In this fifth episode of the Employment Espresso Pods mini-series on the Employment Rights Act 2025, Jenny Andrews and Sian McKinley, both Of Counsel, together with Knowledge Counsel Anna Henderson, focus on the changes to the law on harassment due to come into force in October 2026. These reforms extend the new preventative duty first introduced in October 2024, turning it into a duty to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment, and also create the potential for employees to bring claims against their employer in relation to any type of unlawful harassment by a third party. We discuss the steps employers in different sectors should take now to minimise the risk of claims. The Equality and Human Rights Commission's technical guidance dated 2024 referred to in the podcast is available here; the Commission's latest research is here.

In this episode of On Just Terms, HSF Kramer partners Cameron Hanson and Tania Gray speak with Mark Rigotti, Managing Director and CEO of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, about the evolving governance landscape.

The discussion explores governing culture beyond compliance, the growing influence of AI in the boardroom, and the impact of private capital on transparency, accountability and board priorities. A timely conversation for directors, executives and advisers navigating change in an increasingly complex environment.

This is the 38th episode of our series of commercial litigation update podcasts. In this episode we discuss privilege, including a recent case on privilege and litigation funding, disclosure, court organisation, and the question of when a third party's fraud will break the chain of causation. This episode is hosted by Maura McIntosh, a knowledge counsel in our commercial litigation team, who is joined by Angela Liu and David Shepherd, two senior associates in our disputes team.

Below you can find links to our blog posts on the developments and cases covered in this podcast.

• High Court finds legal advice privilege is not limited to lawyer/client communications but extends to "intra-client" communications
• Disclosure Review Working Group considering simplification of PD 57AD disclosure regime following survey
• Creation of new Business and Property Division of the High Court announced
• Court of Appeal holds fraudsters' intervention broke chain of causation
• Litigation funding and privilege: High Court finds litigation privilege does not apply to communications prepared to enable funders to assess whether to support a claim

See podcast episode transcript here.

In this episode Andrew Rich, Nanda Lau, Sophie Thompson and Adi Herman explore the evolving global landscape of consumer M&A, where strategic break-ups, portfolio optimisation and sharper deal “matchmaking” are reshaping the market. Drawing on insights from the Global M&A Report 2026: Consumer Sector, they examine key trends playing out across regions, from shifting capital flows and buyer appetite to the growing focus on agility and scale and what these dynamics mean for businesses navigating transactions worldwide.

In this follow-on episode, Caoimhe Powell (Director, Disputes - Digital Legal Delivery) and Ariel Wiebe (Associate, Disputes) focus on one of the most critical aspects of applying GenAI in legal review: prompting.

Building on a live High Court disclosure exercise, they explore how prompt design directly shapes the quality, consistency and defensibility of outcomes—framing prompting as a core legal skill grounded in judgment. The discussion highlights the iterative nature of prompting in practice, from testing and validation through to refinement at scale, and the importance of lawyer oversight in translating legal reasoning into clear, consistent criteria.

In this episode of Inside IR, Rohan Doyle and Mitchell Brennan use the recent Full Federal Court decision in AMWU v Opal Packaging Australia (May 2026) to explore the real-world implications of complexity in enterprise agreements. With four decision-makers across three forums arriving at four different interpretations of a relatively common status quo clause, the case is a stark illustration of enterprise agreement complexity, and how status quo clauses can be a source of competitive advantage for employers, potentially stalling workplace change for lengthy periods. Rohan and Mitchell unpack the practical risks of broadly drafted dispute resolution and status quo provisions and offer guidance for employers on simplifying these clauses and using the bargaining table - not the courtroom - to achieve clarity.

A must-listen for employers, HR and IR professionals grappling with complex legacy enterprise agreement drafting in an environment that demands greater clarity and agility.

In this episode of On Just Terms, Jason Betts and Harry Edwards are joined by Lucinda McCann, Group Executive, ASX Supervision, for a candid conversation on the organisation’s approach to its supervisory and enforcement responsibilities.

Lucinda discusses ASX's shift to risk-based supervision, effective engagement during its inquiries, continuous disclosure obligations, trading halts, and its referrals of matters to ASIC. She also explores the impact of the securities class actions market on its work and how AI may support the ASX’s work.

A practical discussion for those advising or working in Australia’s listed markets.