December

"The Economics of Energy Generation" and the future energy mix for NSW - The Report by the NSW Parliament's Public Accounts Committee on "The Economics of Energy Generation" provides an interesting insight into the potential future energy mix for NSW.
A Hastie end to an administration - Courts are willing, in certain circumstances, to consider the commercial realities of voluntary administrations, and can be flexible, as Nick Poole, Peter Bowden and Chris Hibbard explain.
ACCC enforcement priorities - are you on the list? - The ACCC has revealed its top five priorities for the next year. Adrian Kuti sets out why this is useful information for Australian businesses.
ACNC Act now in operation! - As of 3 December 2012, the legislation to implement a new regime for charities in Australia in effect, says Simon Bowden.
ASIC's vigilance in ensuring credit is given honestly when credit is due continues… - Samantha Carroll and Randal Dennings set out the latest changes to ASIC's guidance on the way credit is advertised - are you ready?
Australian enforcement priorities: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission gets focused - Australia is experiencing change in the way the Australian competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), is approaching its enforcement role. Consequently, Australian antitrust law practitioners have greater insight into the issues vexing the ACCC than ever before.
Avoiding common mistakes in grants administration - Looking at some common mistakes in the administration of grants is a useful reminder of what not to do. Alexandra Wedutenko and Lucinda Watson go through the dos and don'ts of grants administration.
But for still a necessary condition for causation - The "but for" test is a useful starting point for determining whether a defendant's negligence caused or materially contributed to the harm suffered by the plaintiff.
Clayton Utz appoints five new partners - Leading independent Australian law firm Clayton Utz has announced the appointment of five new partners, effective 1 January 2013.
Clayton Utz Canberra relocates to 6 green star rated Nishi building - Clayton Utz has a new Canberra home - the new Nishi commercial development located within the NewActon cultural precinct in Phillip Law Street.
Clayton Utz lodges its submission on ASX's new continuous disclosure guidance - The revised GN8 goes a long way to recognising the commercial reality that listed companies face in complying with the continuous disclosure regime, but there is scope for further improvement, says Karen Evans-Cullen.
Clayton Utz named a 2012 Myer Supplier of the Year - Retailer Myer Limited has named Clayton Utz its top professional services supplier for 2012 - the second time Clayton Utz has won the award in three years.
COAG's electricity market reform - Significant reform of electricity market structures, contracts and regulation is on the cards, with consumers set to have an increased number of chips. Graeme Dennis, Faith Taylor and Robyn Farmer look at the prize awaiting players - a windfall reduction in costs across the National Electricity Market.
Court decision on contaminated soil "treatment" may lengthen environmental approvals process - A decision that earthworks such as "mounding and capping" constitutes "treatment" may mean that more development proposals will now be characterised as designated development, say Claire Smith and Rebecca Hawke.
Declaring and paying dividends: the law is proposed to change again - Two years after rewriting the rules on company dividends, the Government has gone back to the drawing board, as David Landy explains.
Defamation defendants don't have to show "pressing need" to establish common law qualified privilege - It is accepted law that for a defamatory statement to attract the common law defence of qualified privilege, both the maker and the recipient of the defamatory statement must have an interest in what is conveyed - commonly referred to as reciprocity of interest or "community of interest" - or a duty must exist on the part of the maker of the statement.
Directors' liability reforms - good news for directors! - The directors' liability reforms are potentially good news for directors and other officers, but there is a catch. Wei-Loong Chen and Graeme Howatson look at what is changing, and the sensible steps you can take to get the full protection of these reforms.
Doha: from a platform to a gateway - In true UNFCCC fashion, it was left until well after the scheduled close of the climate change conference in Doha to fashion an agreement to progress international efforts and negotiations to address climate change. This time, COP18 has continued the relatively positive progress of Durban and avoided a repeat of the crisis in Copenhagen.
Enforcement priorities in action - ACCC sues over ACL consumer guarantees representations - First Hewlett-Packard, now Harvey Norman franchisees - the ACCC is taking action against what it sees as false and misleading representations about the ACL's consumer guarantees. What does that mean for other businesses, ask Adrian Kuti and Matthew Battersby
Enforcing promises by implying terms in commercial contracts - What can you do if your contract doesn't expressly state a promise that it should? If the promise is sufficiently obvious and necessary, it may be implied into the contract, as Sid Wang, Danielle Briers and Isabelle Reinecke explain.
Experts' reports, waiver of privilege and antipsychotic drugs - When will an expert's notes be protected by legal professional privilege? An ongoing patent case has given some guidance, as Richard Hoad explains.
FATCA: Implications for Australian banks - Marcus Davenport and Sarah Bitcon set out why Australian banks will be affected by the introduction of FATCA and should act now to prepare for its commencement.
Federal Government responds to Convergence Review in part, with key issues left for another day - The Federal Government's long-awaited initial response to the Convergence Review Final Report was released last Friday. Kate Jordan, Mary Still and Anna Haynes see what's in store for Australia's media sector.
Full Federal Court upholds worker's compensation for employee mixing business with pleasure - An employee's after-hours activity while on a work trip leaves her injured. Is this compensable? Shae McCartney and Madison Bone delve into the details.
Governance standards for the Not-for-Profit sector - Now that the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission is up and running, the next stage in the reform of the not-for-profit sector is determining governance standards. David Landy, Nick Miller and Jacqueline Christie look at what's being proposed.
How will the changes to the Fair Work Act affect employers? - Dan Trindade and Amy Lee set out what employers should be doing now that the first set of reforms to the Fair Work Act has been passed.
