Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Members of the Understanding Building and Construction pilot program. The program received the Outstanding Partnership of the Year award in 2022
Do you know a teacher, educational staff member or group you think deserves recognition?
There’s still time to nominate them for the ACT Public Education Awards.
The awards are a celebration of excellence across the ACT’s 90 public schools and the Education Support Office.
The awards recognise outstanding achievement and performance of teachers, school leaders, support staff, allied health professionals and volunteers.
Each award honours the difference these people make to students’ lives, schools or the broader community.
Previous award winner: Understanding Building and Construction program
The Understanding Building and Construction pilot program were the winners of the Outstanding Partnership of the Year award in 2022.
The program targets students in years 7-10 to increase participation of women and gender diverse students in the construction industry.
The partnership has since been established in five ACT high schools. The program activities are tailored to student year levels and introduce the industry and career opportunities from year 8. From here, students can choose to undertake a selected studies course.
A semester long program in years 9 and 10 provides the opportunity for students to learn about the diverse career options, gain industry qualifications, and undertake work experience. Students gain a deeper understanding of their interests, values, skills, and personal attributes to best allow them to make informed career decisions.
As part of the program students can participate in the ‘Try a Trade’ days at CIT. The day allows participants to get hands-on and try construction activities.
Participants of the try a trade day test their skills at painting, tiling, plastering, materials testing and bricklaying.
Award categories
There are 14 award categories in which education staff can be nominated for an award. They are:
Early Childhood Teacher of the Year
Primary Teacher of the Year
Secondary/College Teacher of the Year
School Leader of the Year
New Educator of the Year
Learning Support Assistant of the Year
School Support Person of the Year
Allied Health Professional of the Year
Education Support Office Employee of the Year
Volunteer of the Year
Excellence in Cultural Integrity Practice
Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion
Excellence in Innovation
Outstanding Partnership of the Year.
Nomination and awards
You can nominate an outstanding individual or group for any of these awards by Monday 28 August 2023.
More information about making a nomination can be found on the ACT Public Education Awards website: education.act.gov.au
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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
The Canberra Raiders are among the 2023 Heritage Grant recipients.
The Canberra Raiders, Tidbinbilla Pioneers Association and the Ginninderra Catchment Group are among the recipients of the 2023 ACT Heritage Grants.
The ACT Heritage Grants program will provide $344,000 to preserve and celebrate the unique stories of the ACT’s history and heritage.
Fifteen community-led projects and three community partnership projects will receive a share of this funding.
The selected projects are intended to help ensure Canberrans continue to appreciate stories of the city’s past – natural, Indigenous, and built – well into the future.
Ongoing heritage reform work is also taking place in the ACT and will complement the projects receiving grants. This focuses on works enabling the continued preservation and use of and access to places and objects registered on the ACT Heritage Register.
Selected projects that celebrate First Nations heritage and facilitate inclusive community partnerships and participation have been prioritised.
These projects include the delivery of interpretive signage, oral histories, publications and conservation management plans across the ACT.
Community Heritage Partnership projects, including the Heritage Festival, the Heritage Advisory Service and a Cultural Trees Heritage Assessment project, will receive $184,500.
The 2023–24 individual recipients and projects for the ACT Heritage Grants Program are:
Tidbinbilla Pioneers Association: Rock Valley Conservation Management Plan – $11,130
Rosanna Burston: Well Station Oral History – $2,950
Hall School Museum & Heritage Centre: Conservation Management Project – $9,800
Hall School Museum & Heritage Centre: Education Display Spaces – $4,200
Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
A new advertising campaign will highlight ACT Government financial assistance available to Canberrans.
The range of targeted ACT Government programs that can help Canberrans with financial assistance will be highlighted in a new advertising campaign launched in response to rising cost of living pressures.
The campaign is one of the many actions the ACT Government is taking to support households feeling the impact of global inflationary pressures.
The Government has a range of initiatives in place to relieve cost of living pressures. These include help with everyday costs including bills, health care and transport, as well as sustainable home upgrades and support to rent or buy a home.
The campaign aims to increase awareness of ACT Government and Commonwealth assistance programs, rebates and services to ensure more Canberrans are accessing support.
