Once seen as loose handshake deals, Letters of Intent (LOIs) in the Australian energy sector are getting serious. As the market shifts toward locking in more commercial and technical terms upfront, LOIs are increasingly being treated as binding—allowing early design and procurement to kick off, often in exchange for an early contribution to costs. But that early progress comes at a price: sharper scrutiny of the language used is essential to avoid unintended obligations. With tight supply chains and complex projects, LOIs are no longer just a formality—they’re fast becoming mini-contracts in their own right. Time to call Legal: KWM

The Fed Government's plan to ban non-compete clauses is limited to workers earning under $175k from 2027. It's part of a broader reform targeting wage-fixing and no-poach agreements. While many such clauses are already difficult to enforce for lower-paid workers, the move signals a shift toward labour mobility and wage growth—Treasury estimates a 4% pay boost for some. While the reform won't affect contracts for senior employees, employers should consider alt protections like confidentiality clauses, gardening leave, and IP safeguards: Allens

A strata company has been convicted over a site death. In a recent decision, the strata owners corporation was found to have breached workplace safety laws after a 260kg gate collapsed and killed a worker. The industrial gate had been damaged days earlier, but no warnings were put in place, and no urgent repairs followed. The owners were fined $225k plus costs after a guilty plea, with the court slamming their failure to act despite knowing the risk. The case puts all owners corp on notice: if it’s common property and it’s unsafe, it’s your problem—and potentially your liability: Stacks Law

Dentons is facing job cuts after losing ING Australia’s mortgage work to MSA National, a firm specialising in the mortgage sector. ING was one of the firm's biggest clients, reportedly worth more than $15m annually. The firm’s trying to redeploy staff but says some redundancies are “inevitable”. ING’s switch reflects a broader shift toward faster, digital-first providers—MSA’s tech promises loan docs “within seconds", a game-changer in the mortgage space: Lawyers Weekly

Alex Danne, founder of Gilbert + Tobin’s energy and infrastructure team, is set to join Clayton Utz as partner in Melbourne from July. With 20+ years in clean energy, finance and major projects, he’s advised top-tier players across the full project lifecycle. CU says his arrival comes as clients face a “once-in-a-generation” energy shake-up.

Turns out Slater & Gordon CEO Dina Tutungi personally promoted convicted fraudster Bridgett Maddox—less than three months into the job—to a $150k HR role reporting to senior management. The move was later reversed, but Maddox kept the salary and expanded duties. With two ex-CPOs now suing the firm, the rogue email saga keeps unravelling—and Tutungi’s judgement is under fresh fire: AFR

We’re not short of partner moves ahead of rem season. Squire Patton Boggs has hired James Nguyen from Allens, making him a partner in its Sydney corporate team. Nguyen brings deep private equity and M&A chops, including stints in New York and deals for Aware Super, Paine Schwartz, and Madison Dearborn. It’s part of SPB’s push to build a top-tier PE practice as private capital floods into Australia.

Russia just unleashed its largest drone assault since the war began—273 drones launched, with one fatality near Kyiv. It comes days after the first face-to-face Russia–Ukraine talks in 3 years flopped in Turkey, and just hours before Trump’s ceasefire call with Putin. Despite a new prisoner swap, Ukraine says Putin’s not serious about peace—he’s doubling down: BBC

Markets are tipping the RBA will shave rates by 0.25% tomorrow, dropping the cash rate to a two-year low of 3.85%. It’d be the second cut this year, with inflation cooling and US-China tensions easing. For borrowers, that’s a welcome breather—though don’t bank on a full-blown rate-cutting spree just yet: Bloomberg

Across the pond, Dua Lipa, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, and 400+ creatives are urging UK lawmakers not to let AI firms scrape their work without permission. A proposed “opt-out” model could let Big Tech use copyrighted content by default—artists say that’s giving away the farm. With a vote looming, it’s culture vs code in a copyright clash: The Guardian

Corrs: is advising CoStar on its $3bn bid for Domain, including a pre-bid 16.9% stake. The US proptech giant will acquire the rest via scheme, backed by Domain’s 60% owner Nine. Corrs’ M&A team, led by Sandy Mak and Adam Foreman, handled the cross-border deal with a team of specialists across the firm.

