Australia: Compliance

The Fair Work Commission has introduced new guidance requiring parties to disclose their use of generative AI in proceedings, following a 70% surge in workload attributed to AI-generated applications. A recent case demonstrates the consequences of blind reliance on AI tools, with one applicant ordered to pay costs after continuing a jurisdictionally flawed claim despite repeated warnings from the Commission.

A Victorian tribunal found a coordinating doctor guilty of professional misconduct after an administrative error in the voluntary assisted dying process led to a patient signing their written declaration without required witnesses present. The case examines the heightened responsibility practitioners face when managing VAD documentation and the disciplinary consequences of failing to ensure strict compliance with procedural safeguards, even when errors are unintentional.

Australia is proposing a world-first corporate criminal offence for failing to prevent modern slavery in supply chains, requiring organisations to adopt adequate procedures to identify and mitigate risks.

Australia's digital regulatory landscape is undergoing a fundamental transformation, with the proposed digital duty of care joining a complex web of reforms including Privacy Act amendments...

New South Wales has introduced strict legislation targeting landlords who knowingly permit tenants to sell illicit tobacco and vapes from their premises. With penalties reaching $165,000 and potential imprisonment, property owners must now actively monitor tenant activities and report suspicious behavior. The legislation also grants landlords new powers to terminate leases when closure orders are issued, fundamentally changing the landlord-tenant relationship in commercial retail settings.

Australia's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has released consultation papers outlining the regulatory framework for the final phase of environmental protection reforms under the EPBC Act. With submissions closing on 13 October 2026 and implementation scheduled for 1 December 2026, these reforms will fundamentally reshape how projects are assessed and approved, introducing streamlined pathways...

Boards are accustomed to overseeing cyber security and workplace safety as material risks requiring director-level attention. Immigration compliance is now joining that list, driven by expanded enforcement powers, personal liability provisions for officers, and a regulatory shift from complaint-driven oversight to proactive audits.

In the first substantive rulings on Australia's right to disconnect laws, the South Australian Employment Tribunal has determined that an Adelaide hairdressing salon did not breach its apprentices' rights despite sending frequent out-of-hours messages via TikTok and Snapchat. The Tribunal drew a critical distinction between unwelcome communication and actually preventing employees from disconnecting, establishing that subjective pressure without demonstrable consequences does not constitute a breach.

APRA and ASIC have called on regulated entities to demonstrate that their governance, cyber controls, operational resilience and third-party risk arrangements can operate at frontier-AI speed.