New legislation that seeks to establish a statutory framework for the access to and use of stormwater in Victoria is an attempt to increase the use of stormwater in urban areas and furthers the Victorian Governments policy of limiting the diversion of water from rural areas for urban use The process ...

In a unanimous decision the Full Federal Court has confirmed that genetic materials in their isolated form remain patentable in Australia The decision related to an appeal from an earlier Federal Court decision in which it was found isolated nucleic acids to be a manner of manufacture as required by ...

The Federal Court has recently ruled that there is no requirement for a public benevolent institution to provide direct relief to people in need Its interpretation of the expression public benevolent institution theoretically has the potential to expand eligibility well beyond traditionally accepted ...

The Land Sales and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2014, which will streamline the sale of property in Queensland, was passed by the Queensland Parliament yesterday. Partner Alister Fitzgerald provi ...

In Lend Lease Development Pty Ltd v Commissioner of State Revenue, the Victorian Court of Appeal decided that certain 'development contributions' made by a purchaser to a vendor did not form part of the consideration that 'moved' the transfer of land to the purchaser. ...

The Northern Territory Government has decided not to impose a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for its onshore oil and gas industry giving the Territorys onshore oil and gas operators and investors investment certainty at a time that export and domestic opportunities are arising Partner Ben ...

The Australian Government has announced that from 1 March 2015 acquisitions of agricultural land worth more than A15 million and any additional acquisitions over and above that amount will require government approval It will also establish a foreign ownership register of agricultural land ...

After almost 10 years of negotiations between the nations on 17 November 2014 Prime Minister Abbott and President Xi announced the conclusion of negotiations on the China Australia Free Trade Agreement ChAFTA Once implemented the ChAFTA is expected to significantly reduce import barriers for ...

The Commonwealth has recently made regulation to implement Australias commitments under its free trade agreements with Japan Korea and Chile which will ease certain foreign investment review and life insurance business regulations for investors from those countries Japan Sector Leader and Partner ...

Having recently acquired a new CEO and a significant funding boost AUSTRAC is being closely watched by reporting entities for an indication of its future direction and priorities both at the policy and the enforcement level In light of this and with major review reports pending 2015 promises to be a ...