Scheme booklets are getting longer, denser and more repetitive, with many now pushing 100+ pages—up from around 50 in the early 2000s. The NSW Supreme Court and ASIC have flagged concerns, warning that the length may confuse retail shareholders and delay deals. The blowout’s driven by copy-paste precedent, cautious over-disclosure, and vanishing print costs. Unlike NZ, Australia lacks a page limit or clear ASIC guidance. Until reforms come, companies can trim the fat by focusing on materiality, cutting repetition and leveraging existing disclosures: HSF

In a building defects dispute, VCAT slammed confusing, mismatched expert reports that left evidence at “cross-purposes”. Experts failed to review the same issues, missed key documents, and used vague costings. One builder’s expert didn’t even assess labour or materials. The Tribunal flagged the need for clear instructions, consistent methodology, and transparent costing when it comes to expert evidence. Loose briefs won’t cut it: Mondaq

ASIC has rolled out its third round of relief under the reportable situations regime, cutting red tape for AFS and credit licensees. Key changes include:

Licensees should review internal processes now, as the changes apply immediately: Allens

Ashurst has smashed through the £1bn revenue mark for the first time, hitting £1.034bn in FY25, with PEP at £1.39m. It's the firm’s ninth straight year of growth, fuelled by strong showings in Australia (up 11%), the Middle East (up 14%), and a booming Risk Advisory arm, now 95-strong: Ashurst

PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY have shed 15% of partners since 2023. That’s a net loss of 500 heads, with PwC alone down 300 post-scandal. Fewer partners means fewer mouths to feed, softening partner pay cuts. In that time, almost 850 partners have departed the Big Four, with less than half being replaced: AFR

Allens has promoted 86 staff, including 17 new managing associates and 55 senior associates across teams like M&A, disputes, projects, tax and banking. Managing partner Richard Spurio says the cohort is shaping “strategic and trusted solutions” as client demands evolve: Allens

Lander & Rogers has opened a brand new Canberra office, led by Jennifer Wyborn, a top workplace lawyer joining from Clayton Utz with her team. The move strengthens Landers’ public sector focus, hot off a Commonwealth panel appointment, while top tiers quietly exit the capital.

Aussie businesses just clocked the worst year on record for insolvencies, with over 14,105 collapses in FY25. That’s a 27% spike. The ATO’s back in debt-collection mode, seizing accounts and restricting travel, chasing a $105bn tax debt. Construction and hospitality were hit hardest, while insolvency experts say this is partly a COVID-era “catch-up” and expect things to stabilise... unless US trade chaos derails the recovery: The Australian

Researchers posing as 13-year-old boys found Andrew Tate’s banned content still flooding YouTube, despite YouTube’s 2022 ban on Tate. Researchers found ads running on some clips, meaning YouTube profited too. Critics say platforms are failing to police toxic content, fueling calls to include YouTube in Australia’s under-16s social media ban: The Guardian

Penny Wong met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of Quad talks. No mention of Australia’s defence budget, but AUKUS, tariffs, and trade were on the agenda. Wong says Trump meeting delay wasn’t about Rudd, and Rubio’s keen to turn the Quad into a “vehicle for action” on critical minerals: Capital Brief

Allens & Clifford Chance: have advised on Brookfield’s sale of Aveo to Scape and Korea’s NPS for $2.5bn. It’s now Australia’s largest-ever direct real estate sale. Allens advised Brookfield, with Clifford Chance repping the buyers. The landmark deal caps a growing wave of institutional capital into retirement living: Law.com

Grammarly: is buying email tool Superhuman as it builds an AI-powered productivity suite to rival the tech giants. Backed by fresh $1bn funding from General Catalyst, Grammarly’s eyeing inbox dominance, with Superhuman’s 100+ team and CEO Rahul Vohra coming onboard. The goal? AI agents that help professionals blitz through email, calendars, and more: Reuters

Malaysia’s Gamuda: has emerged as a bidder for Fletcher Building’s construction arm, circling assets like civil outfit Higgins, which it bought in 2016 for $290m. With NZ’s infra pipeline opening up and Fletcher in cost-cutting mode, suitors are lining up. France’s Vinci is also said to be sniffing around: The Australian

Mark Barnaba and Elizabeth Gaines have struck gold—literally—at Greatland Resources, with pre-tax gains of $17m and $9.2m respectively from options tied to the ASX debut. Both joined Greatland’s board in 2022, and their stakes soared after a $4.9bn dual listing. Wyloo, Forrest’s family office, also owns 8.2% and is sitting on a tidy paper profit: The Australian

Victoria’s $3.3bn VNI West transmission line is now delayed two more years to 2030 due to land access disputes and local opposition. The holdup risks stalling wind and solar projects, pushing power prices up by up to $500 a year, and threatens reliability as Yallourn coal plant shuts in 2028. Investors are getting nervous: AFR

APRA has warned Labor that cyberattacks on big super funds are rising fast, and could spill over into banking. A system-wide stress test is coming, targeting liquidity shocks that would hit both industries at the same time. With super funds now holding nearly a third of banks’ short-term debt, APRA is watching for transmission risks between super and banks: AFR

CommBank has unleashed thousands of AI-generated bots to chat with scammers and waste their time, gathering intel in real time. The bots, built with Apate.ai, use Aussie slang and fake identities to stay undercover. It’s part of a wider “honeypot” strategy to disrupt scam operations before they hit customers' wallets: Finextra

Blackstone is offloading Top Ryde City for $500m+, putting IPGeneration and MA Financial in the box seat to scoop up the Sydney mall. It's a steep drop from the $1bn peak, but a 7% yield and stabilising retail values are tempting buyers back in. Blackstone’s retail play winds down as it pivots to Crown and data centres: The Australian

Mirvac has raised $350m for its wholesale office fund, signalling that big investors are backing prime office in CBDs. The capital gives Mirvac a war chest to chase deals as competitors sit sidelined. It’s also a timely flex as it eyes Lendlease’s $10bn APPF platform, with super funds looking for new management: realCommercial

Amazon’s robot count has hit 1 million, nearly matching its 1.5m workforce, as it rolls out AI-powered machines to slash delivery times and costs. While critics say it's a jobs threat, Amazon claims the bots handle the grunt work, freeing up staff for higher-skilled roles: The Australian

Elon Musk’s X Corp has defeated the eSafety Commissioner in a legal stoush over a controversial post, with the tribunal ruling it didn’t meet the bar for cyber-abuse. Thomson Geer hailed it a “win for free speech”, slamming the Commissioner’s takedown attempt as politically motivated overreach. Questions are being raised about online content regulation in Australia: The Australian