Australia: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration

The duty of disclosure in family law proceedings is fundamental, yet disputes over whether sufficient disclosure has been provided remain common.

When serious allegations are published – intentionally, publicly and to a mass audience – the legal question is immediate and unforgiving: who must justify them? Under Australian defamation law, the answer is not the person defamed. It is the person who chose to publish.

Employees frequently commence proceedings with a pleading containing serious, damaging and untested allegations about the employer, its executives, HR decision-makers, colleagues or even third parties.

Recent Australian Public Service census data reveals a growing trend in flexible work arrangements, supported by new enterprise agreement provisions. Two landmark Fair Work Commission decisions in Naden and Westpac now provide critical guidance on how employers must handle flexible work requests, highlighting the mandatory requirements and potential consequences of non-compliance that could result in orders granting employee requests even when business grounds exist for refusal.

Australia's pharmaceutical patent landscape has reached a critical juncture, with appellate courts reconsidering fundamental principles of patent scope, term extensions, and remedies that will shape originator-generic disputes for the foreseeable future. As the High Court prepares to rule on patent term extensions for formulation patents and new Federal Court practice directions take effect, the strategic calculus for both innovators and generic entrants is being fundamentally rewritten.

The Supreme Court of Victoria ruled that parties were bound by a settlement deed sent unsigned by the defendants' solicitor and subsequently executed by the plaintiffs’ solicitor, even though the defendants ultimately refused to sign.

Commercial litigation in Australia is becoming increasingly front-loaded, with courts placing greater emphasis on early evidence preservation, tighter pleadings and faster case management. Businesses delaying preparation can find themselves at a strategic disadvantage before proceedings have properly begun.

The duty of disclosure in family law proceedings is fundamental, yet disputes over whether sufficient disclosure has been provided remain common.

When a retired Federal Court Judge returns to practice as a barrister and appears before their former colleagues, does this create an apprehension of bias that undermines public confidence in the judicial system?

Recent Australian Public Service census data reveals a growing trend in flexible work arrangements, supported by new enterprise agreement provisions. Two landmark Fair Work Commission decisions in Naden and Westpac now provide critical guidance on how employers must handle flexible work requests, highlighting the mandatory requirements and potential consequences of non-compliance that could result in orders granting employee requests even when business grounds exist for refusal.

The High Court of Australia held that India had not waived sovereign immunity in respect of enforcement proceedings by ratifying the New York Convention...

The case provides clear confirmation of the principles applied in determining whether a duty of care exists and establishing negligence.