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In ESG

Australia: A new national environment regulator

by 4 Mins Read

Draft discussion papers have been released outlining the purpose and functions of the new Commonwealth Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA is to be established by way of new standalone legislation which we anticipate will be released in 2024. Other legislation (such as the new “nature positive” legislation, expected to replace the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act)) is to confer powers and responsibilities on the new EPA Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
This article sets out what we currently know about how the EPA is to operate, how that varies from current arrangements and what this means for the future of project environmental assessment in Australia.

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Australia: Government releases interim response to AI consultation

by 6 Mins Read

The Australian Government’s interim response to the “Safe and responsible AI in Australia” discussion paper flags a risk-based approach to AI governance in Australia including a mix of voluntary AI safety standards, voluntary labelling and watermarking for generative AI and the development of mandatory guardrails with a particular focus on high-risk and frontier AI applications.

In Employment

Australia: AHRC’s new enforcement powers – is your business complying with the positive duty?

by , , and 6 Mins Read

From Tuesday, 12 December 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) will have new powers to commence an inquiry and ensure compliance when it ‘reasonably suspects’ an organization is not complying with its positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (“Sex Discrimination Act”). The positive duty commenced in December 2022 following the passing of legislation to implement a recommendation in the Respect@Work Report.

In

Australia: Cybersecurity – End of Year Wrap Up (2023)

by , , , , , and 1 Min Read

2023 has ended with a flurry of activity from Australian authorities and regulators that provides deep insights into Australia’s current and emerging cyber threat environment and will heavily influence the development of Australia’s cyber policy in the years to come. We have pulled together key insights, important trends in the cyber threat landscape and recommendations for cyber risk management that should be of interest to all Australian businesses and directors moving into 2024 and beyond.

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Australia: AI regulatory developments – Year in Review (2023)

by , , and 1 Min Read

2023 has been a big year in Australia for developments in artificial intelligence (AI). We have pulled together the main announcements, key insights and regulatory themes to emerge this year and recommendations for risk management that will be of interest to Australian companies engaging with AI technologies into 2024 and beyond.

In AML & Financial Services Regulatory

Australia: Further consultation on the licensing of payment service providers

by , and 6 Mins Read

On 8 December 2023, the Australian Treasury released the Second Consultation Paper on “Payments System Modernization: Regulation of Payment Service Providers” that provides some further details on the proposed broadening of the licensing and regulatory framework for payment service providers. This follows the Treasury’s initial consultation conducted in June earlier this year.

In

Australia: Significant new developments in online safety regime

by , and 8 Mins Read

On 20 November 2023, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner (“eSafety”) released drafts of two new industry standards under the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth) (OSA) for public consultation.
The Standards cover providers of:
• Relevant electronic services, which cover a wide category of services that allow end-users to communicate online (including email, SMS, MMS, chat, instant messaging, various online games and dating services).
• Designated internet services, which cover a broad range of websites and apps not otherwise captured by the RES Standard or the industry codes that have been registered by eSafety under the OSA.

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In AML & Financial Services Regulatory

Australia: Modifications to reportable situations regime for AFS and credit licensees

by 2 Mins Read

ASIC Corporations and Credit (Amendment) Instrument 2023/589 was registered on 17 October 2023 to amend ASIC Corporations and Credit (Breach Reporting – Reportable Situations) Instrument 2021/716. The amendments modify the current reportable situations regime applicable to Australian financial services licensees and Australian credit licensees and apply from 20 October 2023.

In AML & Financial Services Regulatory

Australia: Modernising Australia’s payment systems – Reforming the Payments Systems (Regulation) Act 1998

by , , and 5 Mins Read

The Government has released exposure draft legislation to update the Payments Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 (PSRA). This follows consultation conducted in June 2023 to “modernize” the application of the PSRA and to ensure the framework appropriately regulates emerging and future payment functions.

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