Regulator Performance Guide
The Business Law Section provided a submission to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet in response to the draft Regulator Performance Guide (April 2021) recently released for consultation. The submission was prepared by the Corporations Committee, the Competition and Consumer Law Committee and the SME Business Law Committee (Committees) of the Business Law Section.
Given the government’s intention that the new Regulatory Performance Guide take effect from 1 July 2021, the Committees recognise that there is limited scope, at this late stage, to revisit the approach to improving regulator performance adopted in the Draft Guide or in the broader performance expectation framework within which the Draft Guide sits.
This may be a missed opportunity for government, given the significant lessons about regulator governance and regulatory practice that could have been drawn from, for example, recent Royal Commissions into financial services and aged care.
This submission proceeds in two parts. First, it makes some high-level comments on the purpose and scope of the Draft Guide. Second, it sets out some more specific comments on the Draft Guide.
Secret trials need reform
On 9 June 2021, Dr Jacoba Brasch QC (Law Council President), Mr Phillip Boulten SC and Dr Natasha Molt from the Law Council appeared before the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM) in relation to the review into the operation of section 22 of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (Cth) as it applies in the ‘Alan Johns’ matter (a pseudonym). The Law Council emphasised that trials involving national security need to strike a balance between secrecy and open justice. Read more.
Joint Ceremonial Sitting of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia – Judge Sandra Taglieri and Judge Marcus Turnbull
Law Council President, Dr Jacoba Brasch QC, attended a ceremonial sitting (online) on 4 June 2021, to welcome Judge Sandra Taglieri and Judge Marcus Turnbull to the bench of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. Read the Law Council President’s speech here.
Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia - National COVID-19 List
The Family Court of Australia and Federal Circuit Court of Australia’s COVID-19 List continues to be available to family law litigants. On 20 January 2021, the COVID-19 List expanded its operation to provide for a broader range of circumstances to be included in the criteria for the List.
The continuation and expansion of the COVID-19 list provides families that are experiencing family law disputes that relate to the pandemic, with an avenue to have that specific issue heard and resolved quickly. Learn more about the criteria and operation of the COVID-19 List here.
Enhance and Enable – Indigenous Knowledge Consultations 2021
The Law Council was pleased to make a submission to IP Australia in response to its Indigenous Knowledge Consultation Paper last week. The Law Council strongly supports IP Australia’s intention to contribute to the development of an intellectual property (IP) system that aims to help manage, support and protect Indigenous Knowledge (IK). Read more.
Migration Amendment (Clarifying International Obligations for Removal) Act 2021
The Law Council provided a proactive submission to the Hon Karen Andrews MP, Minister for Home Affairs, on the Migration Amendment (Clarifying International Obligations for Removal) Act 2021 (Migration Amendment Act), which commenced on 25 May 2021. Among other amendments, the Migration Amendment Act amended section 197C of the Migration Act 1958 (Migration Act) to expressly state that a migration officer is not required or authorised to remove a person to a country if a protection finding has been made for the person with respect to that country. Read more.
Business Law Section Scholarships
Applications for the BLS Scholarships are still open. The Section is offering a $5,000 prize per scholarship. For a chance to win, applicants will need to submit an unpublished paper on the chosen scholarship topic. For more information about the scholarships, see links below.
Applications for the scholarships close 5pm, 31 August 2021 AEST.
Victorian Young Property Lawyer of the Year Award
Nominations are now open for the Victorian Property Lawyer of the Year Award. The Victorian Young Property Lawyer of the Year Award is designed to recognise and encourage the talent and achievements of young property law practitioners. Nominations close COB, 9 July 2021. Read more.
LCA Submissions
Recently published Law Council Submissions.
- Discussion Paper: Australia’s Humanitarian Program 2021-22, Department of Home Affairs.
- Aged Care and Other Legislation Amendment (Royal Commission Response No. 1) Bill 2021, Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs.
- Review of direct cross-examination ban, Attorney-General's Department.
- Review of Model Defamation Provisions - Stage 2 Discussion Paper, Attorneys-General.
- Enhance and Enable – Indigenous Knowledge Consultations 2021, IP Australia.
Section Submissions
Recently published Section Submissions.
- Regulator Performance Guide, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Business Law Section).
Inquiries and consultations
As of 8 June 2021.
- Consultation on Uniform General Rules 91B and 91BA, Legal Services Council and Commissioner for Uniform Legal Services Regulation.
- Consultation paper –Transition to strengthening client verification, Australian Taxation Office.
- (Supplementary) Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
- Inquiry into the Family Law Amendment (Federal Family Violence Orders) Bill 2021 [Provisions], Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.
- Review of the Migration and Citizenship Legislation Amendment (Strengthening Information Provisions) Bill 2020, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
- Managing Travel across Australia's International Border during COVID-19, Australian National Audit Office.
- Guaranteeing a minimum return of class action proceeds to class members, Attorney-General's Department and The Treasury.
- Improving the visibility of superannuation assets in family law proceedings, The Treasury.
- Review of Judicial Impartiality, Australian Law Reform Commission.
- National Register of Enduring Powers of Attorney, Attorney-General's Department.
- OECD Australian National Contact Point (AusNCP) Peer Review 2021, The Treasury.
- A New Decision-Making Framework for Property Matters in Family Law, Attorney-General's Department.
- Draft Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2021/D4 Intangibles Arrangements, Australian Taxation Office.
- Implementing the successor plan to the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020, Department of Social Services.
- Developing the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, Department of Social Services.
- Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, Royal Commission.
- Review of the Legislative Framework for Corporations and Financial Services Regulation, Australian Law Reform Commission.
- (Supplementary) Commonwealth Integrity Commission consultation draft, Attorney-General’s Department.
News and Media
Media releases/statements:
- Secret trials need reform, 9 June 2021.
Key coverage:
- Call for safety at work and home, Law Institute Journal, 1 June 2021. Op-ed by Dr Jacoba Brasch QC.
- Federal Budget will fund more Family Court judges, improve services for domestic violence, Law Society Journal, 1 June 2021.
- More action is needed to Close the Gap, Lawyers Weekly, 7 June 2021.
- Australia's national security laws to be scrutinised as inquiry into secret Witness J case begins, ABC online, 9 June 2021.
- Judges should ‘dig deeper’ into NSI Act requests, former Supreme Court justice tells public hearing, Lawyers Weekly, 9 June 2021.
- Australia’s secret trial laws need reform, LCA says, The Mandarin, 10 June 2021.
- Experts unclear how Australian encryption laws were used in global crime bust, The Age, 10 June 2021.
- Australia's 'very weak' privacy protections may be behind key role in global operation against organised crime, ABC online, 10 June 2021.
Events
July 2021
- 15 July 2021 - Class Actions Forum: Capital, Regulation and the Public Interest
Host: Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section and the Australian Academy of Law
Location: Federal Court of Australia, Sydney and online
Time: 5.00PM - 6.45PM
August 2021
- 10 August 2021 - 2021 Mahla Pearlman Oration
Host: Legal Practice Section and the Environment and Planning Law Association of New South Wales
Location: Federal Court of Australia, Sydney
Time: 5.00PM - 7.00PM
