The Draft South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy 2019-2024 has been released for public consultation. The Strategy is supported by new koala habitat mapping. The Strategy and mapping have serious implications for landowners in koala habitat areas within a Koala Priority Area, who will be prevented from clearing their land except in very limited circumstances. We discuss these implications below and suggest that, at a minimum, landowners should review the mapping to ascertain whether their land is within a Koala Priority Area. ...

The Australian Government has tabled the Crimes Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2019 (the 2019 Bill) in the Senate, and the Attorney-General's Department has released Draft Guidance on the steps a body corporate can take to prevent an associate from bribing foreign public officials for public consultation (the Draft Guidance). Like the 2017 version of the Bill that lapsed earlier this year (the 2017 Bill), if passed, the 2019 Bill will strengthen Australia's foreign bribery laws, including by introducing a new corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery by an associate, and will introduce a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) scheme for resolving serious corporate criminal matters. Partner Rachel Nicolson, Senior Associate Andrew Wilcock and Associate Lewis Winter report on the key differences between the 2017 and 2019 Bills, and the content of the Draft Guidance. ...

Located 160 km south east of Newman, the Project aims to produce SOP, a high-yield, premium fertiliser, for domestic and international sale. The loan is comprised of a $48 million Infrastructure ...

In response to the rapid growth of the e-payment market in Vietnam, the State Bank of Vietnam (the SBV) has reviewed the legal framework regulating the sector and proposed some important changes. In this Insight, we set out the key amendments the SBV has already issued – as well as those in the pipeline – and their potential impact on the intermediary payment services market. ...

The healthcare team at Allens reports on some key trends and sectors to look out for in 2020. ...

NAIF's loan will help fund the construction of electrical infrastructure at Fortescue Metals Group Ltd's ( Fortescue ) Chichester Hub iron ore mines, including a 60 megawatt solar panel plant and a ...

Headquartered in Toronto, CPPIB is a global investment manager with a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets, public equities, private equities, real estate and fixed income instruments. ...

New research from Allens and Urbis, the Build-to-Rent: Key to unlocking the future liveability of Australia's cities report, has found that Build-to-Rent ( BTR ) may be the quickest solution to ...

The Equator Principles Association unveiled the finalised fourth version of the Equator Principles (EP4) on 18 November 2019. Set for an effective date of 1 July 2020, EP4 heightens requirements for designated OECD countries and tightens due diligence assessments with a greater focus on human rights, climate change and biodiversity. While there are many improvements and refinements from the draft we reviewed in June, the only potentially material change is a compromise on the 'free prior and informed consent' requirement for affected Indigenous communities. ...

Investor appetite for Australian infrastructure remains strong. However, to maintain our status as a leading infrastructure investment destination, we must address systemic issues that are adversely impacting the market, including cost overruns on major projects.  ...