The updated Cost of living support website outlines information for Canberrans. The campaign also includes eKits for community organisations to share information about the Government’s cost of living support with their clients and the broader community.
The new campaign comes off the back of new and expanded measures in the 2023-24 ACT Budget to provide further cost of living relief to Canberrans.
This includes the expansion of the Utilities Concession eligibility criteria to include 12,000 more households; and a one-off increase of $50 to the Utilities Concession, raising the amount from $750 to $800 in 2023-24.
There is also targeted assistance with paying bills and free health care at nurse-led walk-in centres.
The ACT’s nation-leading action on climate change – including the territory’s transition to 100 per cent renewable electricity – continues to translate to lower energy bills.
Across the border in New South Wales, the average household electricity costs are expected to be $747 a year higher than in the ACT this current financial year.
Allens has advised ZEN Energy on the creation of ZEBRE, a new battery and solar investment platform owned jointly with $1.3 billion Taiwan-listed renewable energy company, HDRE.
The platform will see Australia’s energy storage capacity grow by at least one gigawatt – a third of its current capacity – starting with the Solar River 256MW battery energy storage system (BESS) and 210MW solar farm in South Australia.
ZEBRE will focus on developing energy storage assets in Australia, with scope for potential expansion to Taiwanese and Japanese markets.
‘This landmark collaboration highlights the growth of Australia’s BESS sector, and shows the importance of adequate dispatchable capacity in the NEM as Australia transitions away from fossil fuels,’ said Lead Partner and Energy Sector Leader Kate Axup.
‘As Australia works towards its potential as a renewable energy exporter, platform investment opportunities attracting both local and foreign capital are critical. We congratulate ZEN Energy and HDRE on establishing this exciting platform,’ said Partner and Private Capital Sector Leader Emin Altiparmak.
‘ZEBRE is a true pathfinder project, with exciting implications for long-duration storage in Australia. We look forward to seeing the platform go from strength to strength,’ said Partner Danielle Jones.
Kate Axup (Lead Partner), Dani Jones (Partner), Madeleine George (Associate), Tom St John (Associate), Sara Pacey (Associate), Harrison Philp (Lawyer)
M&A and Capital Markets
Emin Altiparmak (Partner), Jeremy Low (Partner), Stephanie Rowan (Senior Associate), Hana Mian (Senior Associate), Jack Keleher (Associate), Vicky Paras (Lawyer)
Finance, Banking & Debt Capital
Rod Aldus (Partner), Tania Joppich (Senior Associate)
Important aspects of Australian privacy law remain unresolved8 min read
The Australian Information Commissioner (Commissioner) has settled proceedings against Meta Platforms, Inc. and Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd (Meta) with a $50 million payment program. The program forms part of an enforceable undertaking in relation to allegations that Meta’s conduct in relation to the Cambridge Analytica saga amounted to a breach of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act).
These proceedings commenced in March 2020, and were the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner’s (OAIC) first attempt to exercise its civil penalty powers. On 17 December 2024, the OAIC released an enforceable undertaking resolving the matters.
The enforceable undertaking provides Australians affected by the Cambridge Analytica events an avenue for redress through a compensation scheme. The proceedings against Meta have been discontinued and there have been no admissions from Meta as to any breach of the Privacy Act.
Whilst the $50 million compensation scheme is (in aggregate) the most substantial compensation sum that has been paid by an organisation in Australia for purported breaches of the Privacy Act, the settlement of proceedings means that important aspects of Australian privacy law—including the application of the civil penalty regime—remain unresolved. Whilst framed as a win for Australian privacy law and Facebook users, it provides a somewhat anticlimactic resolution to the proceedings, with no conclusion as to whether, or how, Meta’s acts may have breached Australian law.
The Commissioner has accepted an enforceable undertaking by Meta to provide a $50 million payment to provide redress for eligible individuals affected by Meta’s conduct in relation to the Cambridge Analytica incident.
As a result of accepting the enforceable undertaking, the Commissioner has withdrawn civil penalty proceedings against Meta on this issue in the Federal Court.
