The Federal Court found Star Entertainment’s former CCO and CFO breached s 180 of the Corporations Act by failing to act on clear risks, despite no actual harm needing to be shown. The CCO ignored red flags about junket operator Suncity’s criminal links and suspicious cash, while the CFO failed to stop misleading comms to its principal banker NAB about China UnionPay card use. ASIC said both officers exposed Star to AML breaches and reputational harm, yet didn’t take reasonable steps like escalating to the board or terminating risky relationships. They were fined $180k and $60k, disqualified for 18 and 9 months, and ordered to pay costs. The case is a sharp reminder: directors can’t wait for risks to materialise before acting, or assume silence will shield them. ASIC expects officers to proactively identify, escalate and manage risks before they cause damage: Clayton Utz

The Treasurer has launched Federal Court action against Indian Ocean International Shipping over its failure to comply with a Disposal Order relating to shares in critical minerals firm Northern Minerals. The order, issued in June 2024, required Indian Ocean to divest by 2 September 2024 due to national security concerns. This marks the first time a Treasurer has personally initiated legal proceedings under Australia’s foreign investment laws.

From 1 July 2025, Australia’s new merger regime opens for voluntary use, with compulsory filings from 1 January 2026. The Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Determination 2025 sets hefty fees: $8.3k for notification waiver, $56.8k for Phase 1, and up to $1.6m for Phase 2 depending on deal size. Small businesses (<$10m turnover) are exempt. The fees reflect the government's cost recovery push, and filings must now be budgeted like a transaction cost: G+T

Keypoint Law says the six-minute unit is becoming obsolete, with AI making legal work faster and clients demanding outcome-based pricing. CEO Warren Kalinko warns firms that cling to time billing will be left behind. Even the bigwigs like Minters, HSF Kramer and KWM are shifting to flexi models. Meanwhile, Keypoint’s ditched the billable model entirely, backing value-first billing as the future: AFR

UK firm Freshfields will send future trainees to King’s College London for a free tech-focused Masters of Laws, covering hot topics like AI, crypto and green tech. The usual £20k+ tuition fee (up to £35k for internationals) is covered — and trainees also score a £20k maintenance grant. It’s Freshfields’ bid to “turbocharge” legal careers from day one.

Partner headcounts rose 2% in H1 2025, driven by litigation, energy and infra demand. KWM grew 4%, the fastest of the big six, while Ashurst shrank 6%, citing its Canberra exit. Lateral hires made up 50% of new partners. Hamilton Locke was the fastest growing overall, jumping 10%, while Clyde & Co shrunk 38%, showing a split market: AFR

Albo is pumping $67.5m over five years into community legal services, targeting support for women, youth, First Nations communities, and the self-represented. Part of a $3.9bn justice package, the funds back key orgs like Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT, Women’s Legal Service Vic, Justice Connect and more: Lawyers Weekly

In a landmark Fair Work ruling, 5,000 South Australian McDonald’s workers can now negotiate wages and hours via the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA). A massive win given McDonald’s hasn’t had an enterprise agreement since 2013. The decision could snowball nationally, sparking wage talks for Australia’s 100k+ Maccas staff: The Daily Aus

A New York federal court acquitted Sean “Diddy” Combs of sex-trafficking and racketeering, but convicted him on prostitution-related charges tied to his alleged “freak-off” parties. His team argued it was all part of a consensual swinger lifestyle. Prosecutors want ~5 years, while the defence suggested as little as 21 months, minus what Combs had already served: ABC

ASIC chair Joe Longo’s prepping a deregulation pitch to Jim Chalmers, backing the Treasurer’s push to slash compliance costs. He’s calling for a taskforce of regulators, business and policymakers to “fix what’s fixable”. The BCA also piled on with its own shopping list, pushing digital-only forms, FIRB reform and harmonised data rules. Economists say it’s a simple win: less red tape, more productivity: AFR

HSBC: is prepping to offload its Australian retail banking arm, with deal docs tipped to drop in days. The unit holds $40bn in loans and $30bn in deposits, and NAB, Westpac, ANZ and even AMP are circling. It follows HSBC’s global retreat from retail banking, as it doubles down on Asia and core markets like the UK: The Australian

Nippon Steel is tapping Japan’s megabanks for ¥800bn (A$8.4bn) in subordinated loans to refinance debt and help fund its $14.9bn U.S. Steel takeover. A ¥500bn (A$5.25bn) chunk goes towards repaying a bridge loan; the rest replaces older debt. Nippon’s debt-to-equity ratio has doubled post-deal, but it’s gunning to cut it back to 0.7 by FY26: Reuters

GemLife: popped 4% on ASX debut, but some reckon the real action was in Ingenia’s 1% slide. Funds seem to be favouring GemLife’s purer land lease play, priced cheaper at 15x FY26 earnings vs Ingenia’s 17x. Despite Ingenia’s strong run and solid management, GemLife’s larger QLD pipeline and clean exposure to the booming over-50s sector make it too tempting: The Australian

Gina Rinehart may be footing the bill for Ben Roberts-Smith’s High Court bid, with the mining billionaire long tied to the SAS Resources Fund and rumoured to be covering his legal costs after Kerry Stokes tapped out. Court docs now require Roberts-Smith to reveal who's paying. One hint? Rinehart once donated SAS $1.6m mid-trial: AFR

Rio Tinto has handed NRW Holdings a $167m contract for major works at its Brockman Syncline 1 iron ore project in the Pilbara. The job includes earthworks, roads, blasting and concrete work, with 300+ workers needed. It follows a $157m contract at Hope Downs 1, marking another win for NRW’s Pilbara portfolio: AustralianMining

AustralianSuper underperformed its mega fund rivals with a 9.5% return, dragged down by unlisted assets and a light position in CBA, the ASX’s biggest winner. While peers like Vanguard Super notched 13.5%, Aussie Super is still bullish on private equity and global property, betting hard on a rates-driven rebound in 2026: The Australian

ASIC’s closing in on Macquarie and Equity Trustees over their role in two collapsed funds, Shield and First Guardian, which saw 12,000 investors lose $1bn. ASIC alleges platform hosts ignored red flags as funds ballooned and advisers funnelled clients into risky schemes. Banning orders are imminent, and court action could follow as early as next month: The Australian

More trouble with Dexus. It’s taken AMP to court over its $830m stake in Sydney’s $1.8bn Macquarie Centre, after being forced to sell it to UniSuper and Cbus due to a contractual breach. Dexus claims AMP owes compensation under an indemnity clause, saying the mall’s value has risen significantly since the 2023 takeover of AMP’s real estate biz: AFR

Commercial property deals hit $15.5bn in H1 2025, up 13% YoY, thanks to two rate cuts. Industrial and logistics surged 98%, led by portfolio deals from Frasers, Stockland and Gateway Capital. But office deals dipped 11% as pricing expectations clashed. Foreign capital is still hot, especially from North America and Japan, chasing stability and yield: The Australian

Nvidia is now worth US$3.92tn, putting it on track to become the most valuable company in history, overtaking Apple’s US$3.915tn peak. The AI chipmaker’s valuation has 8x’d since 2021, now eclipsing the entire UK stock market. Big Tech’s AI arms race is fuelling insatiable demand for Nvidia’s processors: Reuters

Australia’s VCs are still chasing “safe” SaaS bets while the real action’s in deep tech and women’s health. Deep tech tackles complex problems in climate, space, security and health. Europe’s deep tech exits hit $60bn in 2023, and women’s health VC grew 314% in five years. But Aussie capital still hasn’t caught up: Capital Brief