Infrastructure at Christmas, past, present and future - Brad Vann and Bruce Cooper survey the infrastructure market and find it's not all doom and gloom out there.
IPART is setting regulated electricity prices for 2013-16 now - NSW's Independent Pricing and Regularly Tribunal is conducting its triennial review of regulated electricity prices, and there are a few surprises in its proposals, as Graeme Dennis explains.
Is debt collection a financial service? - Deciding whether or not a particular service is a "financial service" can be a convoluted process.
Land access laws to be overhauled - Mark Geritz and Ben Cansdale look at the significant reforms to the land access and compensation regime in Queensland proposed for 2013, which will impact the resource and agricultural sectors and their relationship with each other.
Licence fees for wind power in NSW - The New South Wales Government is planning on introducing a new licensing requirement for large-scale wind power generators, and as Graeme Dennis and Robyn Farmer explain, this will affect their future construction and operation.
Making the right call: Notifying the safety regulator of a serious or dangerous incident - In the immediate aftermath of a serious or dangerous incident occurring at your workplace, it can be easy to forget that one of the first things you need to do is notify the regulator. Dr Graham Smith and Lauren Townsend look at the ins and outs of when and how to comply with this obligation.
New Clayton Utz publication a practical guide to managing executive employment risk - The legal issues and risks that are unique to the employment of executives are the subject of a newly released Clayton Utz publication, Executive Employment Contracts - Compliance and Risk Issues: Guidance for Boards and Senior Executives in Australia.
New greenhouse gas injection and storage titles for the Western Australian jurisdiction - The Western Australian Government has introduced legislation which will establish a legal framework for the injection and geological storage of greenhouse gases within the Western Australia jurisdiction. How will this work, ask John King and Armin Fazely.
NSW energy: 2012 in review - Graham Taylor, Graeme Dennis, Joel von Thien and Samy Mansour highlight the major regulatory and policy developments over the last year for the energy and resources industry in NSW.
Post-retirement default investment strategies: a ticking bomb for trustees? - Trustees who use the same default investment strategy for post-retirement as for pre-retirement accumulation products could be sitting on a ticking time bomb, warn Jane Paskin and Sonia Lopes.
Preparing for the wet season: releasing excess water in Queensland - With the wet season again approaching, Karen Trainor and Kathryn Pacey look at what can be done when mines, industrial and manufacturing sites are flooded in Queensland.
Proposed new amendments to Mineral Resources Act to facilitate Aurukun bauxite leases - Mark Boydell looks at the latest developments in the Queensland Government's plans to sell bauxite leases in the Aurukun community area in Cape York.
Revised AFSL financial requirements: Making custody safer - Trustees of unregistered managed investment schemes who currently do not hold any NTA on the basis that they provide custodial or depository services "incidentally" to other financial services will be most affected by a change mooted by ASIC, warn Matthew Daley and Vanessa Pallone.
Sealing the settlement: don't forget to invite the third parties - When settling a dispute, it is important to consider whether the release from liability should extend to third parties associated with the release. Peter Sise sets out the options available to a release.
Serious misconduct: executive loses $7 million pay-out - Serious misconduct discovered after termination can be used to justify summary dismissal and may result in the employer justifiably withholding certain statutory and contractual entitlements, warns Joe Catanzariti.
Takeovers regulation: ASIC on the move again - New takeovers policy proposals from ASIC are more akin to spring-cleaning than a total makeover, say Karen Evans-Cullen and Jonathan Algar.
Taxing multinationals in a 21st century economy: specialist group to advise Australian Government - The rise of e-commerce has prompted the Australian Government to re-examine multinational corporate taxation in Australia. Andrew Sommer, Allan Blaikie and Kelvin Ng identify some issues that might be under scrutiny.
The potential traps of joint procurements - don't get caught! - There may be opportunities for different government entities (being separate legal entities) to make significant savings by jointly procuring goods or services but, as Paul Burton and Barry Dunphy explain, they need to be careful not to breach competition laws while doing it.
UK Supreme Court expands concept of submission to jurisdiction of foreign court in insolvency - Karen O'Flynn and Oliver Jones discuss the implications for creditors of a UK decision which has made it significantly easier to find they are subject to a foreign court's jurisdiction.
UK Treasury's PF2 - implications for the Australian PPP market - New ideas both here and abroad for financing Government projects could significantly impact how Public Private Partnerships will be structured and financed in the future, as Angus Foley and Peter Staciwa explain
Victoria's Civil Procedure Act is much more than "generalities and rhetoric" - Victoria's Civil Procedure Act must be taken seriously by litigants and their lawyers - and failure to do so may substantively affect the legal rights of a delinquent party, as a recent case shows, say Kym Fraser and Ben Petrie.
What will Australia's Doha COP 18 commitments mean for business? - Now that Doha COP 18 has wrapped up, what has Australia committed to doing? And what will it mean for Australian business? Brendan Bateman and Trisha Cashmere sort out the real outcomes and implications.
What's on your mind? Write a comment - but check your facts before you post - A few comments about bikinis have turned into an expensive lesson about why businesses should ensure the accuracy of statements and comments they make on social media. Kezia Adams and Richard Hoad explain how you can minimise your risks.

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Clayton Utz communications are intended to provide commentary and general information. They should not be relied upon as legal advice. Formal legal advice should be sought in particular transactions or on matters of interest arising from this communication. Persons listed may not be admitted in all States and Territories.