ASIC proposes to ease restrictions on pre-IPO advertising
On 4 August 2026, ASIC announced a proposal which will relax pre-lodgement advertising and publicity restrictions for initial public offerings and other offers of unquoted securities requiring a disclosure document. Consultation on the proposal closes on 11 September 2026.
The reforms would allow earlier engagement with retail investors provided communications direct the investor to the disclosure documents and include prescribed statements that:
- identify the issuer (and if applicable, the seller) of the securities
- a prospectus will be made available when the securities are offered
- make it clear where and when a prospectus will be made available
- direct investors to the prospectus as the key source of information before making an investment decision and that they’ll need to make an application using the application form accompanying the prospectus.
The proposal is a welcome step towards reducing regulatory burden and improving alignment with comparable fundraising regimes. See recent G+T insight for more details.
New ACCC merger regime: first half-year insights
It has been over six months since the new mandatory merger review regime formally commenced on 1 January 2026 and a year since it commenced voluntarily on 1 July 2025.
In a recent insight, G+T’s Competition, Consumer and Market Regulation team share insights and analysis of trends on the first half-year of the operation of the new regime, including use of notifications and waivers, timing, contentious matters and the ACCC’s approach to remedies.
Tougher modern slavery laws on the horizon
On 16 July 2026, the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department announced proposed reforms to strengthen Australia’s modern slavery laws. See also recent G+T insight.
Under the proposed changes:
- an entity with annual turnover of $100 million or more will commit a criminal offence if it fails to prevent modern slavery in its supply chains. However, a defence will apply if the entity can demonstrate that it took ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent modern slavery.
- civil penalties and related enforcement powers will apply if an entity fails to comply with its modern slavery reporting obligations.
On 21 August 2026, the Attorney-General’s Department opened consultation on the proposed amendments which is open until 25 September 2026. The consultation seeks views on:
- the key components of the proposed failure to prevent offence (including the formulation of the “reasonable steps” defence which will be a key element)
- a potential deferred prosecution agreement scheme and possible civil remedies for victims.
Climate risk in the courtroom: what the 2026 global trends mean for Australian companies
Climate litigation is no longer an emerging risk. It is becoming an established feature of the global legal and governance landscape.
A recent G+T insight examines the key themes emerging from the Global Trends in Climate Change Litigation: 2026 Snapshot and what they mean for Australian organisations.
Key themes include:
- growing exposure to corporate climate liability claims
- continued scrutiny of climate-related disclosures, net zero commitments and climate-washing
- increasing attention on financed emissions and financial institutions
- emerging litigation risks across infrastructure, biodiversity, technology and State-linked entities.
For Australian organisations, the practical message is clear: climate strategy, disclosure and implementation should be coherent, evidence-based and defensible.
AI in the boardroom – practical tips for boards and directors
In the first article in this series, AI disputes: the invisible defendant?, G+T’s Disputes + Investigations Team observed that "my robot did it" will not be a viable defence. This next instalment addresses the harder question: what should directors and boards be doing now to make sure they never need one?
Across corporate Australia, AI is being used to summarise board papers, draft strategy and pressure-test decisions. In many boardrooms, there is no policy, no inventory and no agreed risk appetite governing that use. Regulators have noticed and the courts have begun to weigh in.
The risks are no longer hypothetical. Recent cases in Australia and the US show that when directors or officers turn to ChatGPT for strategic advice instead of a lawyer, their prompts, outputs and chat logs can be used against them.
The latest article in this series examines what the law expects of directors and boards – and how to stay ahead of the curve.
New guidance on frontier AI cyber threats for boards
On 5 August 2026, the Australian Signals Directorate and the Australian Institute of Company Directors published joint guidance explaining how frontier AI models – characterised by advanced reasoning, software development and multimodal capabilities – are enabling faster and more effective cyberattacks.
The guidance highlights the governance and cyber supply chain risks of relying on frontier AI providers and sets out four key actions:
- Review how frontier AI could affect the organisation's cyber security posture
- Assess the risk of relying on AI providers, including cyber supply chain risks and concerns about foreign ownership, control and influence
- Prepare to prevent, detect, respond to and recover from incidents in an agentic AI-driven threat environment
- Strengthen cyber security by improving governance, processes and capabilities for managing AI use within the organisation.
The conclusion is direct: organisations that fail to respond to frontier AI threats leave themselves exposed, and boards should press management to act now, including by supporting targeted investment in cyber security and resilience.
A recent G+T insight unpacks the implications for boards. Directors should put the threshold questions from the guidance to management and ensure proper consideration (and recording) of responses. Directors of APRA-regulated entities should also note that APRA's consultation on draft CPS 510 Governance, which considers whether the draft adequately supports oversight and use of AI, closes on 28 August 2026.
Many thanks to Justin Mannolini, Ariane Moir and Rachael Griffiths-Szeto for this insight.
Automated decision-making transparency under the Privacy Act: are you prepared for 10 December 2026?
The clock is ticking on new transparency requirements for automated decision-making. From 10 December 2026, organisations will need to disclose additional information in their privacy policies where personal information is used in computer programs, including AI systems, to make, or do a thing that is substantially and directly related to making decisions which could reasonably be expected to significantly affect the rights or interests of an individual. The scope may be broader than organisations expect, including systems that generate scores, rankings, recommendations or other inputs into human decisions.
With the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner guidance expected only shortly before commencement, organisations should not wait to act. Now is the time to map relevant decision-making processes, understand third-party systems, assess which uses fall within the new requirements and identify necessary privacy policy and governance changes.
A recent G+T insight considers the changes, and steps organisations should be taking now, in more detail.
The changing face of fraud: what financial services firms need to do now
Gilbert + Tobin recently hosted the Australian Finance Industry Association’s Fraud Uncovered: Beyond the Scam – Preventing Tomorrow’s Fraud Today summit at our Sydney office.
The key message is that technology, and specifically AI, is changing the fraud landscape, for attackers and defenders. Increasingly sophisticated and adaptable fraud means traditional static rules and point-in-time checks will not detect every attack. While defensive AI can help financial services firms connect identity, device, behavioural and transaction data to detect suspicious activity, its use also brings important privacy, fairness and governance considerations.
The regulatory focus is also widening: firms should expect scrutiny not only of how they respond once fraud occurs, but of the preventative controls, customer treatment, governance and decision-making frameworks they have in place.
The takeaway is clear – fraud risk needs to be managed across the full customer and product lifecycle, rather than treated as a discrete operational issue.
A recent G+T insight unpacks the discussion at the summit and outlines steps firms should be taking to respond effectively to fraud risks.
G+T’s Doing Business in Australia Guide
Our 2026 Doing Business in Australia Guide provides a practical overview of Australia's legal and regulatory landscape, covering everything from foreign investment and mergers and acquisitions through to tax, employment, competition, environmental, social and governance, privacy and dispute resolution.
We have also updated it to reflect some significant recent changes, including the new mandatory merger clearance regime, major tax reforms from the 2026–2027 Federal Budget, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing amendments and the rollout of mandatory climate related financial disclosure.