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QLD environment reforms: what comes next?

Queensland environmental reforms now in force — with a new framework from June 2026 Key legislative reforms affecting mine rehabilitation, surrender of environmental authorities, groundwater management, environmental assessment and enforcement commenced under Queensland’s Environmental Protection (Efficiency and Streamlining) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2026 (Qld) (Act). The Act also provides a new framework for the identification and protection of significant environ

By Anna Vella & Aaron Beale

Land Transfer Duty and Adverse Possession Claims in Victoria

Why acquiring land by possession is a dutiable transaction, how the State Revenue Office assesses it, and what claimants should budget for. Introduction While many people are familiar making a claim for adverse possession, the financial implications for the claimant are less well understood beyond the surveying and application fees. One example is the requirement for pay duty on the transfer. In Victoria, acquiring land by adverse possession is often still treated by the Stat

By Joel Snyder & Jonathan Hourigan

Land Transfer Duty and Adverse Possession Claims in Victoria

Fast-tracking of State significant projects on the way in Queensland

The State Development and Public Works Organisation (Critical Minerals) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 (Qld) (the Bill) seeks to empower the Minister and the Coordinator-General (the CG) to facilitate projects of strategic importance to the State of Queensland, through fast-tracking approval processes, improving infrastructure coordination, and simplifying land access and acquisition powers. While the catalyst for the changes is related to the need to facilitate th

By Bill McCredie & Rosanne Muerling

What we’re seeing one year into Queensland’s seller disclosure scheme

Buying or selling property in Queensland now comes with a longer checklist and, often, a bigger bill. A year on from the commencement of the seller disclosure regime, our property team is fielding the same questions from clients again and again: what has to be disclosed, who pays for it, and what happens if something is missed. The Property Law Act 2023 (Qld) replaced the State’s old buyer beware approach with a mandatory seller disclosure scheme. Here is what we are seeing o

By Rebecca Sheppard, Nargis Kazimi

The rate is the rate - ERD Court decision on car parking in Designated Areas

On 5 March 2026, the Environment, Resources and Development Court handed down a decision in Palma Investments Pty Ltd v Assessment Panel – City of Mitcham [2026] SAERDC 5 granting planning consent to the expansion of a medical centre at 202 Main Road, Blackwood. The case turned on whether it was sufficient for the development to meet the lower parking rates for “Designated Areas” when the actual demand generated by the development would be higher. The Appellant had sought

By Tom Game

The Battle for Vehicle Data

How Europe and Australia are regulating connected car data Vehicle data is becoming a regulated commercial asset. Traditional battles over car data focused on repair and maintenance information (RMI) controlled by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). While such data remains important, cars now generate vast amounts of real-time data that is collected, shared and used among a wide range of stakeholders. Regulatory frameworks are evolving both in Europe and Australia to a

By Dr Martyn Taylor, Jay Modrall, Dietrich Marquardt, Dr David Fila & Damien Vickovich

Could Your Business Survive a Privacy Claim? Inside Australia’s New Privacy Reforms

High profile cyber attack cases (Optus, Medibank and Latitude to name a few) serve as cautionary tales of how data breaches can cripple a business and expose individuals to serious harm. While malicious attacks are often the ones which attract headlines, privacy breaches may also be caused by human error, misconfigured systems and/or unintended disclosures. Despite being one of the most significant risks facing Australian businesses today, privacy laws are often poorly under

By Simone Rees

Paddock Promises and Probate Problems: The Future of Farm Succession Planning

Consider the following scenario: a farmer spends 40 years building up a property, only for their succession plan to consist of a vague promise and a Will that has not been reviewed since the 90’s! Upon the reading of that Will, siblings who have had limited contact find themselves locked in litigation over who is entitled to the homestead, who receives the outlying land, and whether a handshake deal made decades earlier gives rise to any enforceable rights. This is the realit

By Laura Quarrell & April Barakat

NSW Building Bill 2026 Passes Parliament (Approvals and Practitioners)

The Building (Approvals and Practitioners) Bill 2026 (the Bill) passed through Parliament on Tuesday afternoon 4 August 2026. The Bill is awaiting assent from the Governor and will commence on a date set by proclamation. Much of the practical operation and implication for those affected by the passing of this Bill will be determined by the regulations which are yet to be made and published. These regulations, when made, will provide the details on

By Mark Glynn

NSW Building Bill 2026 Passes Parliament (Approvals and Practitioners)

Driverless cars: Who bears the risk?

A legal perspective on autonomous vehicles, insurance and liability Liability is migrating up the value chain: When software drives a car, responsibility begins to shift from the individual driver to the organisations that design, operate, update and supervise the system. The driverless car is, in effect, an emerging test of how corporations govern software-controlled risk in the physical world. Who bears the loss today, and who may bear it tomorrow: In Australia, personal i

By Dr Martyn Taylor

Fast-tracking patent examination in Australia

Australia has two mechanisms available for fast-tracking patent examination – the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and IP Australia’s expedited examination program. Australia is part of the Global PPH (GPPH), and has a PCT-PPH and an IP Australia-EPO PPH program. On 2 June 2026, Australia joined the PPH eXtra initiative, which aims to provide clearer timeframes for examination under the PPH. However, IP Australia’s expedited examination program remains a viable option for acc

By Dr Claire Gregg

Chain of Responsibility: Why Directors Cannot Leave Safety at the Gate

The Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) has fundamentally changed the way heavy vehicle safety is regulated in Australia. Gone are the days when legal responsibility for a road transport incident rested solely with the driver behind the wheel. Today, every party in the transport supply chain ( referred to as the chain of responsibility) has a role to play in ensuring safety, and where that responsibility is ignored, significant penalties can follow. One of the most important re

