Commercial Disputes AU
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August 26, 2026
Ex-Nuix Chair Says Pre-IPO Forecast Was 'Conservative'
Former Nuix Ltd chairman Daniel Phillips argued at trial in the Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday that the analytics software company had appropriately forecasted its expected revenues ahead of its allegedly misleading 2020 IPO, as shareholders suggested it had failed to properly take financial risks into account.
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August 26, 2026
ASIC Chair Says Bathla Collapse 'First Crack' In Private Credit
ASIC Chair Sarah Court says the collapse of residential property developer Bathla, which was put into voluntary administration on Tuesday, represents the "first significant crack" in the private credit industry in Australia.
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August 26, 2026
Justice Lee Says Courts Should Use AI, Backs Litigant AI Tool
Federal Court Justice Michael Lee has called for courts to harness AI including the potential introduction of a court-controlled AI tool for self-represented litigants amid the "profound" and "increasingly unmanageable" impact of AI.
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August 26, 2026
ASIC Chairs Backs Reform Of 'Largely Unregulated' Auditors
ASIC Chair Sarah Court has called for the government to close major gaps in the regulation of auditing firms following the KPMG whistleblower scandal.
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August 26, 2026
Merivale Class Settlement Administrator Denied Extra Costs
A Federal Court judge on Wednesday dismissed a claim filed by Adero Law lawyer Rory Markham, the settlement administrator for an underpayment class action against hospitality giant Merivale Group, for $12,500 in additional administration costs, saying the original cost order in the case already covered his efforts to track down unpaid class members.
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August 26, 2026
CBA Settles Colonial Interest Rates Class Action For $249M
Commonwealth Bank says it has reached a $249 million settlement in a class action against Colonial First State and Avanteos Investments that alleged they invested members' retirement savings with their then-parent CBA despite better interest rates being available elsewhere.
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August 25, 2026
Chalmers Weighs 'Tell Us Once' Fix For Co. Reporting Burden
The Productivity Commission is reviewing the growing burden of non-financial reporting requirements on Australian businesses, including whether overlapping obligations across regulators like ASIC, APRA and laws can be streamlined through a "Tell Us Once" model, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced in a statement on Monday.
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August 25, 2026
Fed Court Raps eHarmony For 'Subscription Trap' Breaches
Online dating site eHarmony has been found in breach of consumer law by the Federal Court of Australia for misleading customers over subscription-based membership prices and terms on its website and app after hundreds of complaints about charges and automatic renewals at higher prices.
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August 25, 2026
SkyCity Rejects Two Takeover Bids On 'Problematic' Terms
New Zealand-based casino operator SkyCity said it has rejected two unsolicited takeover bids, including a $602 million offer from US investment firm Oaktree Capital, citing low value and "problematic" conditions.
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August 25, 2026
ART, Fair Work Commission Tighten GenAI Disclosure Rules
The Administrative Review Tribunal published new rules governing AI use by lawyers acting in its proceedings on Monday, the same day the Fair Work Commission released similar guidelines citing a 70% increase in workload primarily due to potential litigants now using artificial intelligence tools.
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August 25, 2026
WiseTech Taps Oracle, SAP Vet Amid ACCC Probe
WiseTech has named former Oracle and SAP executive Tim Ebbeck as an independent board member overseeing audit and risk, days after the ACCC executed a search warrant against the software company over alleged violations of competition and consumer law.
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August 25, 2026
InterPrac AFCA Challenge Delays $578K Investor Payouts
Almost 1,400 complaints against Interprac Financial Planning over advice linked to the failed First Guardian and Shield schemes, including three cases in which investors are awaiting payment of $578,000 in compensation, face at least another four months in limbo after the Federal Court gave the firm access to AFCA documents and extra time to prepare its case.
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August 25, 2026
Berndale Director Appeals 23-Month Sentence On Siphoning Funds
One of the former directors of collapsed broker Berndale Capital is appealing his two-year jail sentence in the Federal Court of Australia over his conviction for siphoning client funds for his personal benefit.
