Policy and Regulation

The Star Sydney has been hit with $10 million in fines from the state’s gaming regulator, which accused the casino of allowing some patrons to gamble for over 36 hours straight.

The federal environment minister made “key legal errors” in deciding not to assess plans to clear almost 3,000 hectares of savanna in the Northern Territory, an environmental group alleges. 

ASIC is investigating Corporate Travel Management and its auditor PwC, after the travel management company said it would reverse $220 million in revenue after a review found it had overcharged customers. 

A senator has slammed companies for abusing legal professional privilege, after hearing that KPMG has refused to hand over documents in an ASIC investigation into misuse of client information by KPMG auditors.

Ex-South Australian senator and self-proclaimed transparency warrior Rex Patrick has been hit with a higher maximum costs order in his case seeking documents about the $12 billion Snowy 2.0 renewables project.

The federal government is underwriting 19 new wind, solar and battery projects in the largest tender yet under its Capacity Investment Scheme, which will unlock $17 billion in private investments.

The federal government is moving forward with a plan under recently passed changes to the environmental laws that will help speed environmental approvals on major projects.

Federal Attorney-General Michelle Rowland has hinted at possible reforms to the class action regime that would allow plaintiff firms to earn a profit from group proceedings.

The privacy watchdog has cleared a property company run by lawyer Dominique Grubisa of claims of misuse of  personal information, but has referred concerns about promotional statements to the ACCC.

At the centre of Tuesday night's budget are tax reforms aimed at investment structures, negative gearing, and the capital gains perk that represent the biggest change to the taxation of Australian savings since 1999.