With the passage of the Respect@Work and Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bills before Christmas this year, the Federal Government will have done more to make workplaces fairer and safer for women than years of platitudes from their predecessors, says Maurice Blackburn’s Mackenzie Wakefield and Patrick Turner.
The ACCC has secured its first enforcement outcome related solely to the concerted practices provisions of the competition law, in a case that shows the watchdog is willing to take action to prevent what it sees as anti-competitive practices that include sharing sensitive price information, write Gilbert + Tobin’s Jeremy Jose, Sarah Lynch and Katie Latham.
The public and political response to the Optus incident, including the federal government’s announcement of urgent privacy law reform, suggests there may now be an appetite to test obstacles to data breach class actions, or for the government to legislate around them, say Allens lawyers Kate Austin, Valeska Bloch, Isabelle Guyot and Andrew Burns.
A full bench of the Fair Work Commission has reversed a decision that would have allowed employees who were lawfully demoted to challenge their demotions as unfair dismissals, in a significant finding that means employers will not be exposed to claims if they properly exercise their rights, writes McCullough Robertson’s Amber Sharp, Kerry O’Brien and Nathan Roberts.
The competition regulator has proposed to deny authorisation for a patent settlement that sought to permit early entry of generic drugs. Whether the companies involved will be able to quell the ACCC’s concerns remains to be seen, but what is clear is that future authorisation applications will contend with significant forensic challenges, writes Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s Odette Gourley, Richard Flitcroft, David Fixler and Ian Reynolds.
Despite the Morrison government’s decision to shelve its latest proposed class action reforms before the election, there are plainly competing perspectives between those in government that seek to politicise the class action regime and industry experts — including judges — about the appropriate management of class actions, writes Slater & Gordon’s Claire Pirie.
The Full Federal Court was emphatic in its decision that the environment minister does not owe a duty of care to Australian children to shield them from climate change harm, but there is no doubt the law will be put to the test again soon, says Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s Louise Camenzuli, Julia Green and Max Newman.
Even after 30 years in action, the future of class actions in Australia remains uncertain. What is clear, however, is the impact class actions have had – for claimants, lawyers, litigation funders and for corporate Australia, writes Corrs Chambers Westgarth’s Chris Pagent, Brad Woodhouse, Alex Ji and Thomas Scott.
The access to justice and efficiency objectives of the 30-year class action regime would be better served by more active scrutiny at the point of commencement, say Allens partners Belinda Thompson and Jenny Campbell.
As we reach the 30-year anniversary of the modern form of class action in Australia, an enduring characteristic of class action practice in this country is that the area is not well-suited to those who enjoy certainty or predictability, say Jason Betts, Aoife Xuereb and Melissa Gladstone-Joyce of Herbert Smith Freehills.