The OAIC’s latest guidelines confirm: if a company uses AI, its privacy policy must spell it out clearly. That includes disclosing AI-driven decisions that could affect rights or interests, how personal data is used or generated by AI, and whether AI developers can access it. Public-facing tools like chatbots must be clearly labelled. Updates to the Privacy Act now make this transparency mandatory. Silence on AI is a risky bet: Spruson & Ferguson

The NSW Supreme Court has allowed the plaintiff to rely on a second expert, despite the usual one-expert-per-specialty rule. The first expert, a neurologist, couldn’t adequately address the specialised issue of clot retrieval. The second expert, a neurointerventionist, brought niche expertise the Court deemed necessary. While courts are generally strict on duplicating experts, they’ll make exceptions in complex cases involving distinct subspecialties, especially when gaps in earlier reports emerge.

The new Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) is now in force, laying the groundwork for mandatory scam response obligations by sector. Banks, telcos and digital platforms will be first in line. The SPF doesn't impose specific prevention obligations on entities yet — instead, tailored SPF Codes will set out sector-specific rules. The SPF does require firms to build accessible internal dispute resolution (IDR) systems, with a strong push for early complaint resolution. While compensation isn’t guaranteed under the SPF, it's expected that scam victims will be able to seek comp or another remedy through IDR: Corrs

MinterEllison has claimed the #1 clerkship program in the AAGE 2025 rankings, edging out Allens (last year’s winner) and KWM. For law, NRF and Hall & Wilcox rounded out the top 5, while G+T slid from 3^rd to 7^th for law firms. Find out how to write winning clerkship applications.

First-year associates in the US are still on a median base of US$200k—flat since Jan 2023. But with 5% inflation, they’d need US$210k in 2025 just to keep up. Only 32% of firms hit US$225k, mostly in NY, DC, SF, Boston and Houston. Demand's down and summer hiring is at record lows, but hey, I wouldn't say no to US$200k: Reuters

The Federal Court is in hot water after revising its internal legal spending from $0 to $933k—and it might not stop there. Senator David Shoebridge has referred it to the Audit Office, suggesting that the figure barely scratches the surface. To make matters worse, the court also failed to disclose $160k in function costs and $34k in bottle shop spending, raising broader concerns about transparency: AFR

Deakin Uni is in damage control after setting law students a property law assignment that was lifted straight from last year’s exam. With the 40% assignment now scrapped, students say they’re being forced to cram for their lives as the final exam jumps to 100%. One student went to TikTok, calling out the uni for not addressing the issue but instead sending “a hyperlink to mental health support”… Daily Telegraph

Accused mushroom poisoner Erin Patterson has testified in her triple-murder trial, describing a “functional” relationship with her estranged husband and feeling “distanced” from his family before the fatal 2023 lunch. She recalled trauma, a religious conversion, and dreams of her Leongatha home being her forever house. The trial also heard she ate from an orange plate, while her guests were served on grey ones. The trial continues, with the defence now leading evidence: ABC

Greens senator Dorinda Cox has defected to Labor, citing a loss of confidence in her old party. Cox was the only Indigenous member of the Greens’ federal parliamentary team. The move follows internal tensions, bullying allegations, and a failed bid for deputy leadership. While the switch doesn’t shift Senate maths, it weakens the Greens' blocking power and hands Labor a political win: ABC

Bain Capital: has entered the race for Perpetual’s $500m wealth arm, weeks after walking from Insignia Financial. Now up against TA Associates and AZ NGA, Bain’s bid marks a continued push into Aussie financial services. Barrenjoey and KWM are running the process, which follows a scrapped $1.4bn deal with KKR. Let the three-horse race begin: AFR

Koala: has hit pause on its $100m ASX float, blaming Trump’s 30% tariffs on Chinese-made furniture. With the US its third-biggest market, forecasting got tricky. The mattress and sofa brand posted $240m revenue and $7.7m EBITDA last year: AFR

Brickworks: will merge into long-time shareholder Soul Patts, creating a $14bn investment giant. Ex-CEO Lindsay Partridge says a housing shortage, price-passing power and a weak dollar have made Aussie building firms ripe M&A targets. With Boral, CSR, and Adbri already snapped up, only Fletcher Building remains standing. KWM is advising Brickworks, and Ashurst is repping Soul Patts: AFR

Chime: is set to debut on the Nasdaq at up to an US$11.2bn valuation, aiming to raise US$832m in the biggest fintech float since markets stabilised post-tariff turmoil. The neobank, last valued at US$25bn in 2021, is pricing 32m shares at US$24–26: Reuters

Rio Tinto and the PKKP traditional owners have struck a landmark co-management deal, five years after Rio blew up the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters. The agreement gives the PKKP a binding right to veto mining on their sacred sites. That’s something PKKP says offers more protection than WA’s heritage laws ever did: The Australian

Chinese steel demand just hit an 8-year low, and fundies say it’s bad news for the ASX’s mining heavyweights. Not ideal when China's the largest buyer of Aussie iron ore. Analysts warn Fortescue’s low-grade ore is most at risk, with prices tipped to hover near $US90–$100 a tonne: AFR

Global fintechs are moving beyond survival mode, with 69% now profitable, up from less than half last year, per a new BCG and QED report. Revenue’s up 21% YoY, with EBITDA margins rising 25%, led by scaled players in payments and neobanking. Still, fintech only touches 3% of banking and insurance revenues, meaning plenty of upside left: FinExtra

ASIC has hit Australian Retirement Trust with an infringement notice for publishing outdated performance figures on its website. Between July 2023–24, ART’s dashboard showed stronger FY22 returns for its MySuper product—misleadingly better than FY23’s actual results. ASIC says the slip could have influenced members considering a switch.

Brookfield’s exit from the Hunter Street metro project leaves Metropolis Consortium, backed by Lendlease, Mirvac and Justin Hemmes, as the sole bidder. The $2bn+ precinct could deliver two 50-storey+ towers with 150k sqm of office space, right in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, just as premium tenants hunt for new digs: AFR

The grocery price war is heating up. Coles is kicking off winter with 307 groceries discounted for 12 weeks under its ‘Down Down’ campaign, offering average savings of 19%. The move comes after Woolworths' $100m cut blitz and Aldi’s counter-discounts. Analysts say the battle’s about value perception, and Woolies may be forced to dip deeper into its $300m cost-cutting war chest to keep up: The Australian

A leaked OpenAI doc reveals it’s building a “Super Assistant” — a smarter, chattier, emotionally intelligent AI to help with everything from dinner plans to sending emails. It’ll remember what you care about and work across devices. Think ChatGPT… but with a personality, a memory, and your to-do list: Financial Express

Optus has teamed up with US startup Perplexity to offer AI-powered search tools via a 12-month free ‘Perplexity Pro’ subscription for eligible customers. The telco says the deal marks a “key milestone” in making AI more accessible. It’s part of a broader AI push to upgrade the customer experience: Capital Brief