This week, to mark the 2022 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the 16 days of activism that follow, Australasia’s leading specialist insurance & risk law firm, Wotton Kearney, held a firm-wide event to raise awareness for all its staff on what they as a business and as individuals can do […]
In January 2020, the NSW Government announced its legislative strategy to restore public confidence in the building sector by 2025. The next phase has now commenced with the introduction of four proposed changes to the legislative framework. The proposed bills and regulations are open for public consultation and will be introduced in NSW Parliament in […]
Following Australia’s east coast energy crisis, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy announced a faster transition to renewable energy. To meet the government’s goals, Australia is moving at a break-neck pace to transition to renewables, and insurance players are watching closely as new risk patterns emerge. Property, Energy + Infrastructure partner Edward Burrell and […]
A new insurance product, Latent Defects Insurance (LDI), is set to transform the insurance framework for high-rise residential buildings – especially if it becomes mandatory in New South Wales. This major development is aimed at restoring consumer confidence in the NSW residential construction industry in the context of the state’s “building compliance crisis” and its […]
The NSW Government’s framework to address high-risk combustible cladding remains a live issue plagued by confusion around the application of the product ban on combustible Aluminium Composite Panels (ACPs). The NSW Auditor General’s recent report found that uncertainty persists around compliance and how councils have interpreted the product ban. This has resulted in costly and […]
In early 2022, the Albanese government committed to implementing and legislating all 55 of the recommendations of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Respect@Work Report. On 27 September 2022, the government introduced the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022, which seeks to implement seven of the 55 recommendations to strengthen laws […]
Today, the remaining provisions of the Personal Injuries Proceedings and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2022 (the Amendment Act) came into force. These amend the Personal Injuries Proceedings Act 2002, the Legal Profession Act 2007 and the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003. The amendments, together with the provisions that were already in force from the […]
On 19 October, NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman introduced the District Court Amendment Bill 2022. The Bill proposes to change the Court’s: civil jurisdictional limit from $750,000 to $1,250,000 equity jurisdictional limit from $20,000 to $100,000, and jurisdictional limit applying to temporary injunctions from $20,000 to $100,000. As indicated in the Second Reading, the Bill […]
The discovery of CTE in American National Football League players in the early 2000s was a body blow to the professional and amateur sporting landscapes around the world. While little is still known about the causative effects of CTE, sporting organisations, schools, community groups and their insurers have proactively responded to the emerging risk. This […]
Without question, ESG has become a global priority. The risks affecting insureds’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance are well-documented and include greenwashing, climate change, war, supply chain issues and cyberattacks. This report by our Legalign Global alliance partners looks at how collaboration between insurers, businesses and regulators is the key to ensuring resilience in […]
