Australia: Directors and Officers

In her 2026 Bathurst Lecture at the Supreme Court of NSW, Honey, I Shrunk the Director Pool, Rebecca Maslen-Stannage, Chair and Senior Partner at HSF Kramer, explores a critical question for Australia's public markets...

Boards are accustomed to overseeing cyber security and workplace safety as material risks requiring director-level attention. Immigration compliance is now joining that list, driven by expanded enforcement powers, personal liability provisions for officers, and a regulatory shift from complaint-driven oversight to proactive audits.

Directors who sign retail leases on behalf of company tenants often provide personal guarantees without fully understanding the scope of their liability. This liability can extend far beyond unpaid rent to include outgoings, interest, make-good costs, and enforcement expenses, persisting even after resignation or business sale. Understanding the distinction between guarantees and indemnities, and knowing when statutory protections may apply, is essential for directors seeking to limit their personal exposur

A Federal Court decision has found that two senior executives of The Star Entertainment Group breached their statutory duty of care and diligence by failing to properly escalate serious legal and regulatory risks related to junket operations and payment card misuse. The case establishes critical precedents for how executive directors, company secretaries, and in-house counsel must exercise oversight in high-risk industries, particularly when warning signs of potential criminal activity emerge.

Australia’s health and life sciences sector is growing rapidly, and with that growth comes a more complex web of legal exposure for the organisations that operate within it. The recent Bartier Perry panel event, Health and Life Sciences: Research Integrity Under the Microscope, explored how failures in data and research integrity translate into real-world risk.

A recent NSW Supreme Court decision involving the LJ Hooker group examines how courts assess directors' decisions during corporate restructuring, particularly when those decisions may benefit some stakeholders over others. The case provides critical guidance on the proper purpose test, the role of insolvency risk in decision-making, and when directors can pursue personal interests without breaching their duties.

Explore how emerging technologies and evolving regulatory frameworks are reshaping the legal landscape. This multimedia publication examines the intersection of innovation and legal practice, offering insights into the transformative forces affecting the profession.

As artificial intelligence adoption accelerates faster than governance frameworks can keep pace, Australian regulators are issuing urgent warnings about AI risk management.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping corporate governance in two critical ways: boards must defend against increasingly sophisticated AI-powered cyber attacks while simultaneously navigating the responsible use of AI tools in their own decision-making processes. Recent regulatory guidance from ASIC and a landmark Federal Court decision establish new expectations for how directors should manage AI-related risks and leverage AI capabilities while fulfilling their fiduciary duties.