The need for companies to manage and report on climate-change risks is gaining momentum in Australia This is part of a global trend as investors and governing bodies increasingly expect companies to integrate climate risks into their strategy and reporting - yet tools for monitoring and disclosing ...

On 10 April 2019 the English Supreme Court ruled that nearly 2000 members of rural farming communities in Zambia can bring proceedings in the English courts against the UK-incorporated Vedanta Resources Plc Vedanta The claims relate to the copper mining operations of one of Vedantas subsidiaries ...

After eight years of negotiation, Australia and Indonesia have signed a bilateral free trade agreement that both reduces tariff and non-tariff barriers for trade and investment, and simplifies various regulatory requirements. ...

The Federal Parliament has passed an industrial relations bill that includes significant increases to the whistleblower protections applicable to unions and employer organisations In what would be a comprehensive overhaul of Australias whistleblower laws the Federal Government has separately agreed ...

The Australian Government has announced the launch of a broad inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia The inquiry will consider whether the introduction of anti-slavery legislation would strengthen and improve Australias current regime to combat slavery If introduced a Modern ...

Australia has imposed sector-wide prohibitions on a range of imports to exports from and commercial activities with Russia Crimea and Sevastopol Partner Rachel Nicolson Associate Andrew Wilcock and Law Graduate Alice Crawford report on how these sanctions will impact on companies engaged in business ...

South Australia has introduced a stamp duty surcharge of 7 per cent for direct and indirect acquisitions of residential land by foreign purchasers, with effect from 1 January 2018. ...

The landmark Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement is expected to further strengthen the established complementary economic relationship between the two countries, and to provide new opportunities for cross-border investment and trade. ...

A recent United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report identifies recent trends in international investment agreements and investor-state dispute settlement - among them a rise in the integration of sustainable development objectives including via more careful regulation by states of ...

Australian boards and senior executives are expected to maintain oversight of risk and compliance issues such as bribery sanctions human rights and anti-money laundering In-house counsel perform a central role in supporting this oversight and maintaining compliance In the last of a five-part series ...