Insurance and transport law : controlling insurance contract terms : Section 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act – compliance, recovery and accountability

Commonwealth legislation covering insurance contracts contains numerous provisions designed to control the operation and effect of terms in life and general insurance contracts. For example, the Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth) contains provisions regulating the consequences attendant upon incorrect statements in proposals [1] and non-payment of premiums, [2] provides that an insurer may only exclude liability in the case of suicide if it has made express provision for such contingency in its policy, [3] and severely restricts the efficacy of conditions as to war risks. [4] The Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) is even more intrusive and has a major impact upon contractual provisions in the general insurance field. It is beyond the scope of this note to explore all of these provisions in any detail but examples of controls and constraints imposed upon the operation and effect of contractual provisions include the following. A party is precluded from relying upon a provision in a contract of insurance if such reliance would amount to a failure to act with the utmost good faith. [5] Similarly, a policy provision which requires differences or disputes arising out of the insurance to be submitted to arbitration is void, [6] unless the insurance is a genuine cover for excess of loss over and above another specified insurance. [7] Similarly clause such as conciliation clauses, [8] average clauses, [9] and unusual terms [10] are given qualified operation. [11] However the provision in the Insurance Contracts Act that has the greatest impact upon, and application to, a wide range of insurance clauses and claims is s 54. This section has already generated a significant volume of case law and is the focus of this note. In particular this note examines two recent cases. The first, Johnson v Triple C Furniture and Electrical Pty Ltd [2012] 2 Qd R 337, (hereafter the Triple C case), is a decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal; and the second, Matthew Maxwell v Highway Hauliers Pty Ltd [2013] WASCA 115, (hereafter the Highway Hauliers case), is a decision of the Court of Appeal in Western Australia. This latter decision is on appeal to the High Court of Australia. The note considers too the decision of the New South Wales Court of Appeal in Prepaid Services Pty Ltd v Atradius Credit Insurance NV [2013] NSWCA 252 (hereafter the Prepaid Services case).These cases serve to highlight the complex nature of s 54 and its application, as well as the difficulty in achieving a balance between an insurer and an insured's reasonable expectations.

Nonprofit Service Delivery for Government : Accountability Relationships and Mechanisms

When government purchases social services under contract from a nonprofit organisation, a clear accountability relationship is created. The NPO must give an account for the use of the funds and achievement of outcomes to the funder. This paper explores how accountability is enacted in two different types of funding relationships in Queensland. Support is found for the argument that different relationships have different approaches to accountability.

Patterns of boardroom discussions around the accountability process in a nonprofit organisation

This chapter sets out to identify patterns at play in boardroom discussions around the design and adoption of an accountability system in a nonprofit organisation. To this end, it contributes to the scarce literature showing the backstage of management accounting systems (Berry, 2005), investment policy determining (Kreander, Beattie & McPhail, 2009; Kreander, McPhail & Molyneaux, 2004) and financial planning strategizing (Parker, 2004) or budgeting (Irvine 2005). The paucity of publications is due to issues raised by confidentiality preventing attendance at those meetings (Irvine, 2003), Irvine & Gaffikin, 2006). However, often, the implementation of a new control technology occurs over a long period of time that might exceed the duration of a research project (Quattrone & Hopper, 2001, 2005). Recent trends consisting of having research funded by grants from private institutions or charities have tended to reduce the length of such undertakings to a few months or rarely more than a couple of years (Parker, 2013);

What Costs Accountability? Financial Accountability, Mission and Fundraising in Nonprofits

Although greater calls for accountability have been articulated by academics, policy makers and donors in the recent years, a stream of thought has been questioning where the giving of an account should stop. In conveying the limits to the giving of an account (Messner, 2009) and associated transparency (Roberts, 2009), critical accounting scholars have also pointed to as yet unresolved contradictions intrinsic to accountability (McKernan, 2012), especially when it comes to be operationalised (Joannides, 2012). The impact of accountability's discharging on nonprofits' strategy or operations has to date been underexplored (Dhanni & Connelly, 2012; Tucker & Parker, 2013). Accordingly, this chapter seeks to contribute to this body of literature on the consequences of accountability on fundraising strategies in nonprofits, questioning whether accountability practice may hamper the effectiveness of the nonprofit sector by restraining the fundraising profession. Our chapter seeks to fill a dual theoretical gap. Firstly, only a number of publications have investigated the interplay between accountability and the making of organisational strategy (Parker, 2002, 2003b, 2011, 2012, 2013; Tucker & Parker, 2013). Therefore, we seek to fill a theoretical gap as to the impact of accountability on the conduct of straegic operations. By questioning whether accountability hampers fundraising strategy in non-profits we are also contributing to the literature balancing accountability and the mission. In this literature, it appears that money and the mission are often conflictual, financial managers being often seen by mission advocates as guardians shielding organisational resources (Chiapello, 1993, 1998; Lightbody, 2000, 2003). Another approach shows that making nonprofits accountable to capital and multiple stakeholders (donors, public authorities) leaders to changes in organisational culture (O'Dwyer & Unerman, 2007; Unerman & Bennett, 2004; Underman & O'Dwyer, 2006a, 2006b, 2008). By examining a small number of cases we show how accountability practices result in fundraising adapting and adjusting under such external pressures and constraints. We also show accountability systems may have a direct impact on the conduct of strategic operations, which might hamper mission conduct.

