By: Kieran Doyle, Nicole Gabryk, Nick Martin and Olivija Radinovic For this year’s Privacy Awareness Week, the OAIC is calling on entities to ‘power up’ privacy – to take control and to step things up. Privacy regulators from across Australia issued a joint statement for Privacy Awareness Week which set out more details for this […]
By: Antony Holden, Caroline Laband, Michael Cavanaugh and Colette Clayton The Contracts of Insurance Bill, previously referred to as the Insurance Contracts Bill, has (finally) been introduced to the House. The Bill looks to consolidate and replace six Acts and the surrounding principles and case law that currently govern New Zealand insurance law. The most […]
By: Richard Leder, Georgie Austin, Blake Pappas and Bella Marazita The Federal Court’s decision in Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Lehrmann case) serves as another cautionary tale for prospective plaintiffs who are tempted to use defamation litigation as a vehicle to challenge serious allegations of criminal wrongdoing in order to vindicate themselves. The Lehrmann […]
By: Amanda Beattie and Samantha Younane At a glance The NSW Court of Appeal has confirmed that existing authority is not “plainly wrong” and that soft class closure orders cannot be made in the NSW Supreme Court. The decision confirms that the position in New South Wales diverges from that in the Victorian and the Federal […]
By: Cain Jackson, Edward O’Brien and Samantha Younane Introduction Almost 3 years after the unfair contract terms (UCT) regime1 was expanded to “consumer”2 and “small business”3 insurance contracts, the decision of Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Auto & General Insurance Company Limited4 provides some guidance and clarity as to how the UCT provisions operate in an insurance context. […]
By: Sian Gilbert, Dexter Cabal and Rebekah Johnson At a glance A growing number of Australian workplaces are now offering flexible public holidays to recognise the diverse backgrounds, cultures and values of employees. These holidays are offered in lieu of public holidays currently on the calendar. However, there are limitations around this initiative depending on the […]
It is well known that institutions have seen an exponential increase in civil claims arising from child abuse. However, with increased awareness and the MeToo movement, adult survivors are also finding the courage to make claims. For those of us who work in this space, much focus is placed on taking a trauma informed approach […]
By: Jonathan Maher and Aisha Lala In this short update we note that NSW authorities are reporting what are believed to be the first fatalities related to lithium-ion battery fires. If confirmed, this tragedy underscores the growing concerns around the risk posed by lithium-ion batteries, and the potential insurance implications. The incident On 29 February […]
By: Chris Spain and Trudi-Ann Mercurio At a glance The Advance Care Directives (Review) Amendment Act 2023 (SA) came into effect on 1 March 2024. The Act amended the Advance Care Directives Act 2013 (SA), following a review undertaken by Professor Wendy Lacey in 2019. The Act provides health practitioners with clarification as to the […]
By: Amanda Beattie, Dylan O’Keefe and Samantha Younane The power to make soft class closure orders came under scrutiny in 2020 (following the NSW Supreme Court decisions in Haselhurst1 and Wigmans2) but recent decisions suggest that soft class closure orders are back. Late last month, the respondents in the FX class action3 were successful in obtaining […]
