China
China’s State Council published revised Regulations on the Administration of Foundations on 10 November. The regulations contain 79 articles in eight chapters and will take effect on 1 January 2027, replacing the rules issued in 2004. They require foundations conducting public-interest activities to follow the principles of legality, voluntariness, good faith, openness, transparency and non-profit operation. Civil-affairs departments of governments at or above prefecture level are designated as registration authorities.
Foundations working in poverty relief, services for older people and people with disability, medical assistance, support for orphans and students, and disaster relief may apply for direct registration, with an industry-management department also designated. The regulations further define the responsibilities of founders, officers, directors and supervisors; establish conflict-of-interest rules; regulate online and cooperative public fundraising; require investment returns to be used entirely for public-interest purposes; and provide for disclosure, credit-information and coordinated regulatory systems. The ministries of Justice and Civil Affairs said supporting rules and administrative systems would be updated.
Australia
The Australian Energy Regulator announced on 11 November that EnergyAustralia had paid $750,000 under 10 infringement notices. The regulator alleged that, at various times in 2023 and 2024, the company failed to ensure that four battery energy storage systems it manages in New South Wales and Victoria could fulfil frequency control ancillary service offers submitted to the Australian Energy Market Operator, or failed to ensure that the systems complied with dispatch instructions.
Frequency control ancillary services rapidly adjust supply or demand to keep the National Electricity Market close to 50 hertz. The regulator said the matters emerged after the market operator requested data from participants following the February 2024 Victorian storms. EnergyAustralia later self-reported the alleged breaches and repaid money it had received from the operator for the services. Under the infringement-notice regime, payment of the penalties is not an admission that the National Electricity Rules were contravened.
United States
The United States Supreme Court heard oral argument on 10 November in Department of Labor v. Sun Valley Orchards, LLC. The case asks whether the Department of Labor may use its own administrative judges to impose civil penalties and back-pay orders for breaches of employment conditions under the H-2A temporary agricultural-worker program, or whether Article III of the Constitution or the governing statute requires those matters to be decided in a federal court.
The Department of Labor argues that H-2A participation is a government-granted immigration and employment privilege and that enforcement of its conditions concerns public rights that may be assigned to an administrative process. Sun Valley Orchards argues that the obligations resemble private contractual duties, so civil penalties and back pay should be determined in federal court with access to a jury trial. The Supreme Court has not issued a judgment. The transcript shows the justices questioning both parties about the boundary between public and private rights, the federal immigration power and the permissible scope of administrative adjudication.
Editorial framework: This briefing uses Sustenesis as an editorial framework for selecting facts, organising relationships and structuring information, with attention to differences and constraints in rules, responsibilities, resources, risks and social relations. Sustenesis functions here as a method of organisation rather than a position or commentary; the body remains limited to verifiable facts.
Sources
The State Council of the People’s Republic of China: “China issues revised regulations on management of foundations”
https://english.www.gov.cn/policies/latestreleases/202611/10/content_WS6af31c5dc6d00ca5f9a0e342.html
Xinhua: “Regulations on the Administration of Foundations”
https://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/20261110/69ce9aa1223f41249225fd90da146c98/c.html
Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China: “Officials from the ministries of Justice and Civil Affairs answer questions on the revised Regulations on the Administration of Foundations”
https://www.moj.gov.cn/pub/sfbgw/zcjd/202611/t20261110_541671.html
Australian Energy Regulator: “EnergyAustralia fined $750,000 for alleged failure to provide grid stability services”
https://www.aer.gov.au/news/articles/news-releases/energyaustralia-fined-750000-alleged-failure-provide-grid-stability-services
Australian Energy Regulator: “EnergyAustralia: Alleged breaches of the National Electricity Rules”
https://www.aer.gov.au/publications/reports/compliance/energyaustralia-alleged-breaches-national-electricity-rules
Renew Economy: “Big-three utility cops fine for failing to deliver essential grid services from fleet of big batteries”
https://reneweconomy.com.au/big-three-utility-cops-fine-for-failing-to-deliver-essential-grid-services-from-fleet-of-big-batteries/
Supreme Court of the United States: “Department of Labor v. Sun Valley Orchards, LLC — Oral Argument Transcript, Case No. 25-966”
https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2026/25-966_c0nd.pdf
Cornell Legal Information Institute: “Department of Labor v. Sun Valley Orchards, LLC”
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/25-966
Reuters: “US Supreme Court weighs limits of federal agency powers in farmworker rights case”
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-supreme-court-weigh-limits-federal-agency-powers-farmworker-rights-case-2026-11-09/
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