The Commissioner’s acceptance of this enforceable undertaking is not a finding that Meta has contravened the Privacy Act or the APPs.
The application of penalty provisions and the quantum of civil penalties under the Privacy Act remains uncertain.
Given the proceedings arose in respect of conduct prior to the 2022 increases to maximum Privacy Act penalties, the risk profile and appetite for future Privacy Act civil penalty proceedings will likely be significantly higher and may have seen a different result for these proceedings.
What is Meta required to do?
Meta is required to set up a payment program—a payment scheme run by an independent third-party administrator—that will permit claimants to apply to the administrator for a payment from the $50 million contribution amount. Residual funds not exhausted in the payment scheme by claimants will be paid into the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.
Who can claim? A ‘genuine belief’ in a ‘generalised concern’
Individuals who either used the This is Your Digital Life app, or who were Facebook friends of an individual who installed the app during the period 2 November 2013 and 17 December 2015, are eligible to make a claim. According to the enforceable undertaking, this is approximately 311,000 Australian users.
However, in order to claim, an individual must also satisfy the program administrator that they hold a genuine belief that they have suffered loss or damage, either:
specific economic and/or non-economic loss and/or damage; or
a ‘generalised concern or embarrassment’,
as a direct consequence of the concerns raised by the Commissioner in relation to Meta’s alleged conduct. The enforceable undertaking contemplates that this may be verified by a statutory declaration.
This threshold is both low (merely requiring ‘generalised concern or embarrassment’) but also high (requiring to give some satisfaction to the administrator by a statutory declaration).
Given the passage of time since the relevant period (being greater than 10 years ago), as well as the nature of the intrusion of privacy, we anticipate that most claimants will fall into the ‘generalised concern or embarrassment’ category, rather than being able to establish specific damages.
Meta must make ‘reasonable best efforts’ to publicise the program and notify individuals who are eligible (a somewhat unique standard of effort that likely speaks to the long negotiations of the undertaking).
Other representations made
Meta has also made various representations, acknowledged by the Commissioner, in relation to improved practices. These include, but are not limited to, implementation of granular data permissions processes, dedication of significant and increased resources to monitor third-party apps and enforce Meta’s terms and policies, and monitoring compliance by third-party app developers of consumer apps with Meta’s Platform Terms.
$50 million: was it one breach or many?
The Commissioner does not explain the $50 million quantum of the contribution amount. As flagged above, civil penalty amounts have substantially increased due to 2022 amendments to increase penalties from $1.7 million for each serious and/or repeated interference with privacy, to whichever is the greater of:
$50 million;
three times the value of any benefit obtained through the misuse of information; or
30% of a company’s adjusted turnover in the relevant period.
Given the settlement and no findings of breach, there is no resolution to the quantum of civil penalty amounts and whether this involved a single ‘serious or repeated’ interference with privacy, or multiple. A significant aspect of the Commissioner’s initial Statement of Claim was that the Commissioner sought a civil penalty for each act of purported unauthorised disclosure of personal information by Facebook, rather than for a single breach. The settlement compensation amount is clearly indicative of more than a single instance of issues under the previous (and lower) civil penalty regime, but is nowhere near the potential scale of affected users. Indeed, whilst $50 million sounds significant, across the approximately 311,127 Australian users, this would amount to only $160 per claimant in compensation on average.
What else remains unresolved by this enforceable undertaking?
The enforceable undertaking and withdrawal of the civil penalty proceedings also leave the following issues unresolved:
the application of the extraterritoriality application of the Privacy Act (noting this did receive consideration during the preliminary proceedings); and
the core question as to whether there was a breach of the principles of Australian privacy law.
Despite the time and resources likely expended to date on the proceedings, we have not seen instructive judicial consideration and helpful precedent for interpreting various principles in privacy law that sit in a grey area, eg the boundary of ‘related’ purposes and individuals’ ‘reasonable expectations’ and consideration of ‘reasonable steps’. Judicial guidance on at least some of these issues may be left to the civil proceedings that the Commissioner has brought more recently against each of Australian Clinical Labs and Medibank.
