Deloitte cops heat for fake articles in reports

Privilege waiver risk highlighted in DD

Staff secretly recorded on laptops

RoyaltyOne v Century Mine highlighted how easy it is to waive privilege during M&A due diligence if confidentiality regimes aren’t drafted carefully. New Century disclosed a due diligence report prepared by its lawyers to lenders and underwriters. Justice Waller found that privilege was waived under the reliance letter because it let recipients rely on the report to establish a cause of action or defence in legal proceedings. It was also waived under the underwriting agreement because it allowed underwriters to use and rely on the report to market the offer and appoint sub-underwriters. The Court stressed that an effective confidentiality regime should confine use strictly to due diligence, limit access to a small group who genuinely need it, require each recipient to sign a CA (and bind any secondary recipients): Clayton Utz

The NSW Court of Appeal in Changela v Dracoma has clarified how courts assess unreasonable director-related transactions under s 588FDA of the Corporations Act. The case concerned repayments of loans advanced by shadow directors. Bell CJ stressed that reasonableness is judged at the time of the payment, not with hindsight. The Court overturned a finding that the repayments were unreasonable, pointing to the fact that the company wasn’t insolvent, had no trade creditors, and the loans were repayable on demand. In that context, repaying the loans was not commercially detrimental, and a reasonable company might well have done the same: Addisons

The High Court in Helensburgh Coal has confirmed the FWC can take a broad view of redeployment when testing “genuine redundancy” under the Fair Work Act. A redundancy won’t be “genuine” under s 389(2) if it would have been reasonable to redeploy staff instead of retaining contractors. In this case, coal workers were let go while contractors did the same work, which was something the Court said the Commission was entitled to scrutinise. Employers must now weigh redeployment beyond existing vacancies, including whether jobs could be reshaped, contractors replaced, or training provided. The Court stressed the inquiry is objective and must look at all the circumstances. The decision makes it riskier to lean on contractors while shedding employees: Gilbert + Tobin

Deloitte is under fire after a government-commissioned report on welfare IT systems cited nonexistent academic articles, sparking suspicion of AI use. Scholars like Lisa Burton Crawford and Carolyn Adams say their names were wrongly linked to work they never wrote. Deloitte hasn’t denied using AI, but claims it just got some titles and dates wrong: AFR

Dubai has long reigned as the go-to Middle East hub for expat lawyers—but Riyadh is catching up fast. New data shows lawyer headcount in Riyadh jumped 68%, fuelled by Saudi mega-projects and $144bn in construction contracts last year. Dubai’s growth has flatlined for the first time, while Abu Dhabi is also rising: Law.com

Corporate clients are pulling more work in-house and turning to smaller or regional firms as law firm rates climb. With budgets under scrutiny, legal teams are demanding better value for money and questioning whether high-priced firms are always worth it. Especially when comparable expertise exists at lower-cost offices: Above the Law

As AI takes over number crunching, PwC is rethinking what matters in hiring, putting the spotlight on “human skills” like curiosity, ethics and critical thinking. Chief people officer Karen Lonergan says grads are assessed on how they collaborate, converse and build trust, not just test scores. They’re not after AI engineers, they’re after “ethics and judgment”: The Australian

Safetrac is taking the big brother approach to performance management. It’s being probed after staff laptops were turned into listening devices, secretly recording workers’ conversations for up to 10 hours a day. Yikes. CEO Deborah Coram admitted the monitoring, which captured everything from Teams calls to family chats, was used to manage “underperformers”: AFR

The Australian Uyghur Tangritagh Women’s Association has taken Kmart to the Federal Court, seeking supply chain documents after a Chinese factory linked to Uyghur forced labour appeared on the retailer’s 2025 factory list. Australia’s Modern Slavery Act only requires reporting, not action, with no penalties for non-compliance. Advocates say it leaves Australia a global laggard: The Guardian

As AI eats into traditional billable tasks, law firms are being told to reframe tech as a revenue engine, not a cost centre. High-performing firms are leading the charge by embedding tech into their client offerings, co-investing in legal tech startups, and using AI to deliver faster, fixed-fee services. It’s helping them win market share, deepen client ties, and turn innovation into income, while less agile firms get left behind: Law.com

Santos: is still deep in talks with ADNOC and Carlyle on the $36.4bn takeover. Despite another deadline passing without a binding deal, exclusivity looks set to be extended again. Both sides remain at the table, with ADNOC asking for four more weeks to nail approvals after wrapping DD: AFR

North Queensland Airports: has shifted hands again, with JPMorgan taking full control after buying Macquarie’s and the Perron family’s 33.9% stake. Cairns and Mackay airports handle 5.6 million passengers a year and are valued at ~$3bn. It’s the fourth Aussie airport deal in 12 months, highlighting ongoing global appetite for aviation assets: AFR

Coca-Cola: is weighing a sale of Costa Coffee, six years after its US$5bn buyout. Costa runs 4,000+ outlets in 50 countries, but Coke may walk away if bids disappoint. The move marks a rethink of its coffee push as it juggles pressure to pivot toward “healthier” beverages: Reuters

Rio Tinto has suspended operations at its Simandou iron ore project in Guinea after a contractor was killed on site. Incoming CEO Simon Trott will travel to the country as investigations begin with local authorities. The $20bn project, billed as Africa’s biggest mine, was due to ship first ore in November, but a restart date is unclear: AFR

BHP is quietly shopping its mothballed Nickel West business, including WA mines, smelter, refinery and the West Musgrave project, despite pledging $450m a year to prep for a restart. The unit lost $600m EBITDA in FY25 and carries $900m in rehab liabilities: The Australian

HSBC is restructuring its Australian corporate lending arm, with job cuts looming and tighter limits on new loans. About two dozen bankers under local structured finance head David Antolik are already fielding recruiter calls, after senior exec Scott Bannon’s July exit: AFR

Rest is under scrutiny after insiders flagged that risk chief Stephanie Lyons is overseeing all three lines of defence at the $100bn fund, a setup APRA warns against. The move followed a Trump tariff scare and staff departures, with critics saying it blurs independence. APRA chair John Lonsdale has vowed tougher supervision, while Rest faces a class action and ASIC pressure: The Australian

GYG shares dived 18% to $23.70, nearly back at IPO levels, after missing earnings forecasts and posting weaker early FY26 sales. The burrito chain still booked a $14m maiden profit and a 12.6c dividend, but US store losses doubled to $13.2m. Founder Steven Marks insists the push to 1,000 Aussie stores is on track: The Australian

Lendlease is seeking a replacement investor after ADIA flagged an exit from their 72-storey, multi-billion-dollar O’Connell Precinct plan in Sydney’s CBD. The 309m tower would be one of Australia’s tallest, anchored by the existing 1 O’Connell St. The search comes as Lendlease battles Hostplus and Mirvac for control of its $10bn APPF empire, complicating the project’s future: The Australian

Streamline AI, a no-code legal process management startup, has closed an $8.6m (A$13.4) Series A led by Blumberg Capital, with Scribble, Acronym, Great Oaks and Tribeca also in. Founded by ex-Google and DoorDash lawyers, the platform plugs into 14 apps like Slack and Salesforce to cut implementation time from months to days: Law.com

Ex-News Corp execs Talea Bader and Emily Townsend have raised $100m for Skutopia, their robot-run warehouse start-up once dismissed as “too complex”. Backed by Pemba, MA Financial and Blackpeak, the seven-year-old firm now serves 500+ e-commerce brands and plans US expansion. The couple still own 70% and says they’re in it “forever”, not building to sell: AFR