Queenslands Department for Housing and Public Works has released details of fundamental amendments to the Building and Construction Industry Payments Act proposed to come into effect this year Partner Dan Young and Overseas Practitioner Andrew Middleton report on the key reforms proposed and their ...

The NSW Court of Appeal has upheld the Land and Environment Courts refusal of the proposed Warkworth mine expansion This case highlights the complexity and onerous nature of the environmental assessment regime for major projects in NSW which empowers the courts to overturn a project approval despite ...

The Australian and Chinese governments have concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement that will reduce tariff barriers on the majority of Australian exports to China The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed that the treaty will include an investor-state dispute ...

The Dodd Frank Act is a bit like the US financial system it is trying to regulate - vast complex and hard to wade through It creates a bunch of new regulators on top of what was already a pretty solid cast and gives them wide-ranging powers They can not only set capital and liquidity requirements ...

ASICs Senate submission on forestry schemes has emphasised important regulatory reform themes with implications for managed investment schemes and financial services regulation more generally Partner Marc Kemp Consultant Derek Heath and Lawyer Patrick Boyle report ...

One year on from its election victory the Federal Government has fulfilled its commitment to repeal the Commonwealth Minerals Resource Rent Tax and related tax measures by passing a repeal Bill through the Senate yesterday The repeal is expected to take effect later this year Partner Martin Fry and ...

The final report of the Review of Governance Arrangements for Australian Energy Markets has made a number of recommendations to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of each governing body in the Australian energy market while concluding that the governance arrangements are fundamentally sound ...

Queenslands petroleum legislation was recently amended to provide greater flexibility to onshore petroleum tenure holders for a variety of matters including extensions to work programs and terms of authorities to prospect relinquishment conditions and work programs and greater flexibility in both ...

The UN Human Rights Council has recently passed resolutions that provide for the establishment of a working group to develop an international legally binding human rights instrument for transnational corporations as well as commissioning a report on the pros and cons of this approach Partner Rachel ...

The latest component of the Queensland Governments planning reform package has been released The draft Planning and Development Bill aims to facilitate Queenslands development by balancing economic growth environmental protection and community wellbeing Special Counsel Rosanne Meurling and Senior ...