Companies will face penalties of up to $50 million for serious privacy law breaches under legislation to be introduced the Attorney-General following data breaches by Optus, Medibank and Woolworths unit MyDeal.
The Supreme Court of Victoria has been called out in a report into sexually inappropriate behavior and bullying by judges as an “extremely hierarchical” workplace that has all the risk factors for harassment.
The NSW gaming regulator has suspended the Star Entertainment Group’s casino license and handed it a $100 million fine after uncovering anti-money laundering breaches and “inherently deceptive” misconduct.
The use of advertisements to find eager applicants to fill federal judicial vacancies has been foreshadowed by the Attorney-General as he promises to bring more transparency and integrity to the process for appointing judges.
The federal government has flagged reforms to Australia’s privacy laws in the wake of a cyberattack that left the data of up to 10 million current and former Optus customers exposed, including heftier penalties for companies that fail to safeguard users’ personal data.
The Albanese government has introduced legislation that would require employers to proactively take steps to prevent sexual discrimination, harassment and victimisation in the workplace.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has announced legislation to establish a federal anti-corruption commission by mid-2023, pledging $262 million over four years to the body, which will have broad and retrospective powers to investigate public corruption.
The inquiry into former prime minister Scott Morrison’s appointment as shadow minister of five government portfolios is now seeking public submissions.
Western Australia is set to become the fifth state in Australia that allows lawyers to launch class actions, after a bill permitting representative proceedings advanced in the state parliament’s upper house.
A report commissioned by the Supreme Court of Victoria has recommended a massive overhaul to the system for awarding costs in civil proceedings, trashing the “opaque” and “inadequate” scale of costs system.