Policy and Regulation

Legislation introduced in Victoria that would require companies to allow employees to work from home two days a week -- and to cover the reasonable costs of the arrangement -- would give employees in the same workforce different rights, according to a legal expert.

Law firm Allens has told a parliamentary committee that a court should weigh in on whether parliament's powers to compel information overrode KPMG's legal privilege, as the auditor resists orders to produce documents.

A Victorian parliamentary inquiry has warned taxpayers could be left footing the bill for offshore oil and gas infrastructure decommissioning, despite existing rules requiring titleholders to pay.

The Law Council says asserting legal professional privilege is not "inherently scandalous", ahead of a parliamentary hearing on KPMG's sharing ofclient information, at which law firms Allens and Ashurst are expected to stay mum.

KPMG has been referred to the national corruption watchdog, with Greens Senator Barbara Pocock calling the federal government's three-month pause on new contracts with the auditor a “slap on the wrist with a stick of limp celery”.

The preferred bidder for the Liberty Bell Bay smelter in Tasmania has withdrawn from the process, less than a month after its involvement was announced. 

A NSW Supreme Court judge looking to bring class actions back to the state says legislation that would allow common fund orders at an early stage of proceedings was a "no-brainer".

Western Australia's government is set to introduce legislation for the establishment of an independent watchdog to deal with complaints about the state's judges and magistrates.

The Albanese government has appointed a senior executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience to take the reins as the first chief executive officer of the new national EPA, a cornerstone of the government's recent environmental law reforms. 

A group of funders is advocating for reforms to address the dearth of new class action filings in the NSW Supreme Court, with a group costs order regime similar to the one in place in Victoria said to be under consideration.