Alistair Bridges

Businesses manufacturing, importing and/or supplying products in Australia must ensure the products meet Australia’s regulatory standards. Failure to comply with regulatory standards can result in harsh penalties, with the Australian Consumer Law allowing courts to fine companies up to AUD50 million.

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

Over the past fortnight, sanctions have dominated news cycles around the world. In an effort to deter Russia’s ongoing military incursions into Ukrainian territory, the world’s major economies have adopted a range of far-reaching and hard-hitting economic sanctions which target individuals and financial entities in Russia, Belarus and two separatist pro-Russian territories in Ukraine.

In one of the most highly publicised administrative law cases in recent history, Novak Djokovic’s case in the Australian Federal Circuit Court shines a light on the important but often overlooked role of judicial review in the Australian legal system, and the power of procedural fairness and reasonableness in overturning government decisions.

Australia has now given greater impetus to the efforts of the international community to stamp out human rights abuse and criminal activities by way of the passage of the Autonomous Sanctions Amendment (Magnitsky-Style and Other Thematic Sanctions) Act 2021. The new law better describes the purposes for which the government may sanction foreign individuals and entities.

On Monday 23 August 2021, the Senate passed the Customs Amendment (Banning Goods Produced by Forced Labour) Bill 2021. The Bill, if made into law, would prohibit the importation of goods manufactured using forced labour.

The Freedom of Information Act 1982 is one of the marvels of administrative law. It is based on the simple proposition that every person has a right to obtain access to documents held by a government agency or a Minister.

Court proceedings are underway here in Australia between Epic Games Inc (Epic) and Apple Inc (Apple) are well worth watching. Epic, maker of popular ‘battle royale’ game Fortnite, alleges that the App Store user contract by which Apple makes Fortnite available for internet download contains terms and conditions that ‘misuse’ Apple’s market power.

For the most part, tangible signposts guide decision making on Australian export controls by the government agency that has that responsibility, Defence Export Controls (DEC). The most significant of these is the Defence Strategic Goods List (DSGL).

This week, Moulis Legal Associate Alistair Bridges speaks with Crown Resort’s Alicia Gleeson about the future of diversity in Australian workplaces.

Australia has long debated the notion that it could be a significant repository for the warehousing and containment of the world’s nuclear waste. That possibility has re-emerged, with the State Government of South Australia again considering a proposal to build a nuclear waste disposal facility in its remote desert environs.

Australia’s exports to the Islamic Republic of Iran were, at one time, valued at over AUD 1 billion and covered a range of industrial and consumer goods and services. After years of nuclear based sanctions, Australia’s total trade and investment with Iran is valued at less than AUD 300 million and is limited to wheat and related products. 

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.

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.

This week the Australian Senate has referred an inquiry into non-conforming building products to the Senate Economics References Committee. The committee’s report is due on 12 October 2015. The terms of reference require the committee to investigate the economic impact of non-conforming products, and their impact on safety, costs and quality of construction.

According to the 2010 Scorecard of Red Tape Reform released by the Australian Business Council, the Australian Capital Territory (“ACT”) is the worst jurisdiction in Australia for “red tape” in business regulation.