Unpacking rising pay dissatisfaction

PwC monitors staff’s dashboards

Harvey lands Latham

In AMP Ltd v Chubb Insurance Australia Ltd (No 2), the NSWSC refused AMP’s request under s 5B(1) of the Evidence (Audio and Audio Visual Links) Act 1998 (NSW) for a key witness to give evidence via audio-visual link from an Airbnb in the UK. The Court found the laptop setup didn’t meet the “necessary facilities” requirement, late-night UK testimony would be unfair to the witness, and AVL would impede cross-examination in a doc-heavy case. It also criticised AMP’s delay, failure to check availability earlier, and its solicitor’s refusal to issue a subpoena. The Court stressed that subpoenaing in such circumstances is good practice.

AUSTRAC has filed its first case against a licensed club group, alleging Mount Pritchard & District Community Club (Mounties) breached the AML/CTF Act by operating without a compliant program. The clubs offer access to poker machines, a ‘designated service’ under the Act, triggering the obligation to adopt and maintain an AML/CTF Program. AUSTRAC says Mounties’ outsourced program lacked business-specific risk methodology, tailored training, and workable transaction monitoring. AUSTRAC is seeking declarations and civil penalties in the Federal Court, warning all reporting entities to ensure AML/CTF programs are detailed, tailored, and actively overseen by management — outsourcing design doesn’t outsource liability: Hall & Wilcox

ASIC has launched a targeted review of Regulatory Guide 97 fee disclosure rules, amid concerns that requiring super funds to disclose stamp duty on unlisted property deals skews APRA’s performance test and deters property investment. Chair Joe Longo says changes will be made if they cut red tape without undermining transparency. The review, involving Treasury and industry, will also examine potential class order relief to align disclosure for internal and external private credit management, aiming to lower costs for members and support safe credit growth. Findings are due 30 November 2025: ASIC

Average lawyer pay is up 7% to $109k, with corporates still leading at $151k. Boutiques saw the fastest growth—up 10% to $97k—but only 34% of boutique lawyers are happy with their pay. Bonuses surged 37% to $15k on average, yet just 1 in 3 lawyers got one. But with all that pay growth, nearly 40% remain dissatisfied. We unpacked the College of Law’s survey results here.

Harvey has secured Latham & Watkins as a global client, rolling out its AI platform to 3,600 lawyers firmwide. The US$7bn-revenue firm plans full adoption by year-end, bolstering Harvey’s push against European rival Legora in the legal AI race. Harvey now counts 42 of the top 100 US firms among its customers: NB

PwC UK has introduced a dashboard tracking, Wi-Fi logins and timesheets to enforce its 3-day in-office rule, flagging anyone below 60% attendance as “amber” and under 40% as “red.” Some staff fear it undermines the firm’s “trust” mantra, while PwC says it targets persistent non-compliance and still allows flexibility for genuine absences: AFR

You’d think Amazon couldn’t get any more convenient - now Prime members in 1,000+ US cities can now order perishable groceries—from milk to frozen dinners—delivered same day, with rollout to 2,300 cities by year-end. The move, backed by a US$4bn logistics expansion, targets Walmart+ and Instacart, with a US$25 order minimum undercutting rivals: Reuters

The Victorian government will scale back proposed anti-protest laws after backlash from unions and rights groups, dropping plans for a total face mask ban at rallies. Penalties will now only apply if a masked protester refuses police orders or is suspected of a crime. Bans on protest devices like chains will also be narrowed to cases posing a safety risk: The Guardian

The Coalition says it will reverse Australia’s recognition of Palestine if it wins the 2028 election, arguing it’s wrong to do so while Hamas controls Gaza and hostages remain. PM Albanese is standing firm, saying the move supports a two-state solution. Meanwhile, Australia has joined calls for urgent aid as UN figures show over 100 children have died from malnutrition in Gaza: TDA

WiseTech: is under scrutiny again, with greight industry groups asking the ACCC to review the tech giant’s $3.2bn e2open acquisition, warning it could give the ASX giant 90% control of import declaration software and lead to higher prices. WiseTech denies plans to lift fees, calling the market competitive. The deal is its biggest yet, boosting its push to be the “Microsoft of global trade”: AFR

Tyro: has swatted away unsolicited takeover interest, telling the market the NBIOs on the table don’t reflect “Tyro’s intrinsic value”. The payment group went into a trading halt after an 11.5% share price jump to $1.07 triggered an ASX price query. Talks aren’t dead, but suitors will need to dig deeper to get the board’s attention: Capital Brief

Humm: founder and chair Andrew Abercrombie has lined up a backer for his $286m buyout tilt, offering 58c a share for the asset finance group he launched in 1991. He can’t vote his 26.6% stake, but with boardroom rifts and a share price well off five-year highs, fatigued investors might just hand the keys back: The Australian

Chinese authorities blocked a 55t antimony shipment from Alkane Resources bound for US Antimony, forcing it back to Australia instead of to the US defence supplier. The move comes amid China’s antimony export ban to the US and has sharpened Western supply chain concerns. Alkane says future US-bound cargo will bypass China entirely: The Australian

AGL Energy will lift its 2030 renewables and storage target and add 3GW of batteries as it retires coal, but investors say ambition is still lacking. The move comes as AGL swung to a $98m loss (rough), with underlying profit down 21% to $640m. CEO Damien Nicks flagged a potential sale of its 20% Tilt stake to fund the transition: The Australian

NAB and subsidiary AFSH Nominees have been hit with a $15.5m Federal Court penalty for failing to respond within 21 days to 345 financial hardship notices between 2018 and 2023, breaching credit law. ASIC said the lapses likely worsened customers’ situations. NAB has since launched NAB Care and hired 70 staff to improve support: Capital Brief

CBA has signed a multi-year partnership with OpenAI, making it the AI developer’s strategic banking partner in Australia. The bank will co-develop generative AI tools to combat scams and fraud, give staff access to enterprise ChatGPT, and roll out AI skills training. CEO Matt Comyn says it’s about