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August 21, 2026
Law Firm Drops 'Deposit Flicking' Case After Media Attention
Law firm Agency Settlements has discontinued its case against the founder of conveyancing firm Dott & Crossitt, Jared Zak, and agreed to pay costs over his allegations that it engaged in "deposit flicking," citing media coverage of the matter driving such rapid growth that it could no longer substantiate specific losses, director Lucas McEntee said in a statement to Law360 on Thursday.
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August 21, 2026
Struck-Off Lawyer Jailed For Holding Back Email Details
A Victorian Supreme Court judge has ordered former solicitor Joseph Guss to spend a week in jail after he refused to hand over email login details to a manager appointed to his practice following the cancellation of his practising certificate for several instances of professional misconduct.
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August 21, 2026
Ex-KPMG Whistleblower Suit Targets Big Four Liability Caps
A small public-interest case listed for trial in NSW's Supreme Court next year could expose the Big Four accounting firms to larger damages bills, forcing them to take accountability for "negligent, deceptive or misleading" advice given to clients, according to the ex-KPMG whistleblower behind the action Brendan Lyon.
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August 21, 2026
Shine Writes Down $13M In Surprise Class Action Ruling
Class action law firm Shine Lawyers said an "unexpected" interlocutory judgment in an ongoing class action has forced it to write down $13.7 million from this year's earnings, though it is considering appealing the case.
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August 20, 2026
Ovanti Plans To Sue Former US CEO Amid BNPL Collapse
Fintech firm Ovanti said it is preparing legal proceedings against the former CEO of its bankrupt US buy-now pay-later business, according to an Australian Securities Exchange statement on Thursday.
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August 20, 2026
Ex-Arrium CEO Rejects 'Blind Optimism' Claim In Class Trial
Former Arrium Ltd CEO Andrew Roberts rejected allegations on Thursday that he engaged in "blind optimism" regarding the mining and steelmaking company's future prospects ahead of its collapse, in his final day of testimony in a shareholder class action trial over allegedly misleading financial reports.
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August 20, 2026
White Oak Must Turn Over Greensill, Gupta WhatsApp Chats
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered private lender White Oak to hand over WhatsApp messages between its executives, Greensill founder Lex Greensill and British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta that insurers say covered transactions similar to those at the heart of the multibillion-dollar litigation over Greensill Capital's collapse.
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August 19, 2026
Federal Court, UNSW To Probe Unrepresented Litigants
The Federal Court of Australia and the University of New South Wales announced plans on Wednesday to deliver a comprehensive, evidence-based examination of unrepresented litigants amid a swell in cases and AI use.
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August 19, 2026
REST Avoids Full Costs After Failing To Halt Airport Stake Sale
A New South Wales Supreme Court judge has ruled that REST Infrastructure Trust does not have to pay the full defendants' costs for its failed bid to halt the sale of its share of a roughly $4 billion Dexus-led stake in Melbourne and Launceston airports, saying the injunction request hadn't completely lacked merit.
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August 18, 2026
Ex-DRA CEO Loses Bid For Privileged Takeover Emails
The former executive of a mining services company has lost his bid for access to correspondence involving shareholders who tried to take over the firm's board in 2022, despite a Federal Court judge saying he assumed the group had an "illegal purpose" in attempting to wrest control of more than 20% of its shares.
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August 18, 2026
Arrium Class Say Ex-CEO Ignored 'Inconvenient' Predictions
A class of shareholders of collapsed steelmaker and miner Arrium Ltd. alleged at trial Tuesday that the company's former CEO Andrew Roberts willfully ignored pessimistic price predictions for iron ore prices when putting together allegedly misleading financial reports.
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August 17, 2026
S&G Files 2nd James Hardie Class Action, Shine Plans 3rd
Slater & Gordon has filed a shareholder class action against James Hardie in the Victorian Supreme Court, the second alleging the building materials firm failed to disclose US problems in its forecasts, with a third from Shine Lawyers imminent, Law360 can reveal.