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Source: New South Wales Government 2

14 April 2025

Who does this notice affect?

Import-related biosecurity treatment stakeholders, including all importers, brokerages, onshore approved arrangement holders, overseas government and industry treatment providers, relevant domestic state and territory government agencies, and other shipping, freight, and logistics peak industry bodies.

What has changed?

This is a reminder that the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (the department) will…

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

Source: New South Wales Ministerial News

The draft Council Plan 2025-2029, outlining how Council will guide Greater Bendigo’s growth, development and wellbeing over the next four years, has been released for public comment.

This important strategic document has been created following extensive consultation with the Greater Bendigo community, City partners, local stakeholder groups, and Greater Bendigo Councillors.

Public consultation has included a community-wide survey, a series of focus groups, meetings with community representative groups, and information from the City of Greater Bendigo’s online engagement platform Let’s Talk and customer requests.

In March 2025, the City hosted a community panel with 42 people participating in sessions over three days. The panel included people from over 20 local areas and many different ages, genders and backgrounds.

Collectively, the panel produced community guidance for Councillors to use when making decisions on behalf of the whole community.

The draft Council Plan is a comprehensive blueprint for improving and developing Greater Bendigo over the next four years and includes the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Plan.

It outlines the 2025-2029 priorities and guides all detailed complementary documents, including the Revenue and Rating Plan, the Financial Plan, and the Annual Budget.

The draft Council Plan is structured around four themes, linked to 12 goals and 34 priorities. The themes are:

• Responsible – Running an effective, fair, and efficient organisation
• Healthy – Protecting and improving our physical, mental, and environmental health
• Thriving – Managing our growth, including businesses, housing, heritage, and creativity
• Welcoming – Celebrating and including everyone in our community

Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf encouraged the community to provide feedback on the draft Council Plan.

“After months of engagement and plan development, it’s now time to check in with the community to make sure the draft Council Plan reflects the feedback received from the community,” Cr Metcalf said.

“The Council Plan is an important document that will guide the work of Council and City staff over the next four years, investing in our future. It will provide a positive and exciting roadmap for Greater Bendigo.

“We want to be on the right track before the draft Council Plan is put forward for consideration at a future Council meeting in 2025, so your feedback is important.

“I wish to thank community members for their time and energy in providing input into this plan. Engagement was extensive, including in-person meetings and a comprehensive survey. A diverse and enthusiastic community panel, with representation from across the region, shared their top priorities on what they value most about living in Greater Bendigo, its challenges and how best to shape its future.”

Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

After meeting Louise, Senior Director Tenant Experience at Housing ACT, it’s clear to see that she’s someone who is genuinely committed to helping people.

“What fundamentally keeps me with housing is because I’m a real people person. There are lots of opportunities to engage with and support really wonderful and fascinating members of our community who have unique and interesting stories of their own,” she says.

We have a dedicated staffing group that works tirelessly seven days a week to make sure we can be responsive to our clients. “But just like with any industry, there can be not-so-positive interactions. Particularly given current cost of living pressures and the importance of having stable housing” Louise says.

“When there’s financial hardships or homelessness, sometimes clients can take those frustrations out on our staff. So that’s really hard when people are turning up, day after day, to do a job and they’re being abused. The staff have done nothing to deserve those levels of anger or frustrations or threats,” she says.

“We would love nothing more than to house everyone straight away and not have waitlists, but unfortunately there is a supply and demand issue. And that can be terribly frustrating when you’re talking to and listening to members of the community who really are in dire straits. There are so many things that can be a pressure point in not having housing, so we certainly understand that.”

As a born and bred Canberran who grew up with a single mother living in public housing, Louise understands firsthand the pressures faced by her clients. So when it came time to find a job, she jumped at the chance to give back to the community and work with the ACT Government in Housing Assistance – and 26 years on, she’s still there.

“I just fell in love with the different roles and the work that we do in housing that supports so many members of the public,” says Louise.

From an entry-level position, Louise has worked her way up, taking on a range of different roles, and now leads a team responsible for looking after tenants.

“You get exposed to really diverse members of the community, and it’s really rewarding to support these people at times when they need that little bit of extra assistance with housing support, or if there’s a crisis in their current situation and to be able help them stabilise it, so you can see them excel in their lives.”

Working in tenant experience is similar to working in property management, including managing rent accounts, inspections and complaints. But Louise says the main difference is they bring a “social landlord lens” and work hard to support people to sustain their tenancies.

