Budgets for 2024-25 have now been delivered in all Australian jurisdictions. Two common themes are incremental increases to existing taxes, and 'cost of living' tax relief. We examine the Budget announcements that will be relevant to business and industry. ...

Australia's merger regime is set for a major overhaul, with reforms coming into effect for deals closing or completing on or after 1 January 2026, impacting transaction timelines from mid-2025. These changes will introduce a single mandatory and suspensory administrative process, replacing the current framework. ...

In this Insight, we spotlight emerging trends, reflect on potential implications for future ESG-related disputes and provide practical guidance on both managing stakeholder expectations and mitigating the risk of litigation. ...

Covered in this webinar: APRA enforcement update – In July 2024, APRA announced it had agreed to accept an enforceable undertaking from OnePath Custodians, and that OnePath had paid $10.7 million under infringement notices issued by APRA. This webinar takes a look at the case in detail, including some of the key takeaways for superannuation trustees and other APRA-regulated entities. DDO enforcement update – ASIC has successfully prosecuted the first two design and distribution obligations cases. This webinar takes a look at some key findings from those cases, including the court's view on what constitutes 'reasonable steps' for issuers and distributors of financial products and an issuer's obligation to monitor and review data. ...

Treasury has released its Consultation Paper on notification thresholds under Australia's proposed new mandatory merger regime. The Consultation Paper sets out its proposed design and values for the notification thresholds, which are based on international experience and available data. ...

With $13.3 billion raised by corporates in the Australian corporate bond market in the first half of 2024, the volumes speak for themselves. Our clients are reporting generally favourable issuance conditions, with strong levels of subscriptions, good access to longer tenor and support in secondary ...

ASIC has again extended transitional relief for foreign financial services providers (FFSPs) relying on existing relief when providing financial services to Australian wholesale clients. ...

So what's keeping PE dealmakers busy? The big focus continues to be on exits as conditions improve and pressure mounts to return capital to investors. Corporate carve-outs are still popular and debt is well and truly back, with private credit now in the spotlight. ...

The Federal Government has released draft legislation for consultation to implement reform to Australia's merger laws following its announcement in April that Australia is moving to a mandatory and suspensory administrative merger regime from 1 January 2026. ...

A US appeals court has now thrown out those Rules in their entirety, finding that the SEC exceeded its statutory authority in adopting the Rules in August 2023 (given it was not empowered under either of provisions it relied upon to adopt the Rules). ...