The influence of Privacy Act reforms on the current and future landscape
Given the passage of time and intense public scrutiny of data handling practices, it is not surprising that aspects of these proceedings now relate to laws which have been amended (even taking into account the equally slow pace of Privacy Act reform).
The Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024, which was passed in November 2024, sees an expansion of the enforcement mechanisms available to the OAIC and a tiered approach to civil penalties. Other regulatory reforms which would have impacted this case had they been in force at the relevant time, include:
references to ‘repeated’ in section 13G being removed to clarify that a single act or practice may amount to a serious interference with privacy; and
a set of (non-exhaustive) matters that can be taken into account when determining if an interference with privacy is ‘serious’ being introduced—largely codifying existing OAIC guidance on the matter.
In addition, the 2022 amendments under the Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Act 2022 (Cth) amended the scope of the extraterritoriality provision to remove the requirement that information must be ‘collected or held’ in Australia. This has resulted in a potentially overly broad expansion, and further consideration of this provision may be on the slate for the next tranche of potential privacy reform2 (see our discussion of the application of the 2022 amendments in the landmark Clearview AI Inc case) that confirmed this expanded extraterritorial reach.
We also expect that further ‘tranche 2’ Privacy Act reforms will introduce a higher standard of privacy compliance for organisations.
What does this mean for APP Entities?
Settlement of the civil penalty proceedings allows the OAIC a cleaner slate in 2025, allowing it to pursue its civil penalty proceedings against Australian Clinical Labs and Medibank without being weighed down by concurrent litigation against one of the largest entities in the world. It also allows it to focus on leveraging its new lower tier enforcement powers.
Organisations should anticipate the OAIC to persist with enforcement activities using its new powers, advocate for further reforms to the Privacy Act, and leverage its enforcement authority to drive changes aligned with these reforms.
In 2025, organisations should consider their privacy risk profile and continue to uplift their data handling practices, rather than waiting for clarity on further reforms.
Allens has advised property investment firm GPT Group on its partnership with Perron Group, which represents a significant milestone in the expansion of GPT’s retail portfolio in Perth.
As part of the deal, GPT Group will acquire a 50% interest in two premium Perth retail assets—Cockburn Gateway and Belmont Forum—from Perron Group for approximately $482 million.
‘We were delighted to be able to work with the GPT team in this transaction. The partnership between GPT and Perron underscores the increasing demand for capital partnering opportunities, particularly coupled with demand for high-quality retail assets in prime locations. We expect strategic capital partnering to accelerate in 2025,’ said Partner Victoria Holthouse.
The shopping centres comprise approximately 119,000 square metres of gross lettable area combined and an annual turnover exceeding $1 billion. The partnership also includes development approval for a transformative 20-year project at Cockburn Gateway, with stage one set to add around 20,000 square metres of incremental retail space in the near term.
Allens has advised dual ASX/TSX-listed lithium exploration company Patriot Battery Metals on the Australian aspects of its strategic partnership with Volkswagen Group, which includes the sale of a 9.9% stake in Patriot for US$48 million, an offtake commitment and a Memorandum of Understanding.
The proceeds of the strategic investment will be used to advance Patriot’s Shaakichiuwaanaan Project, the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas and the eighth largest in the world.
The subscription price per share represented a 65% and 35% premium to the 30-day and 90-day volume weighted average price of Patriot’s shares.
The arrangement includes an offtake commitment by Volkswagen’s 100%-owned vertically integrated battery manufacturer, PowerCo SE, to supply 100,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year over a 10-year term.
A memorandum of understanding will establish an ongoing strategic relationship between PowerCo and Patriot to jointly explore and collaborate on shared strategic objectives, including opportunities for the future development of the Shaakichiuwaanaan Project.
‘We continue to see enthusiasm among EV manufacturers for the lithium sector, with Volkswagen joining the likes of Ford and LG in establishing strategic partnerships with lithium miners in recent years,’ said Counsel Dave Filov, who led the Allens team.
‘We expect overseas investments of this nature to form an increasing part of the critical minerals landscape in Australia. This, combined with ongoing consolidation in the sector, demonstrates long-term support for the lithium market,’ said Partner and Head of Critical Minerals Bryn Hardcastle.
