December Are you right to request ready? - With the commencement of the National Employment Standards on 1 January 2010 employers will need to comply with a new scheme that gives a right to certain employees to request for flexible work arrangements. Millen Lo outlines a checklist for employers on steps to take to ensure they comply. Are your EEO policies and procedures compliant with the new laws? - Hedy Cray looks at the importance of an audit of EEO and like policies and procedures to reflect recent changes in the law, particularly in the new area of "adverse action" and age and disability discrimination. ASIC jump-starts corporate retail bond market and eases disclosure for convertible notes - ASIC wants to facilitate the establishment of a retail corporate bond market, by easing prospectus requirements for listed issuers. Australian shareholders, an Australian company, and a US class action? US Supreme Court to decide - The globalisation of financial markets has increased the incidence of global fraud. However, regulation, especially in the sense of private enforcement through class actions, depends on a political and legal system built around state sovereignty. Clayton Utz advises on landmark NBN program - Leading Australian law firm Clayton Utz advised the Australia Government on its agreement with NextGen Networks to construct new broadband backbone infrastructure under the Regional Backbone Blackspots Program. Cover pricing: A dangerous practice - Kirsten Webb and Sian-lee Ooi take a look at cover pricing - not only is it illegal, it's riskier than ever, with regulators taking a closer look at bids in the tender process. Double insurance, double the fun? Double insurance and section 45 ICA - The High Court's decision in Zurich Australian Insurance Ltd v Metals & Minerals Insurance Pte Ltd [2009] HCA 50 gives valuable guidance to the operation of section 45 of the Insurance Contracts Act. Expert determination - riding the crest of the new wave - In the latest article in our dispute resolution series, Mathew Stulic and Reuben Bowd look at the growth of expert determination. Is expert determination always the best option, or is it being over-extended? Government assistance for emission-intensive, trade-exposed industries - Simon Bowden discusses the latest developments in the Australian Government's plans to assist emissions-intensive, trade-exposed (EITE) industries. MCE gives green light to developing network connections for wind and geothermal generation clusters - A new legal framework for connecting Scale Efficient Network Extensions is coming, as Naveena Rajaretnam and Graeme Dennis report. Quenching Melbourne's thirst with the Victorian desalination project - Partner Marcus Davenport talks about our role in the Victorian desalination project – the largest Public Private Partnership deal globally to close since the financial crisis began. Security for costs after the High Court ruling in Jeffery & Katauskas v Rickard Constructions - Defendants should not underestimate the importance of ascertaining early on in the proceedings whether a security for costs order is necessary. South Steyne Decision Impact Statement released - The Commissioner of Taxation has released a decision impact statement after the South Steyne decision, explaining which entity should be liable to remit GST payable on a taxable supply by way of lease granted by the leased property's former owner. STOP PRESS: National benchmarking report on alliance contracting - The Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance has released the results of a five-year study on the performance of alliancing in Australia, as Doug Jones reports. Sydney's Metro - an Australian first - The first metro rail project of its kind to be procured in Australia is underway. Angela Jeppesen from the Clayton Utz team advising Sydney Metro, explains the main elements of this exciting project. The Copenhagen Accord: What actually happened - and how? - Fresh off the plane from Copenhagen, Graeme Dennis and Brendan Bateman explain what was achieved (and how) at the 15th Conference of Parties under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and what this means for Australia. The PJC's Financial Services Inquiry - The recommendations in the long-awaited report into Australia's financial services sector will affect distributors, platform providers and product manufacturers, as well as the financial services industry generally, as John Moutsopoulos and Matthew Daley explain. The PPP market - the last 12 months in review - A challenging period for infrastructure projects has spurred innovation, says David Lester, who investigates the impact this will have on the market. Transparency at home: The greenhouse and energy audit framework - Greenhouse and energy audits are a key element of the compliance framework under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act. Natalie Hewitt rounds up the latest developments. Workplace flexibility takes on an industrial flavour - Joe Catanzariti discusses implications for employers of the increasing focus on workplace flexibility in the Fair Work Act 2009. 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