An appeals court has found it “inconceivable” that legislation aimed at protecting public health would not have afforded the New South Wales health minister the power to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for certain workers, given the outbreak of the Delta strain of the coronavirus.
A Federal Circuit Court judge has hit back at accusations he conducted “the grossest parody of a court hearing” when he unlawfully imprisoned a Queensland man for contempt of court, telling a trial “he is a human being [who] made a mistake”.
A full bench of the Fair Work Commission has struck down a BHP requirement that all workers at its Mt Arthur coal mine in NSW be vaccinated against COVID-19, finding the mandate was unreasonable and unlawful for lack of consultation.
Victorian workers challenging the government’s health directions requiring workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 have lost their second bid to disqualify the judge hearing the case on the ground of apprehended bias.
Two landmark class actions seeking damages from the Victorian government for economic losses suffered during last year’s second wave of COVID-19 have been thrown out, but one of the cases will be given a second chance to proceed.
Apple has reached the end of the line in its attempts to move a competition dispute with Fortnite game maker Epic Games to California, with the High Court denying the tech company’s special leave application to appeal a judgment that found there were “strong reasons” for keeping the matter in Australia.
Australian beauty and skincare retailer Mecca has triumphed in a lawsuit brought against US makeup brand Hourglass, which tried to terminate an exclusive distribution agreement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virgin Australia has walked back part of its COVID-19 vaccination policy after the union representing aircraft maintenance engineers received hundred of complaints about the requirement that they provide their Individual Health Identifier as part of proof of their vaccination status.
Woodside Energy has been sued over its $16.5 billion Scarborough gas field development, with an environmental group alleging the project’s approval was invalid because the government of Western Australia failed to properly account for its impact on climate change.
A judge has granted a 21-day stay of a lawsuit brought by Acciona, a Spanish infrastructure company seeking to use COVID-19 as a reason to back out of its construction contract for the $696 million Kwinana waste-to-energy plant, and has warned the company it faces a difficult task to persuade the court of its case.