Allens is a leading adviser in critical minerals M&A, financing, project development and offtake arrangements, having advised Rio Tinto, Liontown and Livent on recent critical minerals transactions.
Allens has advised Charter Hall on the successful execution of a $3.35 billion green loan facility (certified by the Climate Bond Initiative and independently verified by DNV and KPMG) for its flagship office fund, Charter Hall Prime Office Fund (CPOF).
The transaction is one of the largest of its kind in the real estate sector, and brings together a syndicate of leading domestic and international banks, including CBA, WBC, ANZ, HSBC and SMBC.
‘We are pleased to have supported Charter Hall on this landmark green loan transaction, which reflects the strong demand for sustainable finance in the Australian market. The scale of this deal highlights the important role that green lending can play in supporting the real estate sector as it integrates sustainability into operating assets,’ said lead Partner Mark Kidston.
This transaction builds on Allens’ experience advising on green and sustainability-linked financings for major players in Australia’s property and infrastructure sectors.
Allens legal team
Banking & Finance
Mark Kidston (Partner), Emma Nicholson (Senior Overseas Practitioner), Cara Kenny (Associate), Lachlan Martin (Lawyer)
Real Estate & Development
Annabelle Aland (Partner), Tom Wilson (Senior Associate), Lauren Cutuli (Senior Associate), Hannah Woodfield (Lawyer)
Tax
Ellen Thomas (Partner), George Bishop (Senior Associate)
Allens has advised on several groundbreaking corporate hybrid bond issuances, with 2024 marking the re-emergence of the domestic corporate hybrid bond market.
Allens has played a pivotal role in this revival, including advising on the Pacific National’s inaugural $500 million subordinated debt issuance, and on hybrid issuances by Ampol ($600 million ) and Scentre ($900 million).
Allens also advised Pacific National on its $850 million of bank debt refinancing, demonstrating the firm’s ability to execute integrated bond and bank debt funding solutions.
‘We are delighted to assist with the structuring of recent successful hybrid bond deals, and to continue to support our clients to navigate a dynamic capital market environment,’ said lead partner James Darcy.
‘The re-emergence of the hybrid bond market has come as additional tier-one capital is being phased out of bank regulatory capital funding, providing opportunity for corporates to take advantage of investor demand for higher-yielding assets. Recent changes in rating criteria have also assisted corporates looking to put in place funding to support equity credit ratings,’ James added.
Allens legal team
Banking & Finance
James Darcy (Partner), Sarah Delaney (Managing Associate), Bronwyn Neal (Associate), Taylor van Oorschot (Associate), Nat Bogatyreva (Associate)
In our latest update, we examine the progress of new and existing rule change requests to the AEMC across the months of November and December and take a closer look at the Australian Government’s formation of a panel to overhaul the NEM.
Key takeaways
National electricity rules
Two new rule change requests
South Australian jurisdictional derogation – Interim reliability reserve eligibility.
Improving the NEM access standards – Package 1.
Three new draft determinations
Improving the NEM access standards – Package 1.
Improving the cost recovery arrangements for Transmission non-network options.
Inter-regional settlements residue arrangements for transmission loops.
Eight completed rule changes
Improving consideration of demand-side factors in the ISP.
Better integrating gas and community sentiment into the ISP.
Integrating price-responsive resources into the NEM.
Cyber security roles and responsibilities.
Shortening the settlement cycle.
Rescheduling the generator compliance programs review.
Accelerating smart meter deployment.
RRO exemption for scheduled bi-directional units.
National energy retail rules
Five new rule change requests
Removing fees and charges.
Ensuring energy plan benefits last the length of the contract.
Removing unreasonable conditional discounts.
Preventing price increases for a fixed period under retail market contracts.
Assisting hardship customers.
One completed rule change
Accelerating smart meter deployment.
National gas rules
One completed rule change
Better integrating gas and community sentiment into the ISP (Gas).
Opportunities for stakeholders
Due by 30 January 2025
Improving the NEM access standards – Package 1.
Improving the cost recovery arrangements for Transmission non-network options.
Inter-regional settlement residue arrangements for transmission loops.