Wind farm assets held to be chattels, not fixtures

22 January, 2021
In a recent test case involving Ararat Wind Farm, the Supreme Court of Victoria held that above-ground wind farm assets were chattels and therefore excluded from the capital improved value of leviable land for the Victorian Fire Services Levy. Read more

Australia’s enhanced decommissioning framework released

23 December, 2020
On 14 December 2020, the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources released the consultation paper, "Enhancing Australia's Decommissioning Framework". The paper is the third step in a reform process and follows a Discussion Paper published in October 2018, a process of consultation and stakeholder formal submissions into early 2019. Implementation of the framework is expected to occur in 2021. We have outlined the key components of the proposed Enhanced Framework. Read more

WA Climate Policy Released

03 December, 2020
On 30 November 2020. the Western Australian Government released the long awaited ‘Western Australian Climate Policy: A plan to position Western Australian for a prosperous and resilient low-carbon future’. Read more

Trends in climate litigation – continued focus on disclosure, portfolio analysis, and role of individual activities in broader climate impacts

05 November, 2020
The settlement this week of Mr McVeigh’s proceeding against REST has underlined management of climate risk and TCFD-aligned disclosure as growing issues for institutional investors. Other recent developments include a further post-approval challenge to a coal mine, asserting that new expert evidence regarding climate change impacts on the Great Barrier Reef should be taken into account to revoke the approval decision and prosecution for import of synthetic greenhouse gas where a single offence attracted an agreed penalty of $500,000. Read more