From 24 March 2022, any persons with a verified connection to Australia will be able to apply for a domain name ending in .au, also known as a direct name or second level name (Direct Name). Any business can apply for a Direct Name as long as they meet the eligibility criteria under the .au Licensing Rules (Licensing Rules). [Read more…]
technology law
Government surveillance bill passed by Parliament
On 25 August 2021 Federal Parliament passed the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2021 (Bill). The Bill modifies various acts, including the Surveillance Devices Act 2004 (Cth) (SDA) and the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) (CA), to enhance the law enforcement powers of the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission in respect of serious online crime.[1] The Bill introduces three (3) new warrants:
- data disruption warrants;
- network activity warrants; and
- account takeover warrants.
Uber breaches Australian privacy laws
The recent decision by the Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner, Angele Falk, (Commissioner) in Commissioner Initiated Investigation into Uber Technologies, Inc. & Uber B.V. (Privacy) [2021] AICmr 34 (Uber) has provided further guidance as to exactly who is bound by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Act) though the ‘Australian link’ set out in subsections 5B(2)-(3) (Australian Link). A full breakdown of what amounts to an Australian Link can be viewed in another article here. This article discusses the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) that were breached by Uber and what was decided the ride-sharing entity was to do in response to non-compliance with the Act. [Read more…]
Software royalties and income tax
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) recently released a draft Taxation Ruling (TR) 2021/D4 (Draft Ruling) which considers whether certain software related royalties may be taxable. In short, the Draft Ruling provides a much needed, and quite broad, scope for when consideration of computer software will be a royalty for income tax purposes. This article discusses this broadened scope. [Read more…]
Standard form IT procurement contracts – legal issues
Standard form IT procurement agreements are commonly used by businesses which have an established procurement department to standardise the commercial and legal procurement process. Below we address key terms in standard form IT procurement agreements which suppliers should look out for when presented with one. [Read more…]
What is in a network access agreement?
Network access agreements are agreements between licenced carriers in which a carrier (First Carrier) gives another carrier (Second Carrier) access to its network, which the Second Carrier can then access to provide telecommunications services to end customers or other wholesale carriers. Below we set out the key considerations, carriers need to cover in their network access agreements. [Read more…]
Managed service agreements for IT companies
A Managed Services Agreement (MSA) is an agreement between an IT managed services provider (MSP) and its client. An MSP will manage and provide a defined set of services to its client as set out in the MSA. Some common services that are provided by MSPs are systems and application management, managed communications, data backup and recovery, data storage, cloud services, network monitoring, management and security and software support and maintenance, authentication services, as well providing any necessary hardware. [Read more…]