Australia: Treasury has now released the complete Tranche 1 exposure draft for Australia’s payments licensing reforms, marking the next steps towards a significant expansion in the scope of regulated payment activities. The reforms move to an activity-based framework that will capture a broader range of payment functions and business models, including many that have historically operated outside the licensing regime. This release also helps reshape the scope of the initial Tranche 1a release, by providing further detail and certainty around the exemptions that will apply. With consultation closing on 9 April 2026 and implementation expected to follow, businesses involved in the movement of funds should begin assessing the impact now.

Dentons’ 2026 US Autonomous Vehicles Guide provides a practical overview of the legal and regulatory landscape shaping autonomous vehicle testing, deployment, and commercialization across the United States.

On March 18, 2026, the Government of Québec tabled its 2026-2027 budget, titled "A Responsible Budget with Targeted Measures for Quebecers.

United States: The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently implemented a rule requiring all state and local government entities to meet technical website and mobile application accessibility standards to ensure that all content is accessible by individuals with disabilities.

United Kingdom: A recent decision is a useful reminder that, in whistleblowing claims, a disclosure can qualify for protection even where the worker has a personal motive.

United Kingdom: FTSE 100 companies are largely meeting board diversity targets, but progress in senior leadership pipelines remains slow. Employers may need to shift focus from representation to progression and inclusion.

United Arab Emirates: The healthcare sector across the Middle East is experiencing sustained growth, driven by demographic expansion, rising chronic disease prevalence and increasing life expectancy, alongside a continued policy focus on expanding access to care. This growth is closely linked to national development strategies, including Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE’s “We the UAE 2031” vision, which place healthcare at the centre of economic diversification and social infrastructure planning.  

Poland: On March 12, 2026, the Senate adopted, without amendments, a bill amending the Act on the National Labour Inspectorate. The Act strengthens the powers of labour inspectors with regard to the reclassification of civil law contracts (including B2B contracts) into employment contracts by way of an administrative decision.

Australia: When can the conversion of a boarding house be approved under the Housing SEPP? When is a boarding house financially viable for the purpose of assessing the loss of affordable rental housing? In LFD Homes Pty Ltd v Council of the City of Sydney [2025] NSWLEC 145, the Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court addresses these questions and overturns a Commissioner’s decision to refuse development consent for the conversion of a Paddington boarding house into attached dwellings. Dentons Partners, Jodie Wauchope and Stephanie Vatala, and Solicitor, Jennifer Chen, unpack the practical implications of the judgment for assessing the loss of affordable rental housing.

Nigeria: Infrastructure development in emerging markets increasingly depends on complex financing arrangements combining sovereign support, export credit agency guarantees, and commercial lending. Within these structures, procurement is no longer a purely administrative exercise; rather, it is a foundational legal element that directly affects the enforceability and bankability of the underlying transaction. Nowhere is this more evident than in export credit agency (ECA)-backed buyer credit facilities, where the financing structure often presupposes the engagement of specific contractors or suppliers.

Tanzania: Dualist constitutional tradition has long influenced the relationship between international treaty obligations and their domestic enforceability. Under this approach, ratification of an international agreement does not automatically render its provisions directly applicable within the national legal system. Instead, Parliament must expressly incorporate the treaty into domestic law before courts can give it effect. While this framework preserves parliamentary sovereignty, it has at times created tension in areas where international cooperation is critical, particularly in intellectual property protection.

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) has created a morass of follow-on litigation.

Ireland: The proposed EU Inc. is easy to summarise at headline level: a new optional EU-wide company form, designed to be incorporated quickly, run digitally and used across the single market. But that description does not quite capture all that is significant about the proposal.

The current administration has been clear in its attempt to scale back on onerous compliance requirements, as part of an ongoing overhaul of federal acquisition policy. The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed in to law in December 2025, materially reduces certain compliance burdens for nontraditional defense contractors (NDCs).

United States: On March 19, 2026, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) motion for stay pending appeal in the Chamber of Commerce v. FTC (No. 26-40094). The Chamber case challenges the Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) revised rules and reporting form that merging parties must file under the Hart Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (“HSR Act”).

Vietnam: On January 19, 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 29/2026/ND-CP detailing the operation of domestic carbon exchange ("Decree 29"). This is a landmark legal document, realizing Vietnam's commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by applying the operating model of the financial market to the environmental sector. This Decree establishes a strict management ecosystem between the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and financial institutions.

Thailand: The Electronic Transactions Commission (the “ETC”) has issued a new notification regulating ride-sharing services which will take effect on 31 March 2026. The ETC has assigned an official nickname to the notification as the “Ride Sharing Platform Notification.”  Its full title is the “Notification of the Electronic Transactions Commission on Additional Operational Requirements for Digital Platform Service Business Operators Providing Public Hire Car or Motorcycle Taxi Services with Specific Characteristics under Section 18(3) of the Royal Decree on Digital Platform Services Businesses Required to be Notified B.E. 2565 (2022) (the ‘DPS Law’), B.E. 2568 (2025).”

United Kingdom: Each month, we look at some of the key employment, pension and immigration issues affecting our clients' workforces. In this edition, we explore: the proposed value for money framework for workplace defined contribution schemes; when tribunals may reduce compensation in a procedurally unfair dismissal; and the intersection between TUPE and discrimination risks. We also bring you our quarterly horizon scan for employment law.

Australia: At the 2026 SMSF Association National Conference, ATO Deputy Commissioner Ben Kelly announced a major regulatory crackdown on self-managed superannuation funds in response to ongoing trustee mismanagement. Despite clear ATO warnings, prohibited loans, illegal early access, non‑lodgement and emerging concerns around financial abuse remain widespread in a sector now holding over AU$1 trillion in assets. The article outlines the key behaviours attracting heightened enforcement, the significant personal consequences for trustees, and the practical compliance priorities for 2026, alongside the introduction of the new Division 296 tax, which will materially increase tax burdens for high‑balance SMSFs from 1 July 2026.

Class action and collective redress regimes continued to expand and evolve across jurisdictions, increasing litigation risk for businesses operating globally.