The Australian and Singaporean governments have recently concluded discussions on a landmark agreement that will see the two countries cooperating across a range of strategic initiatives, including in the areas of trade and economics, innovation, education, people and defence. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership builds on the already strong relations between Australia and Singapore and is expected to provide new cross-border investment opportunities through enhanced bilateral relations. Singapore-based Managing Associate, Jessica Choong, reports.

In this issue we look at an adverse action case; why a redundancy does not necessarily constitute a termination; the importance of a consistent process to deal with bullying in the workplace; the fairness of a dismissal for failing workplace drug tests; and when a company can prevent an employee from going to work for a competitor.

As a startup looking to raise capital, you’ll most likely spend a fair bit of time thinking about your pitch to potential investors and, if you’re lucky, the terms of any investment.

Together with your company’s constitution, a shareholders agreement provides the foundation for the corporate governance of your startup and outlines what a shareholder can and can’t do. It also sets out the shareholders’ rights and obligations and their role in the management of the company.

In its second decision on predictive coding this year, the English High Court has again accepted the use of this innovative technology in discovery, this time in a contested application. Partner Duncan Travis, Managing Associate Kate Austin and Law Graduate Yi-Ling Ng examine the case and its implications.

Authored by a multidisciplinary team from Allens, Blockchain Reaction is designed to assist business stakeholders, decision makers and in-house counsel across a variety of sectors to understand the technology and how it is being used, as well as navigate the regulatory and legal opportunities and challenges.

Following a period of industry consultation, the Federal Government has introduced updated legislation that will introduce a mandatory data breach notification scheme. The new Bill will amend the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) when it comes into force and will apply to all Australian companies currently subject to the Privacy Act. Partner Gavin Smith, Senior Associate Alice Williams, Associate Tom Griffin and Lawyer Leah Wickman report.

A recent New South Wales Court of Appeal decision concerned a guarantee purportedly signed by e-signature without the guarantor’s knowledge. It is an interesting case-study, though the decision is really about ostensible authority and ratification. Senior Finance Counsel Diccon Loxton considers its implications.

In case you haven’t heard, last week the High Court handed down its decision in Paciocco v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited. In what was perhaps the most highly anticipated High Court decision of the year, the majority found that credit card late payment fees charged by ANZ were not penalties. Here we look at what the High Court had to say about the penalties rule and what this means for business and for class actions in the financial services space.

After a difficult journey, both Houses have passed the Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Bill 2016 – introducing a new funding avenue for Australian startups and an opportunity for retail investors to access equity in emerging companies. Managing Associate Valeska Bloch, Senior Associate Tom Griffin, Summer Clerk Katherine Tsatsaklas and Applied Legal Technology Head Paralegal Hope Williams report.

The Federal Parliament has today passed the Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Bill 2016 which will amend the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) to introduce a mandatory data breach notification scheme.

As part of its implementation of the ‘regulatory sandbox’ for fintech companies, ASIC is providing relief for certain fintech businesses from the obligation to hold an Australian financial services or Australian credit licence. Relief may be available for up to 12 months and may be useful to businesses in what ASIC refers to as the ‘testing’ stage of their development. ASIC has also made some changes to the responsible manager requirements for licensees, which may be particularly useful to ‘robo advice’ providers. Managing Associate Simun Soljo and Associate Jonathan Gardner report.

The High Court today handed down its decision in the high-profile ACCC proceedings against Flight Centre. The High Court allowed the ACCC’s appeal from the Full Federal Court, finding that Flight Centre competed with airlines in the sale of international airline tickets and attempted to induce three major airlines to enter price-fixing arrangements. Partner Carolyn Oddie, Managing Associate Robert Walker and Lawyer Darcy McLennan consider the implications.

The Productivity Commission has released a landmark draft report on the ability of individuals, businesses and government to access and use data in Australia. The report criticises Australia’s historically conservative approach to data use and proposes a ‘fundamental and systematic change’ to the way that data is made available and linked. Partner Gavin Smith, Managing Associate Valeska Bloch, Associate Tom Griffin and Lawyer Claudia Hall report.

With an upward trend in large-scale ransomware attacks and the number of data breaches reported globally, mandatory data breach notification will become law in Australia in February 2018. This will place privacy compliance and cyber security in sharp focus. Partner Michael Park, Lawyer Samantha Naylor Brown and Head Paralegal Hope Williams report on recent global attacks and what they mean for you.

There are significant commercial benefits in executing documents electronically, and Allens has adopted e-signature (using DocuSign) as a service to clients. Allens Senior Finance Counsel, Diccon Loxton, has written an article in two parts that examines the efficacy of e-signatures, and concludes that they are effective, including under s127 of the Corporations Act 2001 and (in various circumstances) deeds.

While ASIC has published information on the issue of coins or tokens in initial coin offerings, other regulators around the world have also been issuing guidance, with some taking a much more restrictive approach. Although Australia remains a relatively friendly regulatory environment for such offerings, there are a number of potential regulatory traps, both here and overseas, that issuers should carefully consider before launch. Managing Associate Simun Soljo, Senior Associate David Rountree and Lawyer Chris Walsh report.

As of 1 September 2017, merchants will be prohibited from charging excessive payment surcharges for certain payment methods. Under the new rules, businesses can only pass on to customers what it costs them to process a payment. The Allens Competition team have put together a brief overview of the changes and what businesses should do to prepare for the new regime.

The Federal Government has introduced draft legislation to establish a long-awaited mandatory comprehensive credit reporting regime for the major banks from 1 July 2018. Partner Gavin Smith, Senior Associate Emily Cravigan and Lawyer Dougald Coulson report.

The Federal Government has released its much anticipated Review into Open Banking in Australia. The Review makes 50 sweeping recommendations to implement Open Banking, including a new regulatory framework under which the regime would operate in the broader context of a new Consumer Data Right for all sectors. Partner Gavin Smith, Senior Associate Elyse Adams, Associate Leah Wickman and Lawyer Connie Ye report on some of the key elements of the report.