Ilona Millar

On 25 September 2024, the Federal Court ordered Vanguard Investments Australia (Vanguard) to pay a $12.9 million penalty, after Vanguard admitted it had made false or misleading representations and engaged in conduct that was liable to misl…

Gilbert + Tobin x BWD Sustainability Insights:

The Senate has passed a bill introducing climate-related financial disclosure for Australian companies. Learn more about the new sustainability reporting requirements in the Corporations Act. Read now.

Federal Court finds Mercer Superannuation engaged in misleading conduct. Learn about the implications for superannuation funds and investors. Read now.

G+T's Super Vision is a series of concise video briefings on superannuation regulatory developments that impact our superannuation clients.

Global climate change litigation surged in 2023. Discover key trends and themes in this annual report by the Grantham Research Institute and Sabin Centre. Read now

On 8 July 2024, the ACCC published a draft guide on sustainability collaborations and Australian competition law (Draft Guide) for consultation. 

On 21 May 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered a highly anticipated (unanimous) Advisory Opinion on the Request submitted to ITLOS by the Commission of Small Island states on Climate Change and Internati…

The 60th session of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB60) climate change negotiations concluded on Thursday 13 June, closing two weeks of discussions on increasing climate change action and preparations for the 29th Convention of the Parties (COP29)…

On 5 June 2024, the Federal Court found that LGSS Pty Ltd, as the trustee of the superannuation fund now known as Active Super (Active Super) made false or misleading representations and engaged in conduct that was liable to mislead the pub…

In the aftermath of the first global stocktake at COP28 in Dubai last year, which concluded that the world is not on track to achieving the long-term temperature goals of the Paris Agreement, the Parties to the Paris Agreement meet again at…

Explore how the European Court of Human Rights holds Switzerland accountable for its inadequate response to climate change. Learn more on Gilbert + Tobin.

On 27 March 2024, the Federal government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (Cth) (the Bill) to the House of Representatives. Schedule 4 of the Bill proposes a new mandatory…

On 28 March 2024, the Federal Court found that Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd (Vanguard) made false or misleading representations and engaged in conduct that was liable to mislead the public in relation to an “ethically conscious&…

The greenwashing space is continuing to develop globally, and Australian developments are only stoking the fire. Below we detail some key recent updates from closer to home.

While it is impossible to summarise what has happened in the energy infrastructure market in 2023 in one sentence, we always enjoy a challenge. So how have we seen the market this year?

The COP28 climate conference concluded on Wednesday night, with Parties finally agreeing their response to the first Global Stocktake (GST) under the Paris Agreement. The decision - termed the ‘UAE Consensus’ - notes that despit…

On 30 November 2023, the Modern Slavery Amendment (Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner) Bill 2023 (the Bill) was introduced (and had its second reading) in the House of Representatives.

Significant developments in the early stages of COP28 It has been five days since this year’s UN Climate Change Conference, the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) kicked off in Dubai. While negotiations on many key issues includin…

This year’s UN Climate Change Conference, the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), will see the culmination of the first Global Stocktake (GST) with the convening of CMA 5, the fifth Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting…

Update 30 November 2023: today, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, tabled the Australian Government’s second Annual Climate Change Statement in Parliament, and described Australia’s priorities for COP28 in a sp…

Introduction: The Task Force for Nature-related Financial Disclosures publishes its final recommendations Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse is viewed as one of the fastest deteriorating global risks over the next decade.

A busy month in Australian climate litigation October has been a very active month for Australian climate litigation, with important implications for federal climate policy. A decision of the Federal Court provided clarity on the role of cl…

There is no doubt that 2023 has been a significant year for climate law and policy reform, both in Australia and overseas. For Australian businesses, few reforms have been more noteworthy than the introduction of long-awaited changes to the…

On 25 August 2023, the Federal Government released for public consultation the ACCU Review Discussion Paper (Discussion Paper).

Today the ACCC issued its draft guidance for businesses making environmental and sustainability claims. Its draft guidance outlines eight “good practice” principles for business in helping them comply with their obligations unde…

After more than a year of consultations, last week, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) issued its first two International Financial Reporting Standards: ‘IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainabili…

The review of Australia's Modern Slavery Act 2018 reveals varied opinions on its effectiveness. Key recommendations include lowering the reporting threshold to $50m, introducing new criteria, establishing an Anti-Slavery Commissioner, and i…

In April 2023 the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (WA EPA) released a new revision of its Environmental Factor Guideline on Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Guideline).

20 May 2023 saw Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden sign the Climate, Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation Compact (Compact) at the sidelines of the annual Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Japan.

Introduction As the 1 July 2023 date for reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism looms closer, on Friday 5 May, the Federal Government registered a set of final legislative rules setting out the detailed design elements of the reforms.

Last week saw the Federal Government reach a significant milestone toward implementing reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism, with both houses of Parliament finally passing the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Bill 2023

The latest chapter of Gilbert + Tobin’s Takeovers + Schemes Review 2023 focuses on decarbonisation and its role in M&A transactions. In 2022, several high-profile public and private M&A proposals had decarbonisation as a key considera…

The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety in Western Australia (WA) recently released for comment a draft amendment bill, the Petroleum Legislation Amendment Bill (B) 2023

European Commission proposes Green Claims Directive to combat greenwashing by establishing uniform regulation of environmental claims and labels. Learn more.

ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court for alleged greenwashing conduct by Mercer Superannuation.

On 9 February 2023, environmental law charity ClientEarth announced that, as a shareholder in Shell, it had filed a derivative claim in the UK High Court against Shell’s Board.

In this article we provide a compilation of our Clean Energy + Decarbonisation article.

Recognising that action needs to take place to adapt to, mitigate against, and reduce the future impact of climate change, the WA government has recently taken further steps to mandate its commitment to having net zero emissions by 2050.

Following the introduction to Parliament of the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Bill 2022 in November last year, the Federal Government took the next important step toward implementing reforms to the Safeguard Mechanism.

On 9 January 2023, the final report of the independent review into the integrity of Australian Carbon Credit Units and Australia’s carbon crediting framework, was released. The Review commenced in July 2022 and was undertaken by an in…

We summarise the decision in Minister for the Environment v Sharma [2022], finding that the duty of care should not be imposed on the Minister and more.