Class action procedures vary greatly among jurisdictions. These differences include how developed the procedures are; the types of claims parties can bring; the parties that can represent classes; whether classes are...more
The Australian Human Rights Commission Amendment (Costs Protection) Bill 2023 (Cth), which was enacted to address perceived disincentives to pursuing claims for discrimination, took effect on 2 October 2024....more
The first wave of Australia's expansive privacy law reforms has been introduced into Federal Parliament in the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 (Cth) ("Bill")....more
10/29/2024
/ Australia ,
Cybersecurity ,
Damages ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform
The Federal Court of Australia has granted relief to a company under section 1317S of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ("Act") following declarations that it contravened two civil penalty provisions in relation to one of its...more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
In Short -
The Situation: In 2020, a cruise ship in Australian waters, the Ruby Princess, experienced a COVID‑19 outbreak that resulted in an Australian class action. Part of the class were passengers subject to...more
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
12/22/2023
/ Article III ,
Australia ,
Class Action ,
EU ,
France ,
Germany ,
International Litigation ,
Jurisdiction ,
Settlement ,
Standing ,
UK
Although class actions have been common in the United States for decades, they have not been as widely used in the rest of the world. The situation and risks remain in flux, however, as more countries have renewed momentum to...more
A significant newly enacted class actions regime has come into force in Western Australia, as of 25 March 2023.
The Civil Procedure (Representative Proceedings) Act 2022 (WA) ("Act") was enacted in September 2022,...more
Recent legislative and regulatory developments, including the Federal Government's draft regulations to deregulate litigation funding in class actions and the Civil Procedure (Representative Proceedings) Bill 2021, which...more
More Detail: Regulation of Litigation Funding in Class Actions
In 2009, the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia, in Brookfield Multiplex Ltd v International Litigation Funding Partners Pty Ltd [2009] FCAFC 147,...more
The Applicant's Claims -
In July 2020, Ms. Kathleen O'Donnell commenced a representative proceeding on her own behalf and on behalf of all persons who at any time on or since 7 July 2020 have acquired certain types of...more
The Facts The plaintiffs in two separate class actions (Fox v Westpac Banking Corporation & Anor (Fox) and Crawford v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd & Ors (Crawford)) sought GCOs from the court pursuant to the...more
Proposed Reforms -
The Draft Bill makes clear that 'a class action litigation funding scheme' is an MIS, in line with an earlier ruling of the Federal Court of Australia in Brookfield Multiplex Limited v International...more
Australia's product liability regime is a combination of provisions contained primarily in the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)). These provisions apply to Australian made...more
On 10 August 2021, the Australian Parliament passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Bill, which will permanently reform its continuous disclosure regime and related prohibitions on misleading conduct by...more
The Situation: It is increasingly common for Australian class actions to be brought by private plaintiffs at the same time as regulatory proceedings are brought by Australia's corporate, competition and other regulators in...more
There is no "one size fits all" approach to competing class actions.
Five competing and overlapping shareholder class actions were commenced in two separate Australian courts against AMP Limited. All actions were...more
REST and Statewide Superannuation become the first industry superannuation funds to be caught in the crosshairs of ASIC's "why not litigate" approach to enforcement.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission...more
The Situation: Australia's Federal Government has announced that it intends to make permanent reforms introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to continuous disclosure requirements for ASX-listed companies. The temporary...more
The Situation: Australia has become a hot spot for class actions fueled in large part by litigation funders, who have operated for many years in a largely unregulated market and have derived spectacular returns from their...more
A major superannuation fund has promised to enhance its management of climate change risks, disclose to members how those risks are addressed and align its investment portfolios to net-zero emissions by 2050.
In mid-2018,...more
The Situation: Following a boom in class actions backed by litigation funders, the Australian Federal Government has introduced new regulations which classify litigation funding schemes as "managed investment schemes" and...more
Australia's landmark Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry that was conducted throughout 2018 and reported in early 2019 highlighted numerous examples of potential...more
The Situation: A line of authority, typically associated with Rich v Harrington [2007] FCA 1987, (2007) 245 ALR 106 ("Rich"), has held that for legal professional privilege to be claimed in relation to advice from an in-house...more