A cumulative fine of $33.5 million and criminal convictions and fines imposed on the CEOs have been recently handed down by the Federal Court following criminal cartel conduct.
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From 9 November 2023, changes to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) will impose heavy penalties on businesses proposing, using, or relying on unfair contract terms in standard form contracts with consumers and small businesses. Businesses need to review their standard form contracts now and remove any unfair contract terms to avoid substantial penalties.
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People are coming increasingly aware and concerned about the protection of their personal information. Given the latest cybercrime attacks on Optus and Medibank, the Federal Government is seeking to increase penalties for privacy breaches. Do you know your privacy obligations and do you have the appropriate privacy protections in place?
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All directors of Australian or registered foreign companies under the Corporations Act 2001 will now need to apply for a director identification number (DIN), as administered by the Australian Business Registry Services.
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From 18 February 2021, companies can no longer remove the last remaining director on the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) records without replacing that appointment with another director, unless certain specific exceptions apply.
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The Fair Trading Act now requires that businesses take "reasonable steps" to ensure that consumers are aware of the "substance and effect of any term or condition relating to the supply of the goods or services that may substantially prejudice the interests of the consumer".
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The ACCC has again displayed its appetite for enforcing the law when it comes to unfair contract terms.
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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has published COVID-19 and financial hardship: ASIC's expectations of retail lenders when loan repayment deferral ends, outlining its expectations of lenders when the 6-month mortgage deferrals introduced at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic expire.
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On 12 June 2020 the Federal Government passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Registries Modernisation and Other Measures) Bill 2019 (Bill). This Bill establishes a new lifetime registration regime for directors, under which every director is assigned a unique identifier known as a Director Identification Number (DIN) that will remain with that individual for all directorships.
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