“A large amount of the work we do is understanding our tenants, their needs and looking to help them with what they need,” she says.

Louise believes social housing can get a bad rap in the media and greater community, and she’s passionate about changing that narrative.

“Sometimes it’s frustrating to me that we can’t tell all the good stories, because of privacy laws,” she says. “But there are a lot of good things we do behind the scenes that aren’t publicly known. For example, during heat waves, we call up older tenants to make sure they’re alright. And that’s resulted in us identifying a medical emergency and getting them assistance.”

Louise says that due to the occupational violence experienced, Housing ACT have a range of measures in place to support and protect staff, like regular communication and specialist training programs. They’ve also introduced duress devices for frontline staff, and have a range of follow-up supports in place for staff if an incident occurs.

But Louise says it really is only a few people who become aggressive.

“We don’t want to stop people raising concerns or telling us what they think. But it’s about doing it in a way that’s not aggressive or violent towards us. You can express your dissatisfaction, but use the mechanisms available to you, like lodge a complaint.”

“By far, tenants are lovely. So it’s one of those things where a handful can really ruin it,” she says.

And as for her career, if you want to work somewhere where you really know you’re making a difference, Louise says working in housing assistance is incredibly rewarding, with a good mix between field work and office work.

“For people who don’t see themselves stuck behind the desk from nine to five and love client engagement, there’s that real mix, and we have that flexibility,” she says.

“If you like working in a team with people, and have value-driven outcomes, this would be the job for you. Every single day, I go home thinking, ‘I’ve done something today that has helped someone’.”

* For personal privacy, surnames of interviewees have been removed.

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Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services

Source: Allens Insights (legal sector)

To protect, preserve and investigate: the role of provisional liquidators 5 min read

In a recent Federal Court decision,¹ Justice Cheeseman declined to set aside the appointment of provisional liquidators which had been made pursuant to s472(2) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Act). The case serves as a useful reminder of the principles relevant to the appointment of a provisional liquidator, including in circumstances where the company is (or is assumed to be) solvent.

Key takeaways

Background

Provisional liquidators

There is a range of circumstances that might constitute sufficient grounds to appoint a provisional liquidator. The court has wide discretion in this regard and its function is to balance the intrusion into the affairs of the company against the desire to preserve the status quo.² If other measures are adequate to preserve the status quo, then the balance would be against the appointment of a provisional liquidator.³

As stated by Justice Cheeseman:

The appointment of a provisional liquidator is a drastic remedy and serious intrusion into the affairs of the company.⁴

Relevant factors the court will consider when deciding whether to appoint a provisional liquidator include;

• public interest considerations either for or against appointment.
• whether the affairs of the company have been conducted casually without due regard to the law.
• whether the assets of the company will be dissipated in the interim before winding up orders may be made.
• the likelihood that there would be further acts detrimental to creditors or shareholders.
• whether there is a lack of control over the assets of the companies arising from the intermingling of monies between the respondent companies.
• whether there are proper books in circumstances where money has been lent between respondents.
• whether the affairs of the company are being controlled by persons other that the de jure directors.
• whether a provisional liquidator might be able to undertake investigations that might be fruitful.

Decision

In the present circumstances, there is a justifiable lack of confidence in the conduct and management of the companies’ affairs and the evidence supports a conclusion that there have been serious and ongoing breaches of the Corporations Act by the relevant companies.⁵

Rather than basing the application on insolvency, the substantive application for winding up was made on the just and equitable ground. There is significant overlap between the matters relevant to the just and equitable ground and the matters that weigh in favour of the appointment of a provisional liquidator.⁶

In relation to the balance of convenience, Justice Cheesman recognised the appointment of provisional liquidators would have a seriously adverse effect on the companies and risked reputational harm, but weighed these factors against the need to protect, preserve and investigate the asset position of the companies for the benefit of creditors. A lesser form of relief was considered inadequate to provide such protection.

Final thought

Source: Allens Insights (legal sector)

Allens has advised ACEN Australia, a key player in the Australian energy transition, on the $750 million platform financing for its renewable energy portfolio. The two seed assets are the 400MW New England Stage 1 Solar and 400MW Stubbo Solar projects.

The financing establishes a platform to support the continued development of ACEN Australia’s pipeline of renewable energy assets across the country, including approximately 8 GW of solar, wind, battery energy storage systems and pumped hydro projects.

