Allens has acted for the Municipal Association of Victoria in connection with the establishment of Australia's first municipal note program, the Local Government Funding Vehicle. The inaugural $240 ...

Today the Full Federal Court clarified the law of penalties as it applies to fees The key development is that in considering whether the amount of a fee is extravagant and exorbitant compared to the potential costs incurred in dealing with a failure to perform an obligation the court held that ...

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 ...

The recent Great Southern class action settlement included a term by which group members acknowledged and admitted that loans taken out with independent financiers to finance investments in Great Southern managed investment schemes were valid and enforceable Two separate Victorian Supreme Court ...

Key cyber risks faced by ASICs regulated population as well as the legal and compliance obligations to manage those risks are highlighted in a new ASIC report ASIC also identifies steps entities can take to address the risks The report marks a growing focus on cyber security issues by ASIC which is ...

In the past 12 months the Indian Parliament has passed two important pieces of legislation relating to corporate social responsibility and the allegations of corruption made against public servants. How does it affect you? ...

The Australian and Singaporean governments have recently concluded discussions on a landmark agreement that will see the two countries cooperating across a range of strategic initiatives including in the areas of trade and economics innovation education people and defence The Comprehensive Strategic ...

Criminal cartels unfair contract terms consumer guarantees and the health construction and agriculture sectors are some of the ACCCs key enforcement and compliance priorities for 2017 ACCC Chairman Rod Sims released the ACCCs 2017 Compliance and Enforcement Policy on Friday 24 February 2017 ...

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

On 13 December 2016 Treasury released a paper seeking feedback on the proposed financial product design and distribution obligations and proposed product intervention powers for ASIC The proposals are intended to create new accountability obligations for product issuers and distributors On one view ...