Australian e-commerce laws will be upgraded

According to the local press reports, Australia agreed to upgrade its domestic e-commerce laws so it will be able to adopt the United Nations Convention on the use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts - a new legal standard that underpins business activity conducted over the internet. According to the decision of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG), state and territory of Electronic Transactions Acts will be improved, following the reforms aimed at addressing technological advances since the present uniform ETAs -- based on the 1996 Model Law on E-Commerce -- were adopted. The rules address means of confirming the validity of electronic transactions, including the recognition of legal contracts, and rules for establishing the time and place of dispatch and receipt of electronic communications. In addition, a SCAG working group will also rectify variations in electronic transactions rules across Australia and develop "voluntary guidelines" to assist employers and workers on workplace privacy issues, such as surveillance and email, and internet monitoring. To date, 18 countries, including China, Singapore and the Republic of Korea have signed the convention.