What is a royal prerogative of mercy? The royal prerogative of mercy is a broad set of discretionary legal power enabling the granting of pardons to persons in unique and extraordinary circumstances. Though the pardon removes the effects of a conviction, it does not eliminate it from a person’s legal record. Who can wield…
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About the FATF Established in 1989 by the Group of 7 (G7), the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental task force that functions as an international watchdog for global money laundering and terrorism financing. The FATF regularly reviews countries with deficiencies in anti-money laundering (AML), financing of terrorism (CFT), and counter-proliferation financing (CPF)…
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Penalty provisions exist to encourage taxpayers to “take reasonable care in complying with their tax obligations” and take the form of different penalty unit amounts calculated in Australian dollars. Best of Intentions The ATO recognises that not everyone lodges taxes on time and that sometimes life gets in the way, stating “[g]enerally, we don’t…
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Twice a year, Microsoft publishes a report online detailing the legal requests it receives from governments around the world for customer data. Each report documents one half of the calendar year. The most recent report covers the period of January-June 2024. Content Types The data that governments and law enforcement agencies can request from…
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In light of changing regulations, views, and data storage solutions in recent years, Open AI, the creators of ChatGPT, provided an update in late 2024 to its privacy policies, to better inform users as to the use of data controllers, what data is collected, how it’s used, retained, and more. Primary Sources In its…
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A History of Scams Over the course of the first few months of 2025, Microsoft began issuing alerts around and updating its software and native Edge browser to combat a fresh wave of tech support scams – also known as “scareware scams”. Scareware tech support scams succeed by weaponising users’ fears of the unknown, unfamiliarity…
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What Is a Data Request? A data request, in its simplest form, is a request from – and an exchange of – specific information held or managed by a body – be a private company or nation state. What Information Requests Are Issued By the Australian Government? As laid out in Apple’s regular half-yearly…
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What is the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce? The Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT) is committed to tackling illegal activity and behaviour of concern in Australia’s tax, finance, and superannuation systems. It is an Australian Taxation Office (ATO)-led joint agency taskforce established in July 2015, that utilises the knowledge, resources, and experience of numerous regulatory and…
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The March 2025 Targeting Scams report from the National Anti-Scam Centre brought to attention the havoc caused by impersonation scams (which encompass romance, payment redirection, remote access, and phishing scams). In 2024 alone, this form of fraud cost Australians and Australian businesses approximately $499.9 million. The Mechanics of Impersonation Scams Impersonation scams work by…
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A Recent History of Scams In March 2025, Scamwatch published its latest figures regarding scams and losses suffered by Australians in 2024 in its Targeting Scams report. Despite a noted $158 million decline in losses compared to 2023, Australians still lost approximately $318.8 million to scams in 2024. This followed on the heels of an…
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