The Federal government’s expansive legislative program in 2025 saw a significant level of compliance obligations from a Commonwealth legislative perspective alone, which will continue to flow into 2026.

Of particular note was the introduction of Aged Care reforms and commencement of the new Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth) in November 2025, and the introduction of legislation to combat serious allegations of sexual assault and abuse of children in the early childhood education and care sector introduced in December 2025. Both will provide much to do in 2026 for organisations and businesses operating in these sectors.  

Further, with the growth in innovative technologies such as AI and as broader developments arise, organisations need to stay ahead of regulatory compliance issues before and as they develop.

In this Report, the Law Compliance team describe the key compliance trends and predictions for 2026.