Business Law and Corporate Law

The Australian government has released an exposure draft of the Privacy Amendment (Personal Data Protection) Bill 2026, introducing sweeping changes to privacy law including broader definitions of personal information, codified consent standards, and a new 72-hour data breach notification requirement. With reforms touching everything from geolocation data to erasure rights, organisations face a compressed timeline to uplift their privacy frameworks before these provisions become law.

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.

A modest regulatory penalty can sometimes carry a larger transaction lesson. The recent adjudication order involving Fyle Technologies Private Limited is a good example. The Registrar of Companies, Bengaluru, penalised the company and four of its directors for approving share transfers in physical form even though the transferors had not first dematerialised their holdings.

Structuring an acquisition carries real consequences for control, liability, tax treatment, and continuity of a target’s contracts and licenses. The reverse triangular merger (“RTM”), or reverse subsidiary merger, is among the most widely used structures in USA M&A practice for the way it treats the target after closing.

FY26 saw a steady stream of successful control transactions despite geopolitical tensions and shifting monetary policy settings. Mega deals returned to levels in line with the five-year average, private equity bidding increased, and total deal value rose.

Last month’s National Vintage Report put the 2026 crush at just 1.27 million tonnes, down 19% year-on-year, the smallest harvest this century. Red production collapsed by 29%, and exports declined to their lowest level since 2004.

Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) remain one of the most widely used instruments for venture capital and private equity investments in Indian companies. Their appeal lies in the ability to combine equity classification with negotiated economic and governance protections. But CCPS are not governed by a single, standalone statutory framework. Their legal treatment is instead shaped by the Companies Act, FEMA and foreign investment rules, tax law, and, where applicable, SEBI regulations.

Southeast Asia's investment landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift as capital becomes more selective and investors demand stronger fundamentals from businesses seeking funding.

On 21 July 2026, the Advisory Group on Corporate Governance (Advisory Group) released the draft 5th edition of the ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations (5th edition). This article outlines the key changes from the 4th edition (currently in force and released in February 2019).

This article examines the need for statutory reservation of seats for women in Bar Councils in India. It analyses the current under-representation of women in legal governance structures, the constitutional and policy justifications for affirmative action, and the potential benefits of greater gender diversity for the legal profession and the justice delivery system.

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (Act No. 35 of 2020) came into force on 21st November, 2025, consolidating three foundational labour statutes. The Code represents a significant structural...