With Macquarie Capital as financial adviser, the financing included a syndicate of 11 Banks comprising ANZ, Cathay United Bank, Commonwealth Bank, CTBC Bank, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, MUFG, SMBC, UOB, and Westpac,

A cross-disciplinary team, comprising lawyers across Banking & Finance, Projects, Corporate and Real Estate, Environment and Planning, advised on all aspects of the financing and due diligence.

‘We are proud to have advised on this significant milestone transaction for ACEN Australia, which will help facilitate the development of new renewable energy projects across Australia.’ said lead Partner Scott McCoy.

‘This portfolio financing platform is a prime example of the innovative funding structures being developed to support the sector’s growth, offering greater flexibility in managing individual projects, future growth and risk mitigation.’

This transaction builds on Allens extensive expertise in renewable energy  portfolio financings having advised on recent transactions for clients including Neoen, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, Global Power Generation Australia , CWP Renewables and Atmos Renewables.

Allens legal team

Finance, Banking & Debt Capital

Scott McCoy (lead Partner), Jamie Guthrie (Managing Associate), Flynn O’Byrne-Inglis (Senior Associate), Maya Bahra (Lawyer), Nick Walker (Lawyer)

Projects

Andrew Mansour (Partner), Kip Fitzsimon (Partner), Amy Ryan (Senior Associate), Sara Pacey (Associate), Jeanne Shu (Lawyer), Amelia Rebellato (Lawyer), Esther Khor (Lawyer), Emma Cottle (Lawyer), Saleem Al Odeh (Laywer)

Real Estate, Environment & Planning

Michael Graves (Partner), Naomi Bergman (Partner), Nathaniel Jende (Associate), Samuel Mursa (Associate), Ankita Rao (Lawyer), Alexander Murphy (Lawyer)

M&A and Capital Markets

Harry Beardall (Managing Associate), Matthias Laubi (Lawyer)

Source: Allens Insights (legal sector)

Given the geographical scale and requirements for PHES projects, appropriate sites are often situated on or near to culturally significant sites and/or land subject to Indigenous claims. This means PHES developments are particularly susceptible to legal challenge to licences and approvals, on the basis that developers have failed to adequately consult with Indigenous stakeholders in satisfaction of domestic ESG regulations. This risk can materialise as a result of activism by public interest groups, formal complaints to regulators and/or judicial review proceedings. Efforts to address complaints by Indigenous stakeholders and consequent litigation will not only lead to inflated costs, but also likely disrupt the project or halt progress entirely.

Developers are also subject to stakeholder scrutiny for compliance with their own ESG policies, voluntary commitments and published representations, which may go further than domestic ESG regulations. Increasingly, stakeholders, shareholders and activists expect companies to align with both international laws and voluntary soft law standards like the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

In addition to project, legal and cost consequences, failure (or perceived failure) to comply with ESG policies and commitments can lead to reputational damage and loss of social license (ie support from the community).

Contracts should be clear around who bears the cost and time risks associated with any legal challenges. In order to mitigate against time and cost implications of potential challenges, it is essential that parties consult traditional owners early and transparently, and engage compliance policies to ensure ESG regulations and internal ESG policies and commitments are met.

One strategy to achieve this is to design robust complaints and grievance mechanisms and deploy them as early as possible in the project. These mechanisms should allow traditional owners and other stakeholders to lodge complaints prior to design and development. This allows developers to make changes and negotiate agreements while it is still reasonably quick and inexpensive to do so.

In 2024, the Clean Energy Council published a best practice guide for the renewable energy industry to support their engagement with First Nations. This included discussion of key principles of best practice for renewables projects with First Nations peoples, including respectful engagement, preservation of cultural heritage, ensuring economic and social benefits are shared and embedding land stewardship and cultural competency. The guide is a useful source of discussion on minimum and best practices around PHES projects.

Source: New South Wales Government 2

14 April 2025

Who does this notice affect?

All importers of plants, cats and/or dogs who will be required to use the Post Entry Biosecurity System during this planned maintenance period.

Information

Due to scheduled system maintenance, the Post Entry Biosecurity System (PEBS) will be unavailable from 23:00 Wednesday 16 April to 00:00 Thursday 17 April 2025 (AEST). 

Action

Clients are advised to await the completion of this maintenance period…

Source: