GL Insights
OAIC Finds Government Use of Messaging Apps Lacks Oversight
Australian Government Agencies have been urged by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to strengthen their policies on messaging apps like Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook messenger. On 19 March 2025 the OAIC published ‘Messaging apps: a report on Australian Government agency practices and policies’ highlighting significant gaps in the governance of messaging …
Read more
How can you protect your data from cyber incidents?
In the 2023-24 financial year, Australia saw nearly 94,000 reports of cybercrime submitted to the Australian Cyber Security Centre. This was a 23% increase compared to the previous year. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) received over 36,700 calls to its Australian Cybersecurity Hotline, an increase of 12% from the previous financial year. The ASD also …
Read more
Does your organisation understand its whistleblower obligations?
Whistleblowers play an important role in recognising and reporting misconduct and breaches of the law by organisations. The Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) contains a whistleblower protection scheme that imposes obligations on many organisations in relation to the handling of whistleblower disclosures.
Cyber security isn’t a set and forget matter!
On 13 March 2025, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced they had launched legal proceedings against an investment firm, FIIG Securities Limited (FIIG).
A tale of two intertwining records
The CEO of Services Australia (Agency) has recently been found by the Australian Privacy Commissioner (Commissioner) to have interfered with a customer’s privacy after a series of issues involving the Agency intertwining customer records.
Cyber Incident Response: Five things you’re forgetting to plan for
It’s the worst nightmare of every business: you get a call from your IT provider: there’s been suspicious activity on your network. It appears that hundreds or thousands of client records were accessible to a third party for several hours. They are still trying to work out what was accessed, and if anything was exfiltrated. …
Read more
Employment law update: What is new in 2025?
A number of changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Fair Work Act) and fair work instruments have come into effect from 1 January 2025. These changes largely relate to pay rates and payment of other amounts owing to employees.
Does non-renewal of a fixed term contract amount to a termination of employment?
The Full Federal Court has confirmed that a fixed or maximum term contract that ends at the conclusion of its term is not necessarily a termination at the initiate of an employer. Where a fixed or maximum term contract ends in this way an employee cannot bring a claim for unfair dismissal or general protections …
Read more
Employees provided significant compensation for hurt and distress
The Federal Court has made clear in Transport Workers Union of Australia v Qantas Airways Limited [2024] FCA 1216 that employers may be required to pay significant compensation for both economic and non-economic loss such as distress, hurt and humiliation, where that loss results from unlawful action under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW …
Read more
Flexible Meeting Arrangements – Government announces support for retaining flexibility
On 4 February 2025 the Government released the Government response to the Statutory Review of the Meetings and Documents Amendments, 4 February 2025’ (the Government response). In short there is support from the Panel and from the Government for the continuation of flexible meeting arrangements for most unlisted companies and associations.