Diminishing effects of perceived fit on vertical extensions

A common finding in brand extension literature is that extension’s favorability is a function of the perceived fit between the parent brand and its extension (Aaker and Keller 1990; Park, Milberg, and Lawson 1991; Volckner and Sattler 2006) that is partially mediated by perceptions of risk (Milberg, Sinn, and Goodstein 2010; Smith and Andrews 1995). In other words, as fit between the parent brand and its extension increases, parent brand beliefs become more readily available, thus increasing consumer certainty and confidence about the new extension, which results in more positive evaluations. On the other hand, as perceived fit decreases, consumer certainty about the parent brand’s ability to introduce the extension is reduced, leading to more negative evaluations. Building on the notion that perceived fit of vertical line extensions is a function of the price/quality distance between parent brand and its extension (Lei, de Ruyter, and Wetzels 2008), traditional brand extension knowledge predicts a directionally consistent impact of perceived fit on evaluations of vertical extensions. Hence, vertical (upscale or downscale) extensions that are placed closer to the parent brand in the price/quality spectrum should lead to higher favorability ratings compared to more distant ones.

Is it RIP for the IEP? The future of individual education plans in an era of accountability

This article presents a brief overview of the development of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and prompts teachers to question its use and relevance in an era of accountability in Australian schools. Many Australian teachers do not realise that the IEP was adopted from the United States where is was legislated practice based on that country's Human Rights Legislation. It is not included in the Australian policy context. Though not embedded in the legislation of many other countries, it became a process and a product synonymous with the education of students with disability worldwide. In the era of standards-based education and curriculum for all, the relevance of the IEP process and product has been questioned or re-imaged in some Australian schools. The story of one school leader, Violet, is presented here as an example.

Meta-regulation approach to raise social accountability In global supply firms

This Article proposes a meta-regulation approach to address the gap between the objectives, commitment, practice and outcome in the accountability practice of the global supply chain in the developing countries. The literatures on the accountability practice in the global supply chains typically focuses on the strategies for raising corporate social accountability standards in multinational buying firms and seldom focuses on this strategies in the outsourced firms in the developing countries. This article tries to fill this void by examining the situation in Bangladesh, the third largest RMG supply country in the world. It conceptualizes a meta-regulation approach with the aim of raising social accountability practice in this industry. It shows that this regulation approach is suitable to effectively raise this practice standard in a perspective where the non-legal drivers are meagrely low, global buying firms are highly profit driven and the governmental agencies are either inadequate or highly corrupt.

Methods for the illumination of multilevel buildings with vertical light pipes

This paper examines the feasibility of using vertical light pipes to naturally illuminate the central core of a multilevel building not reached by window light. The challenges addressed were finding a method to extract and distribute equal amounts of light at each level and designing collectors to improve the effectiveness of vertical light pipes in delivering low elevation sunlight to the interior. Extraction was achieved by inserting partially reflecting cones within transparent sections of the pipes at each floor level. Theory was formulated to estimate the partial reflectance necessary to provide equal light extraction at each level. Designs for daylight collectors formed from laser cut panels tilted above the light pipe were developed and the benefits and limitations of static collectors as opposed to collectors that follow the sun azimuth investigated. Performance was assessed with both basic and detailed mathematical simulation and by observations made with a five level model building under clear sky conditions.

Stakeholder pressures on corporate climate change-related accountability and disclosures: Australian evidence

This study investigates stakeholder pressures on corporate climate change-related accountability and disclosure practices in Australia. While existing scholarship investigates stakeholder pressures on companies to discharge their broader accountability through general social and environmental disclosures, there is a lack of research investigating whether and how stakeholder pressures emerge to influence accountability and disclosure practices related to climate change. We surveyed various stakeholder groups to understand their concerns about climate change-related corporate accountability and disclosure practices. We present three primary findings: first, while NGOs and the media have some influence, institutional investors and government bodies (regulators) are perceived to be the most powerful stakeholders in generating climate change-related concern and coercive pressure on corporations to be accountable. Second, corporate climate change-related disclosures, as documented through the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), are positively associated with such perceived coercive pressures. Lastly, we find a positive correlation between the level of media attention to climate change and Australian corporate responses to the CDP. Our results indicate that corporations will not disclose climate change information until pressured by non-financial stakeholders. This suggests a larger role for non-financial actors than previously theorized, with several policy implications.

Information Accountability Framework (IAF)

POSTER: Information Accountability Framework (IAF) to mitigate and manage the risk of data breaches and unauthorised used of medical information (e.g., Electronic Health Records)

The security and privacy of usage policies and provenance logs in an Information Accountability Framework

The potential benefits of shared eHealth records systems are promising for the future of improved healthcare. However, the uptake of such systems is hindered by concerns over the security and privacy of patient information. The use of Information Accountability and so called Accountable-eHealth (AeH) systems has been proposed to balance the privacy concerns of patients with the information needs of healthcare professionals. However, a number of challenges remain before AeH systems can become a reality. Among these is the need to protect the information stored in the usage policies and provenance logs used by AeH systems to define appropriate use of information and hold users accountable for their actions. In this paper, we discuss the privacy and security issues surrounding these accountability mechanisms, define valid access to the information they contain, discuss solutions to protect them, and verify and model an implementation of the access requirements as part of an Information Accountability Framework.