News: legislation
Safeguarding Australia's Military Secrets
The Australian government passed the Defence Amendment Safeguarding Australia’s Military Secrets Act (SAMS), which will be enforced from 7 August 2024. The legislation requires certain Australian citizens and permanent residents to have a Foreign Work Authorisation (FWA) when working for or providing military-related training to a foreign military or foreign government body (including foreign public universities). Individuals have a personal obligation to obtain the FWA.
Simplified reporting obligations for public officers
The statutory responsibilities of the State’s key public integrity agencies – the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the Office for Public Integrity (OPI) and Ombudsman SA – were recently changed by the South Australian Parliament.
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New laws address academic freedom and freedom of speech in higher education
Academic freedom and freedom of speech are a part of laws regulating the higher education sector and academic activities.
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Updated contract templates for Foreign Arrangements
The Foreign Arrangements Scheme commenced on Tuesday 10 March 2021. The scheme introduces a formal notification requirement that applies to foreign arrangements entered into by all Australian state and territory entities, including public universities.
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Foreign engagement activities – collaborating within the national interest
Over recent decades, Australia’s economy and the higher education sector have benefited from an expansion in global engagement opportunities. With increasing connectivity through travel and technology, international student numbers grew and collaborative research projects thrived.
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Beating the cheating services – new law to help preserve academic integrity in Higher Ed
Academic integrity is a core part of university life and reflects fundamental values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. All members of the university community must uphold these values in teaching, learning and research. This includes refraining from using academic cheating services which have the effect of undermining honesty and fairness in academic outcomes.
2019: a new year for copyright protection
With the New Year, amendments to the Copyright Act 1968 commenced. As of 1 January 2019, copyright duration has become standardised across all types of works in Australia regardless of whether they were in the public domain or not.
Solving the legal compliance puzzle – we can help
One of the most challenging aspects of compliance can be figuring out what and how legal obligations apply to your role. You might be familiar with Acts that apply specifically to your disciplinary area or research expertise, but less familiar with the broad range of State or Commonwealth Acts that apply to the whole of the University.
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Students have a lot to learn, but they are always right under Australian Consumer Law
Good service is often summed up by the phrase “the customer is always right”. The idea being that if you look after your customer, they will look after you - or at least, not give you a bad review.
See a drone in your future? Future-proofing University RPAS operations
Futurists like to predict the many and varied uses of drones: drone taxis, first responder drones and drones that deliver are just a few anticipated applications. Drones, or remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS), provide an agile and relatively cheap way to get clever technology into the air and to where we need it quickly. For this reason, some characterise them as 'flying smartphones'.
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