Financial Services 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
FSC Sets New Private Credit Standard After ASIC Push
The Financial Services Council has released a new mandatory industry standard for private markets and private credit that requires independent valuation processes and conflict of interest disclosures, following ASIC's call for stronger industry guidelines.
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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
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
ASIC Warns Super Trustees Falling Short, Flags Private Credit Risks
ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant has hit out at superannuation trustees not delivering core requirements and signalled the regulator's dissatisfaction with their oversight on high-risk private credit.
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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 24, 2026
Victoria Bar Sounds Alarm Over Plan To Split Court Of Appeal
The Victorian Bar Association says it is "deeply concerned" about threats to the independence of the judiciary in response to a state opposition party proposal to establish a standalone court of criminal appeal if elected.
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August 24, 2026
MinterEllison Worker Denied Most Trial Aid Requests
A MinterEllison employee suing the law firm for nearly $800,000 has failed to convince the Federal Court of Australia to grant her most of the special accommodations she had sought for her discrimination trial to be heard next month.
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August 24, 2026
Ex-ACCC Chair Rejects Big Four Break-up As 'Draconian Overreach'
Former ACCC chair Graeme Samuel has rejected growing calls to break up the Big Four accounting firms by separating their audit and consulting divisions, describing the move as "draconian overreach" in a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into KPMG audit leaks published on Monday.
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August 24, 2026
ASIC Wins Liquidators For Firms Of Banned Adviser, Lawyer
ASIC has secured orders winding up 12 companies owned or directed by accountant and solicitor Christopher Edwards, after the NSW Supreme Court cited "significant deficiencies" in his property and investment network, a lack of confidence in the companies' management and serious regulatory findings that led to bans by the Council of the Law Society of NSW, the Tax Practitioners Board and as a financial services director by ASIC.
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August 24, 2026
KPMG Australia To Cut 360 Staff Amid Whistleblower Fallout
KPMG Australia said it will cut 27 partners and about 360 staff from its consulting division as the fallout from the whistleblower scandals hits revenues.
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August 24, 2026
Judge Denies Brothel Owner's Bid To Stay Bendigo Debanking
The owner of Melbourne brothel Gotham City has lost another bid to keep his Bendigo Bank accounts open in the Supreme Court of Victoria, failing to stay the discharge of a debanking injunction that ended at 5pm last Friday.
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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
Judge Backs NetWealth $100M First Guardian Deal With ASIC
A Federal Court judge has approved a more than $100 million agreement between NetWealth Superannuation and ASIC, with no further penalties for NetWealth, after it paid out customers for their net deposits into the collapsed First Guardian Master Fund.
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August 21, 2026
ART Chief Enlists Staff To Head Off Next Robodebt
The President of the Administrative Review Tribunal and Federal Court of Australia Justice Emilios Kyrou says the sheer volume of cases overseen by the ART makes it impossible for leadership alone to identify systemic maladministration issues, saying he calls on members and staff to bring attention to recurring problems as a safeguard against another "Robodebt-type tragedy."
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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
NSW Judge Must Recuse Over Grievance Against DPP Chief
NSW District Court Judge Penelope Wass has been ordered to stand aside from three criminal cases after the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal found a reasonable observer may have doubts about her impartiality on the bench.
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August 21, 2026
BGH Tops TPG With $663M Bid For Equity Trustees
Equity Trustees, the superannuation trustee being sued by ASIC over alleged failures linked to the collapsed First Guardian and Shield funds, said it received an unsolicited $663 million takeover bid from Melbourne-based private equity firm BGH Capital, eclipsing TPG Global's offer earlier this week.