Brookfield: is chasing $3bn+ for La Trobe Financial, tapping Japanese buyers known for paying big but moving slow. With Japan’s rates at just 0.5%, cashed-up conglomerates could pounce—though La Trobe’s retail investor base might be a turn-off. Morgan Stanley and UBS are running the sale, just two years after Brookfield bought in for $1.7bn: The Australian

Odyssey: is serving up Sushi Sushi after a 5-year growth run, with Luminis Partners now shopping the 190-store chain for north of $160m. With a $200m revenue forecast and global expansion on the cards, the fresh food player joins a hot menu of quick service restaurant (QSR) deals post-GYG’s $3bn IPO. Expect Retail Zoo, Craveable and offshore PE to bite: AFR

Peak Rare Earths: has endorsed a full takeover by Shenghe Resources via a scheme, valuing its Tanzanian Ngualla project stake at $150.5m—well above the $96m NGUK offer. The $0.359/share bid marks a 199% premium. Shenghe already controls offtake rights and is tipped as best placed to de-risk and deliver the project with Tanzanian backing. Corrs acts for Peak: Mining Weekly

Linda Goyder, wife of chair Tim Goyder, sold $1.54m in Liontown shares last week—just as the stock surged 28% in a week and lithium stocks rallied. Not exactly helping market confidence when the chairman’s spouse cashes out during a rare upswing in a company still down 74% since 2023. The ASX queried the sudden spike in volume (82m shares traded Friday alone), but Liontown says there’s “no undisclosed info”: AFR

Evolution Energy Minerals has slashed costs, axed its Perth HQ, and is pivoting to Africa with a leaner team and a sharper focus. Backed by its 25% shareholder ARCH, the company has a new game plan: Wrap up cost cuts, chase a fresh African gold project, and finally get Chilalo graphite off the ground: Mining Weekly

ASX can’t catch a break. Litigation funder LCM is circling ex-ASX bosses, preparing a class action over the now-infamous failure of the CHESS replacement project. The proposed case won’t go after the ASX directly—instead, it’s a statutory derivative action that would hold ex-leaders like Dominic Stevens and Damian Roche personally liable for alleged governance failures: AFR

Former NAB fraud manager Kate Prendergast is suing the bank for $1.5m, claiming she was unfairly axed after planning to launch a rival app to guide first-home buyers. NAB saw it as a conflict, rejected her risk plan, then launched an investigation over alleged expense misuse—including parking, alcohol, and a work credit card. She denies it all. NAB says the misconduct was substantiated and warranted potential termination: The Australian

Dexus could be kicked out of Melbourne and Launceston airports entirely, after a falling-out with co-investors like IFM and the Future Fund. The spat centres on Dexus’s attempt to sell a 9.7% stake in the airports' owner, APAC. They're accusing Dexus of breaching confidentiality—triggering a clause that could force Dexus to sell its entire $4bn stake: realcommercial

News Corp journos are being ordered into AI bootcamp, with all editorial staff required to complete training on the company’s in-house tool NewsGPT and Google’s NotebookLM. It’s the clearest signal yet that AI is being embedded into daily newsroom workflows: Capital Brief

EatClub, the Aussie start-up dishing out last-minute restaurant deals, just bagged $18.2m from big names like the Gandel family and Michelin star chef Marco Pierre White, who’s now fronting their London expansion. With 160 venues already signed up, EatClub’s betting AI-powered dynamic pricing is the future of filling empty tables: AFR

EFEX sued over botched start-up earn-out. The founder of Adelaide tech firm Logic Plus is suing Alceon-backed IT roll-up EFEX, alleging it tanked earnings to avoid a $3.9m payout. Jason Nagy and ex-CEO Joanna Chronis say EFEX breached sale terms by booting Chronis, shifting staff to EFEX clients, and disrupting operations. EFEX denies wrongdoing, claiming Logic Plus was a sinking ship needing a $300k cash injection just to stay afloat: AFR