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...more
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...more
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,...more
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...more
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...more
10/15/2020
/ Australia ,
Bankruptcy Reform ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Creditors ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Insolvency ,
Landlords ,
New Rules ,
Relief Measures ,
Small Business
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...more
10/12/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Australia ,
Board of Directors ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Code ,
Criminal Liability ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
The Corporations Act ,
White Collar Crimes
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...more
The Situation: Directors and executives are largely responsible for the culture of companies, and regulators are seeking to hold them accountable for misconduct that can be traced to poor culture.
The Key Message: Culture...more
On 20 September 2019, the Federal Court of Australia delivered its much-anticipated judgment in the highly publicised proceedings brought by APRA against IOOF's Chairman, Managing Director, three senior executives and two...more
Sweeping changes to corporate whistleblowing laws in Australia came into effect on 1 July 2019. The reforms provide for a range of additional protections to eligible whistleblowers, including a right of...more
7/24/2019
/ Anonymity ,
Australia ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New Legislation ,
Private Sector ,
Protected Disclosures ,
Retaliation ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
Australia has started to observe a rise in the number of data breach class actions being investigated and filed, although there has not yet been a successful data breach class action there. A range of factors are at play...more
5/28/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Australia ,
Breach Notification Rule ,
Class Action ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Data Protection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
International Data Transfers ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws
The Background: The defendant was faced with two "open" class actions (i.e. including all putative group members) in relation to the same allegations.
The Issue: The defendant sought a court order permanently staying...more
The Situation: On 22 September 2017, the Australian Government released a draft bill for the introduction of a Banking Executive Accountability Regime ("Proposed BEAR") allowing only five working days for submissions....more