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The Victorian Court of Appeal’s decision in Owies v JJE Nominees Pty Ltd [2022] VSCA 142 (Owies) is a warning to trustees of discretionary family trusts. Even where a trust deed grants “absolute and uncontrolled” discretion to a trustee in deciding how to make distributions between beneficiaries, a trustee who fails to give “real and genuine” consideration to all beneficiaries risks having distributions set aside and/or being removed as trustee altogether.

A future acts regime overhaul could result in less security of tenure for food and fibre producers. As part of its commitment to protecting First Nations’ cultural heritage, the Federal Government ordered an Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) review of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (the Act) in June 2024.

The Federal Government has claimed that recent environmental reforms will not halt day-to-day agricultural practices despite lopping long-relied upon land clearing exemptions. The agricultural industry is for that reason concerned that landholders are being made the sacrificial lamb as they face higher penalties for breaches of the law.

Like all industries, the reach of artificial intelligence (AI) is expanding throughout agribusiness. There are the commonly used “chat bots”, alongside primary production specific technology such as cattle monitoring equipment and the ever-growing world of automated farming machinery. At the heart of this expansion is data. But where does the information fed into AI software go? Who owns it? And who controls it?

There are a number of water plans subject to review in Queensland including for the Burnett Basin, the Gulf and the Pioneer Valley. These water plans are the rules which govern a “water area’s” usage of water by allocating entitlements between users and setting regulations for the construction and use of water infrastructure. The occurrence of the reviews is not unusual, given water plans are reviewed on a regular basis when nearing the expiry of plan’s 10-year term.

The Federal Government convened National Cabinet in December 2025 to push for stronger gun laws, with individual states and territories then choosing whether to participate in the proposed framework. The Queensland Government reforms that followed aimed to “stamp out terrorist extremism” and criminal conduct, rather than being directed at law-abiding Queenslanders.

After eight years of negotiations, the Albanese Government has called the Australia–European Union free trade agreement (A-EU FTA) a “landmark trade deal”. But Meat and Livestock Australia has dubbed it the “worst ever free trade agreement“. Here is what the deal delivers – and what it does not. Australia secured a free trade agreement with the European Union in March 2026, covering a market of 450 million people and a combined economy worth $30 trillion.

Leaving Australia’s domestic fuel supply high and dry, global shipping disruptions amid tension in the Middle East have sent shockwaves down the supply chain. For primary producers, the consequences have landed across the full breadth of their commercial arrangements. Government relief measures were a step in the right direction.

H5 bird flu, ticks near Taroom and fire ant fears across Queensland; they’re among the infamous examples of systemic risks in Australia’s biosecurity landscape. But as Queensland Government reforms serve to reduce the threat of harmful pests, weeds and diseases, legal exposure for producers who fail to act is growing. Here is what has changed and what is now required.

The State Government passed the State Development and Public Works Organisation (Critical Minerals) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (2026) late on 26 August 2027 advocating that it will drive development and attract investment in development projects across the State but at what cost to Queensland’s primary producers? Of significance to Queensland’s primary producers is the enhanced land access and acquisition powers.