An Ex-Freshfields and Jones Day lawyer turned "lawfluencer" has slammed the Financial Times over its "office influencer" piece, calling it "dripping in misogyny." The article branded women like her "forever single working mannequins," and she reckons it's the same old trope: successful women can't have it all: Legal Cheek, FT

⚖️ Employment: The Federal government has released draft legislation banning non-compete clauses for employees earning under the high income threshold, and banning co-worker non-solicitation clauses for all employees regardless of pay. Just having one of these clauses in a contract, even unenforced, will breach the ban and can trigger significant penalties. The Bill also writes common law restraint principles into the Fair Work Act, makes cascading restraint clauses entirely unenforceable, and expands Australia's cartel regime to catch no-poach and wage-fixing deals between businesses. If passed, the changes would start in 2027. Consultation closes 2 October 2026: Mallesons

⚖️ Regulatory: The Federal Court has ordered CashnGo to pay a $3.5m penalty after admitting its small amount credit contracts contained unfair terms. Following a missed repayment, one clause let CashnGo's algorithm monitor a borrower's bank account hourly and repeatedly attempt withdrawals the moment funds appeared, with no notice of timing, frequency or amount, sometimes leaving consumers with less than $5. Jackman J declared the terms void, ordered replacement terms letting consumers opt out of these unscheduled withdrawals. The contraventions were traced to senior management, who knew of consumer complaints but kept the system running: Federal Court of Australia, G+T

⚖️ M&A: The market is tilting back towards completion accounts over locked box pricing in share sale agreements, but for structural reasons rather than the usual buyer/seller cycle. Since the ACCC's mandatory merger regime began on 1 January 2026, longer waits for clearance mean more leakage exposure and staler reference accounts, making locked boxes riskier for buyers. Higher interest rates have also turned the locked box ticking fee into a genuinely negotiated cost. Meanwhile, cheaper W&I premiums (down to 0.88% in 2025) have softened buyers' traditional resistance to fixed pricing altogether: McInnes Wilson

Labor's latest social media crackdown, "My Feed, My Way", would force platforms to regularly ask users if they actually want algorithm-picked content, with extra limits on what kids can see. Breaches cop fines up to $109.2m. Albo says he's not fussed about upsetting Trump over it: Prime Minister, Capital Brief, AFR

Gig economy dismissal claims went from basically zero to 569 in a year, and FWC boss Justice Adam Hatcher blames AI. Uber drivers are flooding the commission with AI-written appeals — one is even dragged his rejected claim to the Federal Court: AFR

🍪 KKR is gearing up to sell Tim Tam maker Arnott's after six years of ownership, with an adviser appointment tipped within weeks. The biscuit maker could fetch north of $3bn, with Mondelez the most talked-about strategic suitor: The Australian

🤝 Rio Tinto has agreed to buy the Aurukun bauxite project from Glencore and Mitsubishi Development for an undisclosed price. The mining lease for the project is yet to be granted, so regulatory sign-off from Queensland is next: Bloomberg

📢 Firmus co-founders Oliver Curtis and Tim Rosenfield are back on the roadshow this week, pitching a very different business to IPO investors. The original all-Australia "Project Southgate" plan has given way to an OpenAI anchor deal and new builds in Malaysia instead: Capital Brief