In his recent address to the RBB Economics Forum, ACCC Chairman Rod Sims identified a number of key focus areas for the regulator. The Chairman offered valuable insight into potential future developments in the competition and consumer law space, including the ACCC's approach to mergers, the possible introduction of a prohibition against unfair trading practices, and further scrutiny of the agricultural sector. We explore the impact of the ACCC's agenda on the food and beverage sector. ...

Companies should seek to make the most of their intangible assets. One way to do this is to use intellectual property assets as collateral to access funding. IP-rich businesses, SMEs and start-ups should keep this potential avenue in mind. ...

New, wide-reaching requirements for government procurement processes have recently been implemented around Australia, following the ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other Free Trade Agreements with Australia's key trading partners. ...

Exposure draft legislation implementing the Federal Governments promise to introduce a 10 per cent non-final withholding tax on purchasers of certain types of taxable Australian property by foreign residents has been released for review and comment Partner Charles Armitage and Associate Scott Lang ...

Major changes to PNG company law have important ramifications for company directors company secretaries and anyone with an interest in the winding up of a company Partner Richard Kriedemann and Senior Associate Sarah Kuman report on the impact of the new laws ...

Draft guidance targeting the infrastructure industry particularly in the context of stapled property trust and operating company structures frequently used in infrastructure projects has been released Partner Charles Armitage Managing Associate Judith Taylor and Lawyer David Lewis report ...

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has announced that it will take no action where a self-managed superannuation fund trustee is treated as a wholesale client notwithstanding that the trustee does not have to meet the 10 million net asset threshold even though the financial service ...

An increased focus on taxing indirect real property transfers has seen the 'land-rich' or 'landholder' duty rules expand significantly over the years, resulting in far more transactions being liable to duty. ...

Commissioner Hayne's recommendations may initially seem somewhat modest – they do not undo vertical integration, impose limits on executive remuneration or ban bonuses and they do not recommend that directors prefer the interests of their customers. But, while it is true that the recommendations are not radical, there is much in the report that will mean some real changes for financial services companies, their Boards and their executives, as well as for their regulators and advisers. ...

In the Final Report, the Commissioner has found that, for the most part, whilst the legislative tools necessary to protect borrowers are already available, there have been significant shortcomings in ...