The healthcare team at Allens reports on some key trends and sectors to look out for in 2020. ...

On Friday the Government released a large package of Exposure Draft Bills to implement the last of the Financial Services Royal Commission recommendations. There are some important and significant changes and Treasury is consulting widely (although not for very long) and seeking feedback. ...

Furniture retailers fined for false 'was/now' pricing claims; Mazda defends claims of unconscionable conduct and false or misleading representations over faulty vehicles; Unique ordered to pay millions in damages over its funded diploma courses; ACCC presses Google on its policies relating to location data; and ACCC approves ANZ Terminals' acquisition of GrainCorp Bulk Liquid Terminals. ...

The Australian Law Reform Commission released for consultation today a set of proposals aimed at overhauling the federal corporate criminal responsibility regime. This comes in the wake of criticisms that the current system is ineffective in preventing, deterring and prosecuting serious corporate crime. Whilst the reforms offer a clearer, consistent and more rational framework for addressing corporate misconduct in Australia, some elements (such as the adoption of a general 'associate' model for criminal attribution) will no doubt raise concern given their capacity to significantly extend corporate liability. We examine some of the key proposals and their likely impact. Partner Christopher Kerrigan and Senior Overseas Practitioner Cindy McNair report. ...

The Federal Government's 'big stick' energy Bill, which will define and prohibit several new types of misconduct in electricity markets, is progressing through Parliament. Meanwhile, COAG has instigated a holistic review of gas pipeline regulation and is considering improvements to transparency meas ...

Federal laws imposing a three-year minimum expiry date on gift cards sold in Australia came into effect last week, but certain state laws relating to gift cards also remain. This Insight explains the key principles businesses need to know about, and includes a quick guide to how the laws compare. ...

ASIC Report 639 Financial advice by superannuation funds was published on 3 December. It examines the ways in which superannuation funds provide financial advice to members and the overall quality of personal financial advice obtained through funds. ...

Anyone with even a passing professional interest in superannuation and funds will be familiar with 'RG 97' . This Insight examines the key changes made to regime after the ASIC review. ...

In a highly anticipated decision, the Full Bench of the Australian Federal Court recently dismissed the appeal in Encompass Corporation v InfoTrack. Despite the opportunity to clarify the scope of patentability of computer-implemented inventions, the question of what encompasses patentable subject matter remains open. ...

There is more M&A activity in data across all sectors, and data opportunities and risks are impacting headline price, post-completion deal value and risk-allocation profile of investments and M&A transactions. For both buyers and sellers, this playbook helps in-house counsel and dealmakers navigate the data issues that arise in the context of mergers, acquisitions, demergers and investments to maximise the value in these transactions. ...