Australia: Arbitration & Dispute Resolution

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has ruled that a default interest rate of 3% per month, compounded monthly, constitutes an unenforceable penalty despite valid loan documentation. This landmark decision challenges traditional lending structures where borrowers receive discounted rates that revert to higher rates upon default, requiring lenders to demonstrate legitimate commercial justification for increased default interest rates.

Two recent Federal Court decisions clarify whether parties defending patent infringement claims can raise invalidity grounds they didn't pursue in earlier opposition proceedings. The rulings address when issue estoppel applies to claim construction findings and whether grounds like insufficiency can be re-argued on different factual bases.

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...