Courts don’t like rewriting contracts, unless there’s bad faith, dishonesty, unconscionable conduct or something more. They’ll rarely imply terms that change a bargain struck between commercial parties. That played out in a class action brought by Holden dealers against GM Holden after its exit from Australia. The dealers argued GM Holden breached an implied term to keep supplying cars until their agreements expired. The court disagreed, finding that the obligation to "endeavour" to supply vehicles wasn't a guarantee to supply until expiry. GM Holden had met its express obligations to take reasonable steps to supply, and there was no need to imply any extra terms.

The Full Federal Court overturned a key finding against crypto platform Block Earner, ruling that its fixed-yield “Earner” product isn’t a financial product—so no AFS licence required. The decision scraps the earlier Federal Court ruling in favour of ASIC that found Block Earner had engaged in unlicensed financial services conduct. ASIC was the one that appealed to pursue penalties, but with the product no longer classified as a financial product, the Full Court dismissed ASIC’s case entirely and ordered it to pay Block Earner’s costs. ASIC says it’s still weighing its next move, while Block Earner eyes Bitcoin-backed mortgages after court win: Capital Brief

Come next financial year, the Queensland Court will finally join us in the modern era. The Online Services Portal will be expanded to include eLodgements for civil claims in the Supreme Court. Want more good news? Lawyers can lodge supporting documents online even if the claim commenced before 30 June 2025. Let’s all welcome Queensland.

HSF and Kramer Levin will merge on June 1—but still can’t agree on how to split the pie. A push to stretch equity for top performers never made it to a partner vote, leaving two very different pay models in place, despite running as one financially integrated firm. Leadership rumblings add to the drama, with chair Rebecca Maslen-Stannage facing a challenge: AFR

Docusign has launched new AI contract agents. Built into its IAM platform, the agents flag risks, suggest clause tweaks, surface related agreements and even draft notice letters. The goal? Faster contract turnarounds and fewer compliance headaches: Legal Insider

Dentons and Bird & Bird are among five firms picked to help build JuriAIindex, a new system to benchmark AI performance across legal practice areas. The project, led by Swiss AI firm Logol and the University of Zurich, kicks off this year with release set for 2026. Firms will provide use cases and feedback to shape the benchmarking algorithm: Artificial Lawyer

An eminent Perth criminal barrister is facing sexual harassment allegations from a former law clerk, including allegations of unwanted touching, alleged comments on her weight, and claims he asked her to wear his wife’s court robes. Scudds denies the allegations, saying WA Police found no criminal conduct: The Australian

Forget using ChatGPT on your uni assignments—the UAE is getting AI to do its governing. It’s set to become the first country to use AI to help draft and amend legislation, as part of what Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed calls a “paradigm shift” in lawmaking. The AI-driven system will analyse court rulings and real-world impacts to propose legal reforms in real time—aiming to cut legislative delays by up to 70%: Legal Cheek

Who said students didn’t have any power? Law students across the US are signing a pledge to reject job offers from BigLaw firms that cave to Trump’s crackdown on DEI and legal dissent. The People’s Parity Project have rallied students from UCLA to Harvard. The message is clear—cave to Trump, kiss your talent pool goodbye: Above the Law

Labor’s $7.2bn public sector savings raid will trim consultants, contractors and student visa costs to cover a blowout in pre-election promises, but S&P is warning Australia’s AAA credit rating is on thin ice. With both sides splashing cash, the pressure’s on to fix deficits with Labor’s off-budget tricks are now firmly in the ratings agencies’ sights: AFR

With less than one week to go, Labor is on track to win the May 3 election, holding a 52-48 lead over the Coalition, according to the latest Newspoll. Albo remains the preferred PM, smashing Dutton 51% to 35%, as Dutton cops his worst approval rating yet: Bloomberg

Blackstone: is weighing a multi-billion-dollar selldown of AirTrunk assets just months after sealing the world’s biggest data centre deal, tapping Deutsche and Citi to run the review. With long-term blue-chip contracts locked in, selling stakes in finished centres would boost Blackstone’s returns and bankroll AirTrunk’s next growth phase: AFR

National Storage REIT: has quietly built a 4.78% stake in rival Abacus Storage King, sparking talk of a greenmail play to squeeze a higher price or nab assets from Nathan Kirsh and Public Storage’s $1.9bn buyout bid. While not launching a rival offer, National Storage says the bid undervalues Storage King’s portfolio: The Australian

Woodside: is in talks to sell a stake in its $16bn Louisiana LNG project to Kuwait Petroleum’s overseas arm, alongside potential LNG supply arrangements. It follows Woodside’s recent $5.7bn sell-down of 40% to Stonepeak and a supply deal with Uniper. Other potential suitors include Tokyo Gas and JERA: Reuters

Alkane Resources: will acquire Canada’s Mandalay Resources in a $560m all-scrip deal, creating a $1bn gold and antimony producer with three operating mines across Australia and Sweden. Mandalay shareholders will hold 55% of the merged group, which plans to keep its ASX listing and seek a TSX debut: Mining.com

As Mineral Resources faces a governance meltdown, one MinRes veteran has been spotted circulating a petition asking workers to back boss Chris Ellison to stay on. Ellison’s set to exit within 18 months — but with three directors gone and a new chair coming, insiders say the clipboard campaign hints at a push to reverse the handover plan: AFR

Mining Giant Lynas’ boss Amanda Lacaze has torn into Labor’s $1.2bn critical minerals stockpile, warning it risks undercutting viable players and propping up dud projects. She says the policy could flood the market and destabilise prices, just as Lynas moves to capitalise on China’s export crackdowns and supply fears driven by Trump’s tariff wars: AFR

CBA and ANZ could dodge hundreds of millions in payouts over loan disclosure failures between 2015 and 2019, after the banks admitted they hadn’t fully complied with requirements when varying loan terms. NZ’s Luxon government is now moving to retrospectively change the law, giving courts power to cut or deny compensation: AFR

Mutual banks are pushing back after APRA booted supervisors, sparking fears about slower responses and weaker oversight — just as cyber risks, regulatory burden and merger pressure hit the sector hard. The Customer Owned Banking Association is now surveying members on the rollout, with early feedback warning the move risks eroding trust: Capital Brief

Flight Centre has cut its full-year profit forecast by up to $105m, blaming US-led tariff and policy turmoil for rattling business and consumer confidence. Stricter US border rules and a drop in North American travel have dented margins, prompting a 5% headcount cut, capex reduction and a $200m share buyback: The Australian

Speaking of flights, Qantas has quietly launched free wifi on select international routes to Hong Kong and Singapore, with broader rollout coming mid-year. Rivals like Qatar, Emirates and Cathay are already miles ahead with wifi onboard flights for years, but Qantas says it waited to ensure the tech could meet soaring passenger expectations: The Australian

Apple’s scrambling to dodge Trump’s tariffs, weighing a move to assemble iPhones for the US market in India to avoid prices soaring to $4000 per device. With tariffs now at 145% on Chinese imports, the supply chain shift could see 60 million iPhones made in India by end-2026: The Australian

WiseTech boss Richard White has quietly settled a Federal Court case with ex-employee Caroline Heidemann, who alleged he offered financial and visa help in exchange for sex. While White denied the claims, the allegations added to ongoing scrutiny of White’s conduct and governance drama: Capital Brief