NSW to prioritise renewables, putting PEP into the step of key projects
On 6 May 2026, the NSW Government introduced the Energy Legislation Amendment (Prioritising Renewable Energy) Bill 2026 (Bill) to parliament. The Bill proposes changes to NSW planning laws that would, if passed, remove some obstacles facing renewables projects in their dealings with public authorities and objectors.
08 May 2026
Mark your calendars: EPBC Act Reform commencement through 2026 and beyond
In late November 2025, Parliament passed the most significant overhaul of Australia’s federal environmental laws under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) in more than two decades.
03 February 2026
Charging ahead: New planning framework for battery storage projects in Queensland
We unpack the key elements of Queensland’s new reforms on battery storage projects and what they mean for industry moving forward.
12 December 2025
EPBC Act Reform - a new era of Commonwealth environmental regulation commencing in 2026
The long-anticipated reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) set out within the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 (Reform Bill) were passed by the Australian Parliament on Friday 28 November 2025.
05 December 2025
Overhauling Victoria’s planning system: The Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Bill 2025
The Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Bill 2025 (Vic) (Bill) is currently before the Victorian Parliament.
02 December 2025
Federal Environmental legislative reforms before the Senate and National Environmental Standards out for consultation
On 30 October 2025 the Government introduced into Parliament its long-awaited reforms to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act).
13 November 2025
Green tape to greenlight: Streamlined approvals, stronger standards & smarter planning to power Australia’s renewables
Long-awaited reforms to Australia’s environmental laws are set to be introduced in Parliament this week, promising the clarity and momentum both industry and environmental groups have been seeking.
29 October 2025
Water Regulation Series (Part 2): Recent developments in First Nations water rights
We consider the growing legal significance of First Nations water rights, drawing on examples from the Commonwealth, NSW and Victoria.
27 October 2025
Targeted productivity gains, part II: Omnibus Bill - Impact on the healthcare system
Proposed reforms currently before the Federal Parliament would change the use of healthcare identifiers across the Australian healthcare system.
24 October 2025
Directions 2025
Australian businesses are relatively optimistic about confronting the productivity challenge, notwithstanding ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and economic headwinds.
14 October 2025
Targeted productivity gains: Government’s new Omnibus Bill
The Government has introduced “omnibus” legislation to modernise service delivery, reduce red tape and streamline how regulators interact with industry.
09 October 2025
‘Take two’: Australia renews and fast-tracks environmental reform agenda to accelerate energy transition and boost productivity
Following the Government’s recent announcement to bring forward its mid-2026 environmental reform deadline to late-2025, we explore the need for reform and what we can expect to see in the coming months.
19 September 2025
On the horizon: Harmonisation of GHG Protocol and ISO Climate Standards
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) have announced a landmark strategic partnership to harmonise their existing greenhouse gas (GHG) standards and co-develop a new, co-branded international standard for GHG emissions accounting and reporting.
18 September 2025
ASIC starts work on easing the burden of regulation
In November 2024, Chair Joe Longo announced that he wanted ASIC to do what it could to reduce complexity in regulation, and that a Simplification Consultative Group supported by expert advisers would be established to drive the process.
03 September 2025
Cutting through the tape – what deregulation in the construction industry might look like
In February 2025, the Productivity Commission issued the ‘Housing construction productivity: Can we fix it?’ Research Paper.
27 August 2025
Navigating Australia’s evolving M&A regulatory landscape: a strategic playbook for financial sponsors
It will not have escaped those participating in Australia’s M&A ecosystem that the regulatory burden has evolved substantially, particularly over the last 5 to 10 years. The days of a single relatively administrative filing obligation, and possibly a couple of informal chats with industry and market regulators to confirm positions, have for most participants long disappeared. Today, the M&A regulatory framework is significantly more complex and dynamic. For those participating, it now offers less upfront clarity, takes longer and costs more to navigate.
15 August 2025
CER - who is responsible for what?
Australia’s energy system is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by the rapid uptake of Consumer Energy Resources (CER) such as rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicle chargers and controlled loads, with Australia now having the highest proportion of households with rooftop solar globally.
15 August 2025
NEM Wholesale Markets Review
For the past several months, an independent, government backed, market review led by Tim Nelson has been considering market reforms to promote investment in firmed renewable generation and storage capacity in Australia’s east coast electricity market.
06 August 2025
Merge Ahead: Navigating Australia’s New Merger Regime
In this episode of “It’s Public,” host Antonella Pacitti welcomes FIRB and foreign investment specialists Lizzie Knight and competition law expert Jennifer Barron to discuss the newly implemented mandatory merger notification regime in Australia.
05 August 2025
Guarantee of Origin Scheme advances: Key takeaways from exposure drafts and energy storage plan
Further implementation details for the Guarantee of Origin Scheme were released for consultation on 23 June 2025.
29 July 2025
Second Term’s a Charm: Labor’s ambitions for competition and consumer law reform
The Australian Parliament is due to resume on 22 July 2025 for the first time since the Labor Government was re-elected for a second term in the May 2025 federal election.
21 July 2025
Navigating data centre opportunities across APAC
Over the last decade, data centres have emerged as one of the most significant asset classes for investment globally. Funds initially followed the growing demand for cloud technologies, as enterprises moved away from on-premises processing. More recently, the accelerated build out of infrastructure to support the world’s appetite for AI has emerged as another key driver.
16 July 2025
Water Regulation Series (part 1): New civil penalties for water offences in NSW
Water regulation in Australia is intensifying in response to the increasing value and scarcity of water resources.
