The Federal Court of Australia has admitted underpaying almost 250 casual staff since 2018, a total of $77k. Casual staff, including admin, client service and court officers, are meant to be paid for a four-hour minimum even if their timesheet says less. A "configuration issue" meant some missed out: AFR

⚖️ Corporate: Rosherville Pty Ltd, an ASX shareholder, is gearing up to seek court approval for a derivative action against former ASX officers and directors. The action follows Justice Markovic's decision to slap the exchange with a $20.5m penalty for misleading the market on the CHESS replacement project. The judge found ex-chair Damian Roche and ex-CEO Dominic Stevens, among others, were directly involved in approving a "progressing well" statement that was anything but, given the project was internally rated 'red' at the time. Under s 237, Rosherville needs to show a serious question to be tried, and that it's improbable ASX will bring the proceedings itself: Lawyerly

⚖️ Pleadings: Justice Wheelahan struck out United Petroleum's statement of claim against its former Cairns agent Reliance Convenience and guarantor Shashikanth Bomma, and refused leave to file the further amended version put before him. The claims, spanning breach of fiduciary duty, inducing breach of contract and misleading conduct under the ACL, were built on vague pleadings and unparticularised loss. The judge summed it up as "a set of allegations in search of a cause of action". United can still apply afresh to replead by 25 August, but only with a partner-signed certificate confirming a proper factual basis, or the proceeding stands dismissed. Courts are running out of patience for claims built on hope: Federal Court

⚖️ ESG: ASIC has shared its observations on the first cohort (Group 1) of mandatory climate reporters. Ahead of Group 2 and 3 reporters preparing their first disclosures, six lessons have emerged. The standout tip: don't start from scratch. Companies that mapped existing NGER, TCFD and voluntary sustainability data against the new standard first saved serious time and money, while those starting fresh often rebuilt things they already had. Other lessons include sorting out who's doing the work and how before making substantive reporting decisions, using scenario analysis to inform business strategy rather than just tick a compliance box, and documenting "undue cost or effort" judgement calls as they're made: DLA Piper

Albo's podcast joke about Takaichi's melon gift has snowballed into an actual diplomatic incident. Albanese called Japanese PM Takaichi's gift of crown melons "strange" on a comedy podcast, then didn't correct the host for comparing them to Pamela Anderson's chest. A former Japanese ambassador's now calling it sexist, while Angus Taylor wants a personal apology: TDA

Should AI usage be a part of your performance review? Meta, Google and Accenture now factor AI use, but it's getting messy. Meta's facing a lawsuit from sacked staff who reckon low AI usage scores got them cut. Amazon, Uber and Duolingo tried leaderboards, then quietly dropped them after backlash: Business Insider

🪧 Mallesons and White & Case just banked one of the year's biggest PE auctions. Mallesons ran the sell side for oOh!Media, White & Case got I Squared Capital over the line at $1.70 a share, a 100% premium on a stock that was sitting at 85 cents three and a half months ago: Point Blank

📈 EQT Infrastructure has officially lobbed $3.13 a share bid for Cleanaway, a 32% premium that sent shares up 14.5% overnight. Ashurst Perkins Coie landed the mandate for Cleanaway: ASX

⚡️ Macquarie Asset Management is circling the APAC arm of Stack Infrastructure, a data centre operator and AirTrunk rival, less than two years after pocketing a $24bn exit on AirTrunk itself. Price tag could hit $30bn, the region's biggest ever data centre deal: AFR