continuous disclosure requirements for ASX-listed companies. The temporary measures are due to expire on 22 March 2021 unless made permanent. The Result: The permanent reforms, if passed by Federal Parliament, will mean that a level of intent is...

  • Australian Financial Services Regulatory Update - February 2021

    This edition of the Update covers: 1. Recent legal and regulatory developments, including the release of APRA's policy and supervision priorities for 2021, the launch of APRA's Cyber Security Strategy 2020 – 2024, Australian regulatory support for the ISDA IBOR Fallbacks Protocol and Supplement, and Australia's renewed focus on sanctions; 2. Two recent Federal Court decisions which support...

  • Expert Determination Clauses: A Tailored Alternative for Construction Projects?

    The Situation: Construction disputes face unique challenges in addition to those faced in other types of commercial disputes. Parties often agree to adopt independent expert determination as a means of managing these challenges. The Concern: Many boiler-plate independent expert determination clauses are not sufficiently tailored to the nature of construction projects or the particular...

  • 'Put the Brakes on Class Actions': Australian Parliamentary Joint Committee Report

    The Situation: Australia has become a hot spot for class actions fueled in large part by litigation funders, who have operated for many years in a largely unregulated market and have derived spectacular returns from their investment―in some cases, more than 500%. With the passage in June 2020 of Australia's first regime (in Victoria) permitting lawyers to charge U.S.-style contingency fees, the...

  • Significant Changes to Australia's Foreign Investment Framework Commenced on 1 January 2021

    The Situation: The Australian government has introduced significant changes to its foreign investment review framework. The centrepiece of the changes is an enhanced review of acquisitions of property or businesses which are sensitive to Australia's national security.

  • Substantial Reforms Announced to Australian Fair Work Legislation: What's Changing and What's to Come

    The Situation: The Federal Government has published its highly anticipated reform package to Australia's industrial relations ("IR") framework. While less ambitious than some had expected, the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 (Cth) ("Bill") is still the most significant IR reform proposal since the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ("FW Act") was enacted...

  • Accountability for Cybersecurity in Australia—A Major Regulatory and Litigation Risk

    There are showers, there are squalls, and there are storms. The growth in cybersecurity attacks in Australia, as in much of the world, is a storm and Australian companies need to batten down the hatches. In the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 alone, the Australian Cyber Security Centre ("ACSC") responded to 2,266 cybersecurity incidents at a rate of almost six per day and the ACSC expects

  • NSW Government's New Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap Focuses on Investment in Storage and Renewables

    The New South Wales ("NSW") government recently released its Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap setting out a 20-year plan focused on delivering growth through investment in storage and renewables. The NSW government's Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap is a plan to deliver the major infrastructure needed to create a modern electricity system to NSW consisting of cheap, clean, reliable,...

  • Australian Energy Regulator Enforces $1.3M Pecuniary Penalty for Breach of Reporting Obligations

    Energy retailers have a fresh impetus to abide by reporting obligations imposed by the Australian Energy Regulator ("AER") after the judgment in Australian Energy Regulator v AGL Sales Pty Limited [2020] FCA 1623. The court ordered by consent a $1.3 million penalty against AGL (one of Australia's largest energy retailers) for the submission of required reporting information which was late,...

  • Landmark Settlement of Lawsuit Against Australian Superannuation Fund Over Climate Change Risks

    A major superannuation fund has promised to enhance its management of climate change risks, disclose to members how those risks are addressed and align its investment portfolios to net-zero emissions by 2050. In mid-2018, Mark McVeigh brought a suit in the Federal Court of Australia against Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Limited ("REST").

  • Australian Company & Securities Update | Issue One

    KEY LEGAL AND REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS - Legislative and Regulatory Reform - Permanent reforms in respect of virtual meetings and electronic execution - On 19 October, the Federal Government released for consultation exposure draft legislation that makes permanent changes to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ("Corporations Act") in relation to virtual meetings and electronic document...

  • Class Action Suit Filed in Australia Opposes Coal Expansion Project on Behalf of Global Youth

    On September 8, 2020, the law firm Equity Generation Lawyers filed a class action on behalf of young people globally, seeking an injunction to restrain the Australian Government's Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley, from giving approval to the Vickery Extension Project. The Vickery Extension Project is an AUD $700 million proposal by Whitehaven Coal Limited to construct an open-cut coal...

  • Amendments to Queensland Security of Payment Legislation

    The security of payment regime in Queensland has undergone significant reform in recent years. Since the introduction of the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) Act 2017 (Qld), the regime has remained the subject of scrutiny and review, resulting in the recent passage of the Building Industry Fairness (Security of Payment) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (Qld) ("BIFOLA Act").

  • ACCC Brings Resale Price Maintenance Enforcement Action

    A new ACCC resale price maintenance case provides a timely reminder that manufacturers and suppliers must tread carefully with distribution arrangements related to price in Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ("ACCC") has commenced proceedings against FE Sports, alleging it engaged in Resale Price Maintenance ("RPM"). The ACCC is seeking injunctions, penalties, a...

  • New Insolvency Processes for Small Australian Businesses

    During the better part of 2020, the federal government has injected an unprecedented level of stimulus into the Australian economy in an attempt to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19. As a result, despite a significant contraction in the Australian economy, roughly half as many Australian companies are entering insolvency processes today compared with the same time last year. As that...

  • The Future Direction of Corporate Criminal Responsibility in Australia

    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 responsibility in Australia, including reforms limiting the use of the criminal law as a regulatory tool, clarifying criminal attribution methods, enhancing sentencing powers and...

  • JobKeeper Wage Subsidy and Workplace Flexibility Arrangements Extended for Australian Employers During COVID-19

    The Situation: The Australian Federal Government has extended the JobKeeper Payment Scheme ("Scheme") with modifications for an additional six months, until 28 March 2021. The fortnightly flat rate subsidy of $1500 per eligible employee will be replaced by a reduced, two-tiered payment. The temporary workplace flexibility arrangements under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) ("FW Act") have also been...

  • Australia Increases Scrutiny for Litigation Funders

    The Situation: Following a boom in class actions backed by litigation funders, the Australian Federal Government has introduced new regulations which classify litigation funding schemes as "managed investment schemes" and "financial services licensing schemes" for the purpose of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

  • ASIC's New Corporate Plan Covers Next Four Years

    Australia's corporate regulator has released its Corporate Plan, which outlines its strategic litigation goals and governance initiatives over the next four years. On 31 August 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ("ASIC") released its Corporate Plan for 2020-2024. The Corporate Plan articulates the corporate regulator's ambitious agenda, strategic priorities, and...

  • Austria Introduces New Foreign Investment Screening

    Austria passed a new Investment Control Act ("ICA") expanding the screening of foreign investments ("FDI"), effective July 25, 2020. The Austrian rules on European FDI-cooperation will enter into force on October 11, 2020. The ICA affects a wide array of "sensitive sectors," including, among others...

  • Another Reason for ASIC Not to Litigate

    The Situation: Australia's corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ("ASIC") brought proceedings against two former directors of Tennis Australia ("TA") alleging that they engaged in numerous contraventions of their duties under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) in respect of their conduct during negotiations between TA and Seven Network Holdings (Seven) for a...

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