Knowledge

Australia’s signing of recent free trade agreements (“FTAs”) with China, Japan and South Korea, and the reportedly concluded but as yet unseen Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (“the TPP”), have put trade back in the centre of Australia’s policy and economic dialogue. A major topic of that debate is trade protection. With tariffs being reduced to zero or next to zero across almost all goods from our major trading partners, the role of ordinary tariffs as an instrument of protection, or of long term adjustment, has disappeared. Australian industry, although being enhanced in an outgoing sense, is now more fully exposed to international price competition than it has ever been.

The ACT has a Crown leasing system of land ownership. It has always had unique features, but the ACT Government has gone to great lengths to create and emphasise similarities with land title and land dealings in freehold jurisdictions.

On 14 September 2015 the Australian Liberal Party voted to remove the Hon Tony Abbott as leader of the Australian Liberal Party and to replace him with the Hon Malcolm Turnbull. As a result, Malcolm Turnbull will today become the new Prime Minister of Australia.

Contaminated land is a critical issue for all businesses that use or impact on land, or operate environmentally sensitive operations. Land holders, land purchasers and sellers and business operators need to be aware of their obligations and liabilities or they may find themselves liable for not only extensive remediation work but also for heavy penalties and compensation claims.

Moulis Legal’s Christopher Hewitt, Emily Jennings and Macky Markar discuss how Australian businesses can resolve disputes in China using legal, administrative and commercial strategies.

Compliance with contaminated land regulations is a critical issue for all businesses operating environmentally sensitive operations. Business owners and operators within the downstream petroleum industry are particularly vulnerable to contaminated land liability and those who fail to understand their obligations may find themselves liable for not only extensive remediation work but also for heavy penalties.

Contaminated land is a critical issue for land holders, purchasers, sellers, business operators and developers of land, particularly those with environmentally sensitive operations. Contamination liability has the potential to make an otherwise attractive investment or business commercially unviable.

An amendment to Australia’s export sanctions regulations will give the Minister for Foreign Affairs greater flexibility in amending the scope and application of autonomous sanctions. For businesses doing business in or with any of the 10 regions to which Australia has currently applied autonomous sanctions, these new powers mean that certain actions and activities potentially can be withdrawn from the scope of the existing sanctions regime.

Contaminated land is a critical issue for many businesses. Risk management, regulatory compliance and contractual protections are essential for businesses that use or impact on land, including land holders, land purchasers and sellers and businesses with environmentally sensitive operations. 

Enforcement of Australia’s key military and dual-use goods export legislation – the Defence Trade Controls Act 2012 (“DTCA”) – has been pushed back by another year, until 2 April 2016. Businesses should take advantage of this delay to get acquainted with Australia’s new, US-inspired export control system, to ensure that they do not run afoul of these new, broad-reaching licensing requirements.