Insights Categories: Regulation, Compliance & Investigations

Cyber Security Awareness Month – Are you cyber aware?

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). CSAM is an annual reminder for Australians to stay safe online and protect your online information and assets. The theme for CSAM 2023 is ‘be cyber aware – don’t compromise’. CSAM is an opportunity for businesses to review their understanding of ‘cyber security’ as a concept while continuing […]

Pursuing personal advantage: an age old story

Hakea Holdings Pty Ltd v McGrath (No 2) [2022] FCA 995 This case considers the liability of directors who pursue their own personal interest at the expense of the company and the impact of such conduct on coverage under D&O insurance policies. It also considers what constitutes a ‘Claim’ and a ‘circumstance’ under a common […]

Regulation of Education and Care Providers: the Department of Communities in WA takes a stricter approach to compliance actions

Key takeaways The Education and Care Regulatory Unit of the Department of Communities (Department) is displaying a stricter approach in implementing compliance actions. Specifically, the Department is seeking penalties under both sections 165(1) and 167(1) of the Education and Care Services National Law (WA) Act 2012 (National Law) in compliance actions involving inadequate supervision and […]

ACCC alleges SmileDirectClub misled consumers regarding health insurance reimbursements for clear teeth aligners

On 12 July 2021, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) instituted proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against SmileDirectClub Aus Pty Ltd and its US parent company, SmileDirectClub LLC (SmileDirectClub), alleging they had breached the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The ACCC claims that between May 2019 and October 2020, SmileDirectClub breached section 18 […]

Insurance, drones and you.

Article 1 of 3 – An Introduction In a series of upcoming articles, we will be providing: An overview of drone regulations and rules Licensing requirements for drone use A summary of the potential liabilities and penalties Information on what happens if injury is caused by an individual, state employee or commercial operator- does it […]

What happens to healthcare complaints in Western Australia?

The Health and Disability Services Complaints Office (HaDSCO) handles complaints about health, disability and mental health services in Western Australia. Consumers of health services in Western Australia can make complaints about individuals or organisations that provide health, disability or mental health services [1]. ‘Health services’ encompasses complaints about health services provided by: Medical practices, medical […]

Ask for help, and ask early – advice for surviving an AHPRA notification

Meridian Lawyers regularly assists health practitioners who have been the subject of notification to statutory health authorities such as AHPRA, HCCC and the OHO. Our role is to help these practitioners understand, respond to and navigate the complaints process.  Unfortunately, we regularly hear clients express distress that they are the subject of complaint. Many suffer […]