311-320 of 333 results
Emissions regulation and liability – NGERs and the Safeguard Mechanism
The National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme requires some companies to account for the scope 1 and scope 2 emissions they are responsible for. Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions for which a company is responsible, whilst scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the purchase o ...
Shareholder resolutions
Shareholders are becoming increasingly aware of climate change risks. Since early 2017, both Australian and foreign companies have faced a wave of climate change-related shareholder activism. Ceres maintains a Climate and Sustainability Shareholder Resolutions Database, which at February 2020 showe ...
A 'high risk' jurisdiction: climate change and directors' duties
Australian law requires certain standards of conduct of company directors, including that directors act in the best interests of the company and exercise care and diligence in performing their role. ...
Increasing climate litigation and shareholder action expected
There is a growing trend for legal action against corporates, particularly energy companies and financial firms. Many commentators, including former Chief Justice French, have predicted a continued rise in climate change litigation in Australia. ...
State of trade: COVID-19's impacts on trade regulation and supply chain risks
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many aspects of international commerce, and will continue do so for some time. In this Insight, we discuss three critical trade-related impacts of the pandemic on Australian businesses. ...
What courts and regulators expect from corporate compliance
The recent decision of ACCC v Bupa Aged Care contains valuable lessons on the importance of compliance programs. They include how quickly improving or implementing such programs can lead to lower penalties; the extent to which regulators and courts favourably view effective compliance programs when assessing penalties, and what features they consider to be essential. ...
OAIC's landmark case against Facebook to have major implications on Privacy Act
As Privacy Awareness Week this year called for individuals to #rebootyourprivacy and debate continues over the privacy protections for the COVIDSafe application, another step has been taken in the Australian Information Commissioner's (Commissioner) landmark case against Facebook, Inc and Facebook Ireland Ltd (together, Facebook) which will have major implications for the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) and digital businesses operating from offshore entities. ...
Federal Court refuses to order disclosure of class action respondent's insurance policies
In contrast to a previous decision, the Federal Court has refused to order the disclosure of the respondent's insurance policies to the applicant in a class action. We explore this decision and also highlight the way in which the court's reasoning differed from a prior decision that found in favour of disclosure. ...
Continuous disclosure during COVID-19: shining the spotlight on earnings and debt
In its latest compliance update, ASX reiterated that entities in financial difficulty (including with respect to their debt arrangements) will receive no special treatment. On earnings guidance, it was acknowledged that many listed entities have taken the opportunity to withdraw guidance issued before the outbreak of COVID-19. ASX also strongly encouraged entities to review their published guidance in light of COVID-19 and to either update it if it was not current or withdraw it in this highly uncertain climate. ...
ASIC's New Document Production Guidelines
ASIC has released its new Document Production Guidelines, which govern how it expects electronic and hard copy records to be produced in response to compulsory notices. ...