Financial Services AU
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August 21, 2026
Alleged Thief's Silk Tells High Court Bitcoin Is Not Property
Bitcoin is a concept or idea rather than property that can be stolen, counsel for a former Federal Police officer charged with the theft of $493,000 worth of Bitcoin has told the High Court of Australia, as part of an appeal over the legal status of the cryptocurrency.
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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
Holley Nethercote Sees More Coordinated Regulator Scrutiny
Holley Nethercote managing partner Paul Derham says he expects APRA to use more independent experts that shift power away from banks during remediation, alongside more regulatory overlap by the major financial watchdogs as one investigation prompts greater scrutiny by others.
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August 20, 2026
Mawhinney Can't Dodge ASIC Demand For Company Reports
The Administrative Review Tribunal has upheld an ASIC decision demanding financial reports from three companies run by banned financial director James Mawhinney.
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August 20, 2026
APRA Puts Super Trustees On Notice Over Platform Risks
APRA has told superannuation trustees offering investment platforms to expect "intensive and risk-based supervisory oversight," while saying trustees facing enforcement action will be watched closely to ensure remedial action is appropriate and timely, as part of the regulator's corporate plan for this financial year.
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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
Super Trustees Bear Brunt Of Mulino's Compensation Reform
A new compensation scheme to be funded by trustees and overseen by APRA was announced today by Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino, while the government reins in payouts from the existing CSLR scheme, funded by financial advisers, brokers, securities dealers and loan and credit providers.
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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
AUSTRAC Operation Claw Finds Huge Sydney Mortgage Fraud
AUSTRAC has made over 200 referrals to law enforcement and regulatory agencies after the financial crime regulator's intelligence partner, Fintel Alliance, uncovered widespread suspected mortgage loan fraud worth hundreds of millions of dollars for properties, mostly in Sydney.
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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 19, 2026
Master of the Rolls Says Embrace AI, Set Strategy On AI Harm
Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice in England and Wales, said lawyers and judges should embrace artificial intelligence to boost efficiency and access to justice, but argued for a clear strategy on how the legal system handles harms caused by AI use.
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August 19, 2026
Government Bans Super Cold Calls In 'Bad Actors' Crackdown
The federal government will ban unlicensed lead generators and allow superannuation funds to give advice as part of an overhaul of consumer protections across superannuation and financial services following the Shield and First Guardian collapses, Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino announced on Wednesday.
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August 18, 2026
HSF Kramer Advising Equity Trustees On $658M TPG Bid
Equity Trustees, the superannuation trustee being sued by ASIC over alleged failures linked to the collapse of First Guardian and Shield, said it had received an unsolicited $658 million takeover bid from US private equity firm TPG Global and had appointed HSF Kramer as its legal adviser for the potential deal.
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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
CBUS Puts Death Benefit Nominations Online After ASIC Fine
One of Australia's largest super funds CBUS Super will allow members to make binding nominations for death benefits online from October 16, ending the paper-based process and other non-binding and lapsing offers, the fund said on Tuesday, amid regulator pressure for faster death claims handling.
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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 18, 2026
APRA Tightens Bendigo Bank Licence Over Risk Failures
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank will face tougher new licence conditions from APRA due to its "longstanding and pervasive weaknesses" in addressing non-financial risks and the failure of its remediation efforts, the regulator said in a statement on Tuesday.
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August 17, 2026
Bitcoin Backed By 'Nothing But Hope,' High Court Told
In the latest chapter of a potentially significant case over whether Bitcoin is considered property, counsel for the appellant has told the High Court of Australia that the cryptocurrency is backed by "nothing but hope" and cannot be possessed like a physical good.
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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.
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August 17, 2026
Judge Backs Bendigo Bank In Brothel Debanking Row
The owner of Melbourne brothel Gotham City has lost a bid to overturn Bendigo Bank's closure of his bank accounts due to suspicious activity, after a Supreme Court of Victoria judge dismissed his claims of discrimination and breaches of banking laws and account terms.
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August 17, 2026
Arrium Class Can't Ease Burden With Late Pleading Fix
The Victorian Supreme Court judge overseeing a class action against collapsed steelmaker and miner Arrium Ltd. over allegations of misleading financial reports, refused Monday to allow amended pleadings, leaving the plaintiffs a high bar to clear to prove their case.
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August 17, 2026
Pocock Urges KPMG Breakup, Ban on Government Work
Greens senator Barbara Pocock has called for KPMG to be broken up and banned from government work, accusing the auditing giant of misleading the public and parliament while pursuing revenue at any cost.