Australian businesses may have to change the names of a range of food, drinks and agricultural products after the EU asked Australia to protect a list of hundreds of names under the proposed Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement (A-EU FTA). ...

The demand for plant-based 'meat' alternatives is predicted to grow. As with any new industry, there is a series of regulatory issues that businesses should carefully navigate at the early planning phase. This is to avoid encountering issues down the track that may affect the marketing and supply of such products in Australia. ...

Data remains one of the most undervalued assets, with most companies still failing to even include it as an asset on their balance sheet. Buyers and sellers who can recognise data assets and properly demonstrate how value can be extracted from them will be best placed for future M&A transactions. ...

In this report, teams from 16 countries including Australia have summarised legal and commercial developments in the fintech space for 2019 and looked forward in predicting likely themes in 2020. ...

We are currently at a fascinating time in Australia, where the data space has seen an enormous amount of new regulation over the last few years and faces significant potential regulation on the horizon. The likely impact of these changes on the way in which we deal with data and, in turn, the way in which we might deal with ethics raises a number of compelling (and complicated) questions - particularly as they relate to AI. Technology, Media & Telecommunications Partner Michael Park sat down with Dr Maria Rosario Todao, Deputy Director of the Digital Ethics Lab at Oxford University, to discuss the intersection of these themes and the emerging trends around the world. ...

Landlords and tenants will see changes to their rights and compliance obligations under retail shop leases as a result of proposed amendments to the Building Act 1993 (Vic) (and regulations) ...

A parliamentary inquiry has been announced into whether Australia should introduce a legislation authorising the government to impose sanctions against gross human right abusers. ...

The Draft South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy 2019-2024 has been released for public consultation. The Strategy is supported by new koala habitat mapping. The Strategy and mapping have serious implications for landowners in koala habitat areas within a Koala Priority Area, who will be prevented from clearing their land except in very limited circumstances. We discuss these implications below and suggest that, at a minimum, landowners should review the mapping to ascertain whether their land is within a Koala Priority Area. ...

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. ...

The transaction, once completed, will deliver Santos operatorship and control of the Darwin LNG facility (and associated mid-stream assets), the Bayu-Undan project and the Barossa project. The ...