08 July 2025
Answering (some of) the threshold questions: Treasury releases updated ACCC clearance regime instrument
Treasury released the Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Determination 2025 (Instrument).
01 July 2025
Labor pains or gains? Reflecting on recent and upcoming IR reform
The return of the ALP in May’s federal election is likely to be taken by the Albanese Government as an endorsement of the sweeping industrial relations changes made since 2022.
30 June 2025
ASIC's Private Markets Review: The next chapter
In February this year the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) released its discussion paper on the evolving dynamics between public and private markets. The
16 June 2025
Bond, developer bond
Recent changes in Victoria reforming certain aspects of building regulation with the objective of protecting purchasers of residential apartments will create regulatory and contractual complexities for developers of residential apartment buildings.
12 June 2025
Productivity Commission Opens Consultation Period on New Energy Infrastructure
The Productivity Commission is now inviting feedback from industry stakeholders as part of the second phase of its ongoing inquiries into the five pillars of productivity.
21 May 2025
A guide to Victoria’s planning reforms to boost housing growth in key activity centres
The Victorian Government is implementing a range of significant legislative and planning policy reforms to streamline planning approvals for residential development and increase housing supply to respond to Australia’s housing crisis.
20 May 2025
Don’t get burnt! Fair Work Commission grills burger chain over inadequate enterprise agreement explanation
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has refused to approve a proposed enterprise agreement (the Agreement) for burger chain Grill’d despite almost 94% of employees voting for the Agreement.
19 May 2025
Reform Reflections: Understanding the Shift in Australia’s Industrial Landscape
The incumbent Australian Labor Party (ALP) has been re-elected to a second consecutive term in office. While all races are yet to be formally declared, the ALP is set to have more seats than at any point since its establishment, and will likely face a materially less fractured Senate, no longer having to rely on patching together support from a diverse group of independents in order to pass legislation.
12 May 2025
The great election wash up - and what we’re watching next…
As the post-election dust settles, the KWM team has pulled together a succinct assessment of the Government’s key policy positions, legislative priorities and issues to watch for in the next term of Parliament.
09 May 2025
A new era of pragmatism: Climate governance and reporting trends of the ASX50 in 2024
As of 1 January 2025, many large Australian businesses and financial institutions are now required to prepare annual sustainability reports containing mandatory climate-related financial disclosures.
29 April 2025
Getting sponsors in shape for Australia’s new merger clearance regime
From the beginning of next year, a new merger clearance regime will mean that larger scale financial sponsors will see most of their future transactions in Australia - including ‘serial acquisitions’ – likely require regulatory approval to proceed.
17 April 2025
Doing Business: KWM’s Guide to Doing Business in Australia
KWM’s Guide to Doing Business in Australia is your essential resource to investing and undertaking business operations in Australia.
14 April 2025
‘Likely SCAM': Australia to strictly regulate SMS sender IDs this year
The ACMA is consulting on the new SMS Sender ID Register and associated Draft Telecommunications (SMS Sender ID Register) Industry Standard 2025.
10 April 2025
Modern Slavery - Reforms at home & abroad
In this update, we summarise key modern slavery law developments in Australia and overseas during 2024, and what changes businesses should be prepared for in the rest of the year ahead.
10 April 2025
‘Encouraging aspiration, unlocking opportunity, lifting real wages’ – the proposed ban on non-compete clauses
The Government has announced as part of the Budget for 2025/26 that it will introduce a statutory ban on ‘non-compete’ clauses for workers earning less than $175,000, to take effect from 2027.
26 March 2025
Australian Federal Budget March 2025-26
The 2025-26 Pre-Election Budget contains a major focus on taxpayer ‘pinch points’ and recognises a world in flux - with measures addressing cost of living, housing, health, education and defence. It’s numbers and narrative neatly reflect the conflict between global economic uncertainty and domestic politics. Falling commodity prices and weaker global economic growth push the Budget into deficit for the foreseeable future and increase net debt. Conversely, the Budget’s biggest announcements are $17 billion in personal tax cuts and significant on-going spending measures.
25 March 2025
Cutting Through the Red Tape - Reform in the Construction Industry
Recent calls from the Business Council of Australia (BCA) for a reduction in bureaucracy and red tape in Australia are not new, but they have been given momentum with moves in the US under the Trump administration to eliminate inefficiencies and red tape.
06 March 2025
When innovation meets regulation: The KWM Digital Future Summit 2024
Trust, safety, security and the regulators’ rise were central to messages shared across the 11 sessions at the KWM Digital Future Summit 2024, which culminated in a focus on the technology and innovation that is at the heart of our energy transition.
03 September 2024
Loopholes closed? What employers should know about changes starting today
From today (26 August 2024), several changes will come into effect under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) as part of the Closing Loopholes legislative reforms.
26 August 2024
Directions 2024
KWM’s Directions Report 2024 is your essential guide to what is ‘top of mind’ for Australian directors and senior business leaders.
13 August 2024
Restraining non-compete restraints - Is there a case for regulating restraints of trade in Australia?
Governments around the world are increasingly seeking to regulate the use by employers of non-compete restrictive covenants.
08 May 2024
Closing Loopholes or a Stitch-up – the Government’s IR law reforms
The Government’s controversial 3rd tranche of industrial relations law reforms have now become law with both parts of the Fair Work Legislation Closing Loopholes legislative reform package passing the through Parliament earlier than expected in February after political compromise with the Greens and independent senators.
27 March 2024
Closing Loopholes 2.0 – Government’s IR reform package passes the Senate
The Federal Government has now secured passage of the remainder of the Closing Loopholes Bill, implementing the final tranche of the Government's IR law reform package.
09 February 2024
