Hannah Gollasch 
21/01/2026 Proposed laws targeting hate groups and hate speech passed both houses of Parliament on Tuesday, 20 January 2026. The laws come in the wake of the terror attack in Bondi in December 2025 and aim to address rising levels of antisemitic and other hate speech, violence and extremism in Australia. The reforms strengthen existing …
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13/01/2026 On 8 January 2026, the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, announced the establishment of a Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion (the Royal Commission). Following the Australian Government’s announcement, the New South Wales Government confirmed that its own planned Royal Commission would be folded into the Commonwealth process, ensuring …
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22/01/2026 While the recent updates to the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) that commenced on 17 November 2025 focused on expanding opportunities for Australian small and medium enterprises, a new wave of legislative scrutiny is brewing in the Senate. Three Private Senator’s Bills currently before the Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee (the Committee) signal an …
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12/01/2026 The review into gender undervaluation in the SCHADS Award is ongoing after a series of conferences at the end of 2025, conducted by Deputy President O’Neill, were not able to resolve outstanding issues or reach a consensus between interested parties on the classification structure for the revised SCHADS Award. Due to the low likelihood …
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12/01/2026 In December 2025, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) announced plans to conduct its first-ever compliance sweep in January 2026. Australia’s privacy regulator will kick off the new year with a targeted review of businesses privacy policies to ensure that entities are meeting their obligations under Australian Privacy Principle 1 (APP 1). …
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26/11/2025 On 17 November 2025, updates to the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs) came into effect. The updates aim to improve the competitive capability of Australian businesses participating in Commonwealth procurement. How will the procurement process change? There are now tighter requirements in the tendering process to encourage competition. Non-corporate Commonwealth entities (NCEs) must only invite …
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12/12/2025 On 12 November 2025, the Australian Government released the AI Plan for the Australian Public Service. The Plan aims to improve efficiency and productivity in the APS by substantially increasing its use of AI in the next 18 months. It includes 15 initiatives under 3 mutually reinforcing pillars (Trust, People, and Tools) which aim …
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27/11/2025 BACKGROUND The 2023-24 Annual Wage Review identified 5 awards it recommended be prioritised in addressing gender-based undervaluation, including the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHADS Award). Gender-based undervaluation refers to a situation where the minimum rates of pay in an award have been established based on the undervaluation of …
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20/11/2025 The recent unfair dismissal case of Courtney Sewell v dnata Airport Services Pty Limited [2025] FWC 2823 found that an employee was forced to resign as a result of the way in which the outcome of an investigation into her complaint of sexual harassment was handled by her employer, dnata Airport Services Pty Limited …
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10/11/2025 Recently, the Privacy Commissioner, Carly Kind found that Vinomofo Pty Ltd, an online wine wholesaler, interfered with the privacy of individuals whose personal information it held in its database. In December 2018, Vinomofo commenced a data migration project to update its system for managing customer data, which included migrating customers’ personal information to a …
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