Australian Information Commissioner flexes regulatory muscles on Optus for 2022 Data Breach

22/08/2025 In 2022, Optus suffered one of the most notorious data breaches since the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme began in 2018. The data breach affected approximately 9.5 million Australians, being current and former Optus customers who all had varying amounts of their personal information stolen by hackers. The information stolen included names, dates of birth, …
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Who do I talk to? – A reporting guide for not-for-profit or registered charities

20/08/2025 Do you understand your company’s reporting obligations? It can be confusing, trying to understand whether to report company information to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) or to the Australian Securities and Information Commission (ASIC). Changes to the reporting regimes have been made in an attempt to simplify the regulatory requirements, in particular …
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The importance of testamentary capacity: a review of recent cases

18/08/2025 Testamentary capacity is commonly a topic of contention in estate disputes. Determining whether a testator had testamentary capacity at the time they made their Will is not always straightforward. Having your Will prepared by a reputable estate planning solicitor is a vital step in ensuring testamentary capacity has been considered.  Testamentary capacity refers to …
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Changes for small business employers

25/08/2025 The right to disconnect and the “employee choice” pathway for casual employee conversion to permanent employment now applies to small business employers. These changes were introduced as part of the “closing the loopholes” reforms to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). They have applied to larger employers from 26 August 2024 and from today …
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TerraCom’s $7.5 million penalty for whistleblower contravention  

23/07/2025 In 2023 ASIC commenced proceedings against TerraCom and some of its officers for, amongst other things, contraventions of the whistleblower protection scheme in relation to whistleblower disclosures made by a previous employee.  The proceedings against TerraCom were the first commenced by ASIC under the expanded corporate whistleblower protection scheme contained in the Corporations Act …
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Right to disconnect for small business employers

23/07/2025 The right to disconnect has been in operation for almost a year for many employers across Australia. From 26 August 2025 the right to disconnect will also apply to small business employers. The right to disconnect is contained in section 333M of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and has been incorporated as a …
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Qantas data breach: New breach, same lesson

07/07/2025  Last week news broke of yet another data breach that has affected millions of Australians. This time, it was customers of the airline Qantas. On Monday, 30 June 2025 Qantas detected unusual activity on one of their third-party platforms. The cyber criminals targeted a Qantas offshore call centre in the Philippines to gain access to …
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Important Employment Law Changes

30/06/2025 Tomorrow marks the start of a new financial year, and also number of important changes in employment laws. Probably of most significance, as it affects nearly all employees, is the superannuation percentage rate increases from 11.5% to 12%. This means employers must pay 12% of an employee’s remuneration as superannuation to an eligible superannuation …
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Reminder: Charities to submit 2024 Annual Information Statement (AIS) by 30 June 2025

26/06/2025 To meet their ACNC reporting obligations, charities whose financial year operates on a calendar year (1 January to 31 December) are required to submit their 2024 Annual Information Statement (AIS) by 30 June 2025.   What is required?  All charities must complete reporting on financial questions. Medium charities (revenue between $500,000 and $2,999,999) must also submit …
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Breaking down the news – Federal Government’s announcement on Strengthening Child Safety in Early Education

16/06/2025 From 1 September 2025 and 1 January 2026, a number of important updates to the National Quality Framework will take effect to sharpen the focus on child safety and online protection in education and care settings. The Federal Government has announced these reforms in response to recommendations from the national child safety review. The …
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