Today the Full Federal Court clarified the law of penalties as it applies to fees The key development is that in considering whether the amount of a fee is extravagant and exorbitant compared to the potential costs incurred in dealing with a failure to perform an obligation the court held that ...

The Federal Court has issued the first court-ordered civil penalties for breaches of the National Electricity Rules demonstrating a willingness to apply an agreed pecuniary penalty negotiated by regulators and respondents This decision is important not just to the energy sector but also to ...

Major new mining projects are to face an additional approval hurdle in Queensland following the introduction this week of a Bill to amend the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 2015 Qld Partner Ben Zillmann and Senior Associate Giselle Kilvert consider the Bill and what it means for ...

The new Queensland Productivity Commissions first two inquiries are into electricity pricing and solar feed-in tariffs Partner John Hedge and Associate Andrea Moffatt look at the implications for industry ...

A principal has successfully challenged a decision to grant an interlocutory injunction restraining it from calling on performance bonds ...

Water Services Association of Australia and Infrastructure Partnerships Australia the peak bodies for water utilities and infrastructure respectively have released a joint report that calls for major reform in the provision of urban water services across Australia The report suggests that there is a ...

The Northern Territory Government has released its Guiding Principles for the onshore oil and gas industry that set out the minimum expectations for the industry until a comprehensive regulatory review is completed Operators and investors in the sector should review the compliance of their current ...

The Federal Government today released its long-awaited response to the Financial System Inquiry The Government says it has accepted all but one of the Inquirys 44 recommendations released late last year And this is broadly true with the only substantial recommendation to be rejected being the ...

This Insight examines the latest developments in international arbitration ...

The release of the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement has renewed the debate about the ability of foreign investors to sue governments under investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms which are commonly part of international trade agreements or investment treaties between States ...