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Financial Services AU

    HSBC Australia Fined $35M, Admits To Serious Scam Failures

    HSBC Australia must pay a $35 million penalty after admitting to serious failures to protect customers against scams that left some clients losing their life savings, a Federal Court of Australia judge ruled on Thursday, matching the fines sought by the regulator and bank. 

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    Justices Signal Struggles With Causation in CBA Class Action

    Two High Court justices pushed Commonwealth Bank of Australia shareholders to explain how the bank's failure to disclose anti-money laundering failures caused their alleged losses, suggesting that the shareholders' causation theory was complicated and not necessarily in line with precedent they cited.

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    Ex-Star CEO Fined $700K, Banned 6 Yrs On Director Breaches

    The Federal Court on Wednesday ordered former Star Entertainment CEO Matt Bekier to pay a $700,000 penalty for anti-money laundering compliance breaches, around half of what ASIC had been seeking, and ordered a six-year management ban.

  • June 17, 2026

    APRA Warns Banks To Meet Threat Of Geopolitical Risks

    APRA Chair John Lonsdale said the financial services industry needs to lift its standards to protect against geopolitical shocks, in a speech on Wednesday, citing the risks of foreign interference, sanctions and frontier AI models which threaten to change the nature, speed, and scale of cyber, disinformation and operational risks.

  • June 17, 2026

    ASIC Wins High Court Fight Over Block Earner Crypto Product

    The High Court of Australia on Wednesday ruled Block Earner's "Earner" crypto-linked fixed-yield product was a financial investment product and required a financial services license in a win for ASIC and clarification for what constitutes a "financial product" under corporate law.

  • June 16, 2026

    Law Council Defends Client Legal Privilege Amid KPMG Probe

    The Law Council of Australia has challenged the "public misapprehension" that legal professional privilege is inherently scandalous and against the public interest, amid concerns legal privilege will be used to shield KPMG from government regulator requests into the consultancy giant's alleged misuse of confidential client information.

  • June 16, 2026

    APRA Draft Rules Tighten Governance At Banks, Super Funds

    The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority on Tuesday announced new draft guidelines for banking, superannuation and insurance that boost board requirements to oversee risk and governance and adds assessments on the fitness and propriety of directors.

  • June 16, 2026

    KPMG Bids For Govt Contracts On Pause Amid Ethical Probe

    The Federal Government on Monday said KPMG Australia has agreed not to bid for new Commonwealth contracts for three months while it completes its inquiry into ethical concerns around the consultancy giant.

  • June 15, 2026

    WA Bill Would Create Judge Complaints Watchdog

    The Western Australian government is planning an independent watchdog to handle complaints about the conduct and capacity of judges and magistrates in new legislation announced on Sunday.

  • June 15, 2026

    ASX Settles ASIC Suit On Misleading Chess Update For $20M

    The Australian Stock Exchange agreed on Monday to pay a $20.5 million penalty and $3 million of ASIC's costs in a last-minute settlement with the regulator over misleading updates the ASX made about its CHESS clearing and settlements project, just hours before the planned trial in the Federal Court.

  • June 12, 2026

    ASIC Wins Record $300M Fine On Union Standard Misconduct

    The Federal Court issued a record $300.2 million penalty on Thursday across foreign exchange broker Union Standard International Group and its representatives EuropeFX and TradeFred for "unconscionable" conduct selling risky financial products to vulnerable customers who lost tens of millions.    

  • June 12, 2026

    ACCC Backs Magellan, Barrenjoey Investment Bank Tie-Up

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has approved the merger between investment banks Magellan Financial Group Ltd. and Barrenjoey Capital Partners in a deal expected to complete in early July, according to a statement by Magellan today. 

  • June 11, 2026

    High Court Rules Trust Did Not Hold Taxable Loan

    The Australia High Court rejected Australian revenue authorities' bid to tax nearly $1.7 million that a real estate company held in a trust, ruling Wednesday that the money did not constitute an unpaid loan.     

  • June 11, 2026

    Victorian Lawyer Reprimanded Over 'Dummy Directors'

    A Victorian lawyer has been fined and given a stayed suspension of her practising certificate after the Victoria Civil and Administrative Tribunal found she engaged in professional misconduct including facilitating the appointment of "dummy directors" before a company liquidation, falsifying documents and failing to act in her client's best interests.

  • June 10, 2026

    ASIC Targets Greenwashing, Fake Endorsements In Ad Update

    ASIC says financial services firms need to be aware of greenwashing, disingenuous celebrity testimonials and offering unrealistic expectations to consumers including overly promoting benefits and bait advertising low interest rates, in updated advertising guidelines.

  • June 10, 2026

    ASIC Admonishes Super Trustees On Death Claims Handling

    ASIC pushed superannuation trustees to speed up their handling of death benefit claims on Wednesday, pointing out that Australia's ageing population has already prompted a 10% rise in claims and with growth expected to continue. 

  • June 09, 2026

    Clive Palmer Company Pleads Guilty In Takeover Law Case

    Billionaire Clive Palmer's company Palmer Leisure Coolum has pled guilty in the Brisbane Magistrate's Court to breaching takeover law over a proposed acquisition of a timeshare resort scheme after over a decade of legal battles, including a series of attempted appeals by the Queensland mining and resort businessman to the High Court

  • June 09, 2026

    James Hardie Hit With Class Action After Weak US Results

    A James Hardie shareholder has hit the building materials giant with a class action in the Victorian Supreme Court, accusing the company of misleading investors about weaknesses in its American business that knocked more than a third off its share price value.

  • June 09, 2026

    ASIC Launches Probe Into KPMG's Alleged Info Sharing

    ASIC has started a formal investigation into KPMG, as well as two of the consulting giant's audit senior partners, escalating probes into allegations staff misused confidential client information to help win new accounts, agency Chair Sarah Court said in a senate hearing on Friday.

  • June 04, 2026

    H&M, Sephora, Zara Pay $600k Over Late Financial Reports

    Beauty retailer Sephora and fast fashion giants H&M and Zara have paid nearly $600,000 combined after Australia's corporate regulator hit the trio with infringement notices for failing to lodge timely financial reports, ASIC announced Thursday.

  • June 04, 2026

    Solar Directors Must Return $880K As Judge Says Doc Faked

    Two former directors of a solar equipment joint venture must return $880,000 to the company after using a faked sale document to extract funds as the business relationship broke down, a Federal Court judge ruled Thursday while criticizing both sides for unreliable, self-serving testimony that forced him to rely on the logic of events over their recounts.

  • June 04, 2026

    ASIC Bans NSW Director For 'Complete Disregard' Of Duties

    ASIC said on Thursday it has disqualified Genna Raber from managing companies for five years, his second ban, over his complete disregard for his director responsibilities while involved in three failed construction and finishing companies contracted to build Russian embassies in Australia.

  • June 03, 2026

    Brambles Can't Trim $20M Costs In Investor Class Action

    Brambles is on the hook for around $20 million in costs after losing a landmark shareholder class action over misrepresenting its expected earnings, with a Federal Court judge on Wednesday rejecting its bid for a 50% cost reduction, saying the shareholders had not unnecessarily pursued weak claims.

  • June 03, 2026

    ACCC's First Complex Deal Clears With Ampol, EG Takeover

    The ACCC's new merger regime has cleared its first complex deal with the approval of energy and convenience store network-owner Ampol Limited's acquisition of smaller service station competitor EG Australia in a deal worth $1.1 billion, though it must offload 41 sites to a rival, the regulator announced on Wednesday.

  • June 03, 2026

    Mercer Super Agrees To Pay $10.3M For Reporting Failures

    Mercer Superannuation has agreed to a $10.3 million penalty over allegations it failed to inform ASIC about investigations into several issues, including its handling of refunds following the death of members, the regulator told a Federal Court judge on Wednesday.

  • June 02, 2026

    Big Un Ex-CFO Insider Trading Case Dropped By Prosecutors

    Federal prosecutors have dropped insider trading charges against the former CFO of tech company Big Un after a jury in March failed to reach a verdict on allegations he used companies in his control to sell $5 million worth of the ASX-listed stock before it collapsed, ASIC said.

  • June 02, 2026

    Law Society Says $200M Needed For 'Deteriorating' SA Courts

    The Law Society of South Australia has urged the state government to invest $200 million to help address the "sorry state" of court buildings, saying years of minimal spending on upkeep is harming vulnerable court users and has delayed justice.

  • June 01, 2026

    Star Fined $10M On 'Systemic' Financial Crime Failures

    Star Entertainment must pay $10 million in fines over failures to check if customers were linked to criminal activity including money laundering and terrorism financing, and allowing customers to gamble for over 12-hours in a 24-hour time frame, the casino regulator ruled on Monday, adding pressure on the beleaguered operator.

Expert Analysis

  • Australian Payments Reg. Proposals Will Broaden Oversight

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    The Australian government’s recent payments regulation proposals for a more activity-based licensing framework will significantly expand the perimeter of entities, indicating that the regulators view payment systems, digital assets and tokenized financial infrastructure as part of a connected regulatory ecosystem, say lawyers at Corrs.

  • Australia's Computer Patent Ruling Will Aid Global Companies

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    While courts around the world have struggled to articulate a technology-neutral test for patentability of computer-implemented inventions, a recent decision by Australia's top court offers a decisive answer, creating strategic opportunities for overseas applicants, say attorneys at Mallesons.

  • Assessing The Significance Of Australia-EU's Free Trade Deal

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    The recently concluded Australia-European Union free trade agreement could be a springboard for a more ambitious initiative bringing together the EU and the economies of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a critical mass capable of shaping norms across subsidies, sustainability disciplines and competition policy, says Alan Yanovich at Akin Gump.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: ICSID Enforcement In Australia

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    The Federal Court of Australia recently ruled for award creditors in Blasket Renewable Investments v. Spain in a judgment that explains how Australia's statute book operationalizes the promise of depoliticized enforcement under the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Convention while accommodating, without yielding to, the centrifugal forces of European Union law, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.