By Kristy Speirs

When founder shares become family property: lessons from Charis & Charis

In an era when family law property pools increasingly include start-up equity, offshore entities and illiquid founder interests, Charis & Charis [2026] FedCFamC1A 92 (17 June 2026) is a significant Full Court decision on post-separation wealth creation. The case involved a technology founder whose shares and options in a United States quantum computing company grew dramatically after separation, yet the Full Court upheld an equal division of net assets of approximately $127.8

By Elise Fordham

Australian Jurisdictional Disputes–A Low Comity approach

Since 1990 Australia has broken away from the mainstream common law approach in jurisdictional disputes (forum conveniens) and set a high bar for declining jurisdiction and the release of disputes to other sovereign jurisdictions. Australian Courts will retain jurisdiction unless it is clearly an inappropriate forum (adopting a forum inconveniens test). Mere inconvenience is inadequate – it must be oppressively so often with an element of abuse of process. This low comity app

By Susannah Quinn

How serious is "serious harm" in Australian defamation law?

Since the first stage reform to the Uniform Defamation Acts, defamation claims in Australia cannot succeed without satisfying a threshold element of "serious harm" (except in Western Australia). The legislation does not define the meaning of "serious harm". Against the background of a string of other recent decisions, the recent judgment of Latham v Greenwich [2026] FCAFC 82 has provided more certainty into how courts will interpret serious harm. Latham was an appeal from a

By Lindsey Cregan

Generative AI and legal privilege

Lessons from Australian organisations from United States v Heppner The challenge (and promise) of generative AI continues apace – including for lawyers, clients and courts, particularly in the context of privileged communications. While privilege is “an important common law right or, perhaps, more accurately, an important common law immunity”,[1] where conduct occurs that is inconsistent with privilege, legal professional privilege can be lost. And it is here that the use of

By Robert Johnston, Robert Wyld & Jan Hards

What the Children’s Court Is Actually Doing in Queensland — and Why That Matters

Youth justice is one of the most publicly debated and least understood parts of the criminal justice system in Queensland. This piece explains what the Children’s Court is actually being asked to do, and why that task is different from the one many people assume. A child is charged with an offence. The matter goes to court. And the reaction is often immediate: why is this being treated differently from an adult case? Why does the court seem to ask about age, schooling, home l

By Sacha Sarah Smith

Think Before You Send: Why “Disappearing” Can Come Back to Haunt You

Gone are the days of simply texting or calling. Today, most of us communicate across multiple apps at once. Whether it’s Snapchat, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, Signal, Telegram or TikTok, it’s not unusual to have several conversations with the same person across different platforms. One feature that has become increasingly common is disappearing messages. Snapchat may have led the way, but now almost every platform offers some version of it. Even Instagram has “Vanish Mode

By Mickaela Mate

The 2026 Federal Budget: What It Actually Means for Your Separation

The Federal Budget does more than change tax rates and government spending. It can directly affect the financial outcome of a separation. Changes to capital gains tax, negative gearing, income tax, disability funding and housing policy all have the potential to influence property settlements, child support, spousal maintenance and the financial decisions separating families need to make. The 2026 Federal Budget introduces several significant reforms that family lawyers should

By Melanie Vairawanathan

Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) 3.2 and 3.5.

On 1 April 2026, Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind found that IRE Pty Ltd, owner and operator of 2Apply, interfered with individuals’ privacy by collecting personal information that was not reasonably necessary for its functions or activities, and through unfair means, in breach of Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) 3.2 and 3.5. In reaching this conclusion, the Commissioner placed particular emphasis on the design and operation of the 2Apply platform, the volume and sensitivi

By James Pratt

Changes to Primary Producer Registration (NSW) from 1 July 2026

Changes to the legislation came into effect on 1 July 2026. The change was to provide that a person must carry on a primary production business, within the meaning of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 of the Commonwealth, to be eligible to receive certain concessions on vehicle registration for primary producers. The change removes the historical emphasis on whether a person derived the majority of their income from farming. Under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth), a

By Belinda Hughes

The most misunderstood role in construction – the Superintendent

The superintendent – independent certifier or principal’s agent? In a perfect world, construction projects would run smoothly. Principals would have perfect drawings and perfect specifications which set out exactly what to build and even, notes on how to build it. With this perfect information, builders would know exactly what difficulties to expect when building, plan accordingly and deliver each project perfectly on time and for the originally agreed price. Unfortunately, w

By Alex Tuhtan

Where did my airplanes go? Federal Court finds against Perth Airport Pty Ltd for misleading conduct

The judgment of Anderson J in United Petroleum Pty Ltd v Perth Airport Pty Ltd (No 2) [2026] FCA 620 has provided a recent and detailed account of the law of misleading and deceptive conduct which reiterates the inability for a contravening party to contract out of contravention in any manner. The Federal Court’s decision is another critical reminder of Australia’s strong consumer protection laws that extend to prohibiting what can arguably be described as overselling in reg

By Iain Freeman

Where did my airplanes go? Federal Court finds against Perth Airport Pty Ltd for misleading conduct

Analysis of Australia’s Carbon Farming Services Industry

Australia's carbon market has matured into a sophisticated industry supporting more than 2,800 registered carbon projects, yet relatively little attention has been paid to the businesses responsible for developing and managing those projects on behalf of landholders. Mills Oakley has released what is believed to be Australia’s first comprehensive analysis of the carbon farming services industry, examining the commercial models, market structure and governance arrangements sup

By Matt Egerton-Warburton & Scarlett Southey