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In the first decision of its kind in Australia, the Federal Court of Australia has awarded a civil penalty of A$ 2.5m (US$ 1.77m) and costs of A$ 500k (US$ 350k) against an Australian financial services licence holder due to serious and sustained cybersecurity failings.

In a landmark decision, the High Court of Australia determined that a non-delegable duty of care may be breached by the intentional conduct of a delegate, overturning longstanding authority of New South Wales v Lepore (2003) 212 CLR 511, which found that a common law non-delegable duty could not arise in respect of harm caused by an intentional criminal act. The decision significantly refines the scope and operation of non-delegable duties in Australian law.

The Federal Court (the Court) recently handed down its judgment in Australia’s first greenwashing case, testing net-zero assertions made by companies. It found representations regarding “clean energy” and statements made as to Santos Ltd’s targets for net-zero were not misleading. The Court dismissed the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR)’s claim and awarded costs against it.