Mining Sector Update - Australia and Papua New Guinea: October 2017

In May 2020, Rio Tinto, an Anglo-Australian multinational mining company and the world's biggest iron ore miner, destroyed two ancient caves in Pilbara, Western Australia.

The Queensland Government has released five new areas of land totalling 1,459km2 in Queensland's Bowen and Surat basins for petroleum and gas exploration.

The article includes key considerations, what your business needs to comply and some tips on the changes in legislation.

Many industrial customers face rising energy costs, among other challenges. We look at examples of government support provided so far.

Default offers in Australia's retail electricity market were designed to eliminate loyalty penalties and simplify plan comparisons, but how exactly do regulators calculate these price caps? The Australian Energy Regulator and Essential Services Commission now employ similar bottom-up methodologies that stack various cost components to determine what a prudent retailer would need to charge a representative customer.

The Queensland Government has launched a comprehensive review of its Financial Provisioning Scheme for the resources industry, examining whether the current framework adequately balances environmental rehabilitation risks with industry growth and investment opportunities. Stakeholders from across the mining sector, investment community, and landholders are invited to provide feedback on the scheme's effectiveness and potential improvements.

This article will provide an overview of some of the models used in delivering this infrastructure.

This article will focus on the complex water regimes across Queensland and New South Wales and the relevance to industry.

The ACCC has also published a draft guideline ("Guidelines on Part XICA - Prohibited conduct in the energy market").

This article highlights key aspects of the new regime and its potential impact on the resources sector in Queensland.

The ICC is calling on governments to launch new e-commerce negotiations ahead of the WTO next Ministerial Conference.

APRA and ASIC have issued coordinated guidance on frontier AI risks, requiring financial services boards to demonstrate direct oversight of AI governance, cyber resilience and third-party dependencies. The regulators' expectations build on existing prudential standards and directors' duties, with enforcement signals indicating that proportionate action must be taken before incidents occur.

The update can assist directors and other officers comply with a personal duty to exercise due diligence under WHS laws.

Australia's Privacy Act reform has reached a critical milestone with the release of exposure draft legislation proposing fundamental changes to how organisations handle personal information. The reforms introduce a new 'fair and reasonable' test for data collection and use, a right of erasure for large digital platforms, strengthened consent standards, a statutory controller/processor framework, restrictions on trading personal data, and enhanced data breach obligations. These changes come at a time when em

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has issued an open letter to all AFS licensees and market participants calling for urgent action to strengthen cyber resilience in response to the evolving threat posed by artificial intelligence models (the ASIC Letter).

2017 saw substantial change amidst a series of challenges in the correctional services, so what is in store for 2018?

Australia's thriving automotive sector offers vast opportunities, but timely and thorough business planning is essential.

Explore how emerging technologies and evolving regulatory frameworks are reshaping the legal landscape. This multimedia publication examines the intersection of innovation and legal practice, offering insights into the transformative forces affecting the profession.

Contains link to summary of the JobKeeper Program & details on eligibility requirements, implementation process, implications etc

Advances in legal technologies include the increasing use of e-discovery and electronic evidence and data analysis.