The latest issue of our insurance law bulletin, Australian Insurance Law Bulletin, is now online.  

We note the following feature articles:

• "Casenote: Suncorp Metway Insurance Ltd v Sichter" by Paul Telford, Barrister at law;
• "Insured can mind its own ‘business’" by Dean Newell, DibbsBarker;
• "What are coordinate liabilities for the purpose of contribution?" by Professor Greg Reinhardt, Australian Institute of Judicial Administration; and
• "Contract works insurance: stainless steel piping failures" by Patrick Mead, Carter Newell Lawyers.

The latest issue of our Financial Services Newsletter is now online.

We note the following feature articles:

• "The common ethical risks associated with financial advice: removing the roadblocks to quality financial advice" by June Smith, Argyle Partners;
• "ASIC proposes increased financial requirements for responsible entities" by Fadi C Khoury and Emmelyn Teo, Norton Rose Australia;
• "Recent developments in relation to taxes" by Mark Radford, Colin Biggers and Paisley; and
• "‘The definition of life insurance business and APRA's administration’ of s 12A of the Life Insurance Act 1995" by Michael Vrisakis, Freehills.

Issue 5 of Risk Management Today is now online and in print.

We note the following feature articles in particular:

• "Integrating risk management in an easy and meaningful way", Dr Ted Dahms, Plum Concepts & Solutions;
• "The use and misuse of the PERT distribution", Barry Yeldham and Mike McCloskey, Aquenta Consulting; and
• "Sanctions laws - important points for business to consider", Mark Radford, Colin Biggers and Paisley.  

Vol 26 No 4 of our newsletter, Australian Banking and Finance Law Bulletin is now online.

We note in particular the article by Dr Mick Young, Henry Davis York, "Configuring catastrophe bonds: the science behind surprise":

The worst of the global financial crisis appears to be subsiding. Given the ongoing uncertainty in international credit markets, however, the full extent of the impact of the crisis in the years ahead remains unclear and conditions in the financial markets will, at the very least, remain challenging for the foreseeable future. Yet the market disruption has helped to re-enforce a basic rule of investing that was overlooked by many when financial markets were booming: the need to offset risk through the diversification of investments. Today, many international investors are looking for alternative investment vehicles to diversify their holdings to help shield them against future market shocks. The capacity of the capital markets to offer investors a rich portfolio of risk management strategies potentially holds the keys to this protection. [full article]

The October 2010 issue of our newsletter Inhouse Counsel is now online.

Subscribers' attention is drawn to the following articles:

• "Agreements to contract - practical applications and common pitfalls" by Deborah Chew and Adrian Lynch, Hall Wilcox;
• "Parliament passes second wave of consumer law reforms" by Ayman Guirguis, Blake Dawson;
• "Is there a discount on that pecuniary penalty? ACCC v Telstra" by Jo Daniels and Lauren Traugott, Middletons;
• "Australia's national paid parental scheme - how to prepare your organisation" by Kylie Richardson and Erin Wilson, Maddocks.

Issue 4 of our risk management newsletter, Risk Management Today, is now online.

Subscribers are referred to the following feature articles: 

• "Risk management maturity - and measuring good practice" by Professor Jean Cross, School of Risk and Safety Sciences, UNSW; 
• "Findings of a study into the independence of five public sector audit committees" by Dr Len Gainsford,  Centre for Enterprise Performance, Swinburne University of Technology; and
• "Contract bites: the case for enterprise contract management" by Christine Lithgow, Corrs Chambers Westgarth.

Volume 11, issue 2 of the Insolvency Law Bulletin is now online.

We note in particular the article by The Eye regarding the recent Senate Report into the corporate insolvency industry:

The Report’s view is that a separate insolvency regulator is required, one that is focused on the rather unique responsibilities of practitioners in conducting an insolvency administration. This would serve to free corporate insolvency from ASIC’s general regulatory approach in relation to the very different players and their conduct in the markets and securities area, which are the main focus of ASIC’s broad responsibilities.

Underlying this recommendation is the fact that many of the basic regulatory issues in both personal and corporate insolvency are the same — independence, remuneration, sale of assets, conduct of litigation, and dealing with creditors. A merger would promote common regulatory approaches, as opposed to disconnected ones; cross-fertilisation of expertise between personal and corporate, instead of the silo mentality that often exists; and, on a practical level, individuals who are both trustees and liquidators would be reviewed and regulated by the one agency.

This is the main recommendation in the Report and it is “bold and substantive”, as the Report says of all of its recommendations, and therefore involves major change. It is therefore likely to be resisted. Corporate insolvency’s connections with corporate law are seen as close and needy enough for it to remain in that fold, rather than being hived off, as it is seen, to personal insolvency — its simple cousin. That attitude from corporate insolvency may illustrate the source of its problem which has led to its laws, regulation and administration lagging behind more advanced initiatives in bankruptcy.

The new issue of the Australian Banking and Finance Law Bulletin is now available online.

Subscribers' attention is drawn to the following article in particular:

• Dr Mick Young, Henry Davis York, "Constructing covered bonds".

The latest issue of the Australian Insurance Law Bulletin has been released.

Subscribers' attention is drawn to the following articles in particular:

• Professor Greg Reinhardt, Australian Institute of Judicial Administration, "Whether duty of care owed by police officer to bystander: Victoria v Richards";
• Doug Jones and Peter Mann, Clayton Utz, "Gordian Runoff v Westport": Limited grounds to challenge award"; and
• Patrick Mead, Carter Newell Lawyers "Contract works insurance: scratched glass claims".

The new issue of the Australian Superannuation Law Bulletin has been published.

Subscribers' attention is drawn in particular to the feature article by Adrian Verdnik of Hall & Wilcox assessing the Labor government's response to the recommendations contained in the Cooper Review. 

Other articles include: 

• "Fund governance - just what is a common fund?" by Michael Vrisakis, Freehills; and
• "'Solely for the benefit of members' - a bridge too far" by Michael Mathieson, Mallesons Stephen Jaques.