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 ...

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 ...

Two new pieces of legislation relating to strata title law have been passed by both Houses of the NSW Parliament Although the new legislation which is expected to commence on 1 July 2016 will impose obligations on developers to provide inspection reports and building bonds it will also open up ...

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 ...

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 ...

A new Port Zone has been applied to three major Victorian ports at Geelong Hastings and Portland with announcements that it will make it easier for port operations to expand The Port of Melbourne however is not included in the new zone consistent with the State Governments intention to develop the ...

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 ...

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 ...

2012 saw some small but positive steps in the area of intellectual property enforcement within China according to the recently released 2012 annual report of Chinas Supreme Peoples Court ...

At the end of 2013 the Federal Minister for Health announced a panel review into Australias Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record PCEHR system to consider implementation and uptake issues The subsequent report made public in May 2014 puts forward 38 recommendations to address the issues ...