A one stop shop for Commonwealth and state environmental approvals in Queensland and New South Wales is a step closer with the release of draft Approval Bilateral Agreements If implemented as planned Queensland and New South Wales will each become responsible for assessing and approving projects for ...

New legislation that deals with property transactions in Queensland will have major implications on the sale process of residential property and the licensing of agents Partner Alister Fitzgerald and Senior Associate Annabelle Aland report on the main changes ...

The Federal Government has announced that it will press ahead with changes to the future of financial advice provisions, initially by regulation and then by legislation ...

A policy background paper on media control and ownership released by the federal Department of Communications aims to restart the discussion on media law reform The paper does not draw conclusions or make recommendations but adopts a deregulatory tone Partner Ian McGill Senior Associate Matt Vitins ...

Further amendments to existing property legislation that aims to streamline the sale of property particularly in respect of the sale of off-the-plan lots have been introduced into the Queensland Parliament These amendments will be of substantial benefit to developers Partner Alister Fitzgerald ...

The Federal Government has released a draft mandatory port access code of conduct that would apply to all Australian bulk wheat export port terminals If implemented the code would replace the existing regulatory framework and the access undertakings approved by the ACCC for terminals operated by the ...

In a decision that has potential implications for a raft of Federal Government programs the High Court held that legislation passed to authorise hundreds of government funding arrangements is invalid insofar as it relates to the national schools chaplaincy program The decision once again confirms ...

While the media has focused on the more sensational recommendations of last weeks Senate report on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission there are a number of other interesting comments and themes that provide some clues about future regulation by the Federal Government surveillance ...

The Queensland Government plans a major reform of the state land system to streamline processes reduce regulation and improve service delivery Partner John Beckinsale reports on the possible reforms which are outlined in a recently released discussion paper ...

Record US penalties recently imposed on car manufacturers for failures to deal appropriately with safety defects are a timely reminder to Australian manufacturers of their product safety obligations Partner Belinda Thompson Senior Associate Jaime McKenzie and Lawyer Ishwar Singh report ...