The Telecommunications Interception and Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2010 ("Bill") was passed last week by both Houses of Parliament but has not yet received Royal Assent. It amends the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 ("Interception Act") in the following areas.

The Federal Energy Minister has launched a new initiative, Smart Blocks, to improve energy efficiency in strata units.

Carriers and carriage service providers will, by now, have made a number of changes to their customer contracting arrangements to comply with the Australian Consumer Law, as the unfair contract provisions became effective during 2010.

New laws in Victoria have been introduced to deal with bullying in the workplace.

One in five job seekers say they would turn down a job if it did not provide access to social media such as Facebook.

Where products require additional devices to be purchased, ACCC warns this must be specified to avoid breaching the ACL.

Anyone making claims about the availability of connections must ensure that all relevant requirements are specified.

By clarifying what is "unlawful adverse action", the High Court has narrowed the scope of the burden on the employer.

The Federal Government has announced that it does not support the Traffic Light Labelling system.

The Australian Privacy Principles will replace the National Privacy Principles and the Information Privacy Principles.

The emergence of social media as a medium for corporate advertising and promotion has been widely embraced.

Up to 30 June 2010, the registration fee payable to the Land and Property Management Authority (previously the Land Titles Office) for the transfer of a property in New South Wales - residential, commercial or rural - irrespective of the purchase price was $190.

Employers often dread the situation where an employee accepts employment with a competitor or sets up business in competition. Traditionally, employers have sought to prevent or limit the harm they suffer by including restraint of trade clauses in the contracts of their employees, particularly their more senior or executive employees.

Because of the availability of capital gains tax concessions for sale of shares held by individuals or trusts in a company, most sellers of businesses in Australia prefer to structure a sale of their business as a share sale transaction.

It appears that Mark McInnes has done what most CEOs do when faced with a dispute with the Board, negotiate a settlement of his contractual rights.

The three month application window for applying for a generic top Level Domain (gTLD) opened on 12 January 2012.

A decision of Federal Court may mean that Telstra overpaid for internet and mobile phone AFL broadcast rights.

After a number of delays, the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 finally commenced operation on 30 January 2012.

The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA) is a new law relevant to security interests in personal property. Although the PPSA is already law, it will not commence until May 2011.

The Act also introduces requirements for telecommunications carriers and providers to preserve stored communications.