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 ...

From 1 July 2015 sellers and landlords will be able to enter into sales and leases which are the result of unsolicited offers or which involve only wholly-owned subsidiaries without the need to first provide a building energy efficiency certificate following amendments to federal legislation Partner ...

With the recent Intergenerational Report having further highlighted the need to deliver social outcomes in an efficient way Partners David Donnelly and James Darcy report on the potential role of social benefit bonds in providing social infrastructure and services ...

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 ...

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

Over the weekend in Paris two weeks of negotiations culminated in the adoption by all parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change of a conference decision and Paris Agreement to address climate change The combined Paris Outcome commits parties to limit global temperature ...

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 ...

In a recent decision of the Victorian Supreme Court a Melbourne municipal council was held liable to compensate a landowner for the costs that were incurred by the landowner in the course of complying with a clean-up notice issued under the Environment Protection Act 1970 Vic despite the pollution ...

Australia has seen a significant increase in market-led proposals for infrastructure projects This is having an important effect on how government interacts with the private sector with all states and territories having released detailed guidance intended to boost these submissions even more Partner ...

Comment is being sought on new guidelines designed to enhance good tax behaviour and create an even playing field for businesses that comply with their tax obligations Partner John Greig and Lawyer Patrick Broe outline the proposed guidelines the implications for tenderers and some matters that ...