Knowledge

A general lack of clarity has led to poor levels of compliance, and many Australian businesses have got used to treating customer information as an asset rather than a liability”. Moulis Legal’s special counsel, Graeme Fearon, provides an insight into the most interesting current trends on data breaches.

The Australian Government is reportedly considering ways to limit foreign investment in critical minerals on the grounds of national security.

Last year, we reported on China’s new Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) which came into force on 1 November 2021. PIPL sits alongside the Data Security Law (DSL) and Cybersecurity Law (CSL) at the heart of China’s integrated cyber and data governance regime.

The Optus data breach of September 2022 is possibly the largest to have ever affected Australia consumers.

The Australian National Audit Office (“ANAO”) has published a report on “Procurement by the National Capital Authority” looking at the effectiveness of its procurement activities. While the findings are no doubt disappointing for the National Capital Authority (“NCA”), the report provides valuable reminders for all Australian Government entities regarding procurement best practice and pitfalls to avoid.

Blockchain technology (aka “distributed ledger technology”, aka “DLT”) is a game-changer, with implications for all aspects of society and commerce. Digital assets secured on a blockchain are quick, cheap and efficient to process, while also being “smart”, secure and traceable.

In 2020-21 there were 84,054 contracts published on AusTender with a combined value of $69.8 billion. If you add to that Commonwealth contracts below the reporting thresholds and State and local government procurement activities (not to mention government grant processes), there is no doubt that selling to government presents considerable opportunity for businesses.

On 29 March 2022, the Australian Government announced the first set of ‘thematic sanctions’. The listings are effective from 30 March 2022.

Recent reports have suggested that businesses partnering with universities for grant funding under Australia’s $2.2 billion University Research Commercialisation Package will be required to agree to standard-form contracts with mandatory intellectual property (IP) retention clauses they may not like.

Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) are one of the more intriguing applications of distributed ledger technology (aka ‘blockchain’). They are self-regulating organisations comprising members linked on a blockchain through NFTs and smart contracts which serve as a digital constitution.