Ex-London Jones Day partner Raymond McKeeve copped a two-year suspension and £20k fine from the UK’s SDT this week, seven years after his infamous "burn it" order told a client's IT manager to delete a messaging app mid-search order. McKeeve called it "monumental stupidity" and the High Court agreed. He's now consulting in tech: NB

⚖️ AI/Employment: Workplace surveillance is having a reckoning in Australia. WorkSafe Victoria now recognises it as both a psychosocial hazard and a control measure under WHS law, NSW has introduced reforms requiring employers to assess whether AI-driven work allocation amounts to excessive monitoring, and Victoria has flagged dedicated surveillance legislation. The Fair Work Commission has also weighed in, finding that recording employees continuously, including at home, creates real mental health and privacy risks. Basically, surveillance must be proportionate, transparent and defensible, not reflexive: Clayton Utz

⚖️ Regulatory/Cyber: FIIG Securities has copped Australia's first cyber security penalty under general AFSL obligations — $2.5m, deliberately set at more than double the $1.2m it would have cost to maintain compliant cyber security over the relevant four-year period. This was a deterrent, not a cost of doing business. ASIC also successfully argued that under-resourcing cyber independently breaches the Corporations Act, with personnel numbers and cyber budgets now functioning as a simple proxy for adequate cyber investment. The compliance program ordered goes further than previous decisions too, with FIIG's CEO required to personally attest to remediation measures: Ashurst

⚖️ Corporate/Governance: Directors who outsource operations don't outsource their liability. Under the Corps Act, the duty of care and diligence follows the director, not the work. Failures to conduct proper due diligence on service providers, maintain oversight, or monitor compliance can all trigger personal liability, even where the underlying work is done by a third party. It is critical that directors document decisions and monitor arrangements to avoid liability: Lexology

More than 30,000 Victorian teachers and principals walked off the job on Tuesday for the first time in over 13 years, after the teachers’ union rejected the state government's offer of 18.5% pay increase over four years. The union wants 35%. Premier Jacinta Allan urged them back to the table, but 98% of members backed the strike. Tasmanian teachers are striking too, with three days of staggered action. Thousands of students in both states were told to stay home: TDA

The White House says peace talks with Iran are "productive" and Tehran's looking for an "exit ramp." Iran says no talks are happening. The US has sent a 15-point proposal via Pakistani intermediaries demanding Iran dismantle its nuclear facilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But Iran is tightening its grip on Hormuz, charging commercial vessels transit fees of up to US$2m per voyage. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned Trump is "prepared to unleash hell": Bloomberg, ABC

💸 Pepper Money has walked away from a takeover by Challenger after the investment manager cut its offer from $2.60 to $2.25 per share, citing deteriorating market conditions. Pepper's independent board called the revised bid "not reasonably capable of execution." Capital Brief

🧃 A Chinese consortium, including agribusiness giant New Hope and Huan Le Jia, has muscled into the race for TPG Capital's Made Group, joining Danone and Kirin in what's shaping up as a three-way shootout for the $1.5bn-plus Rokeby and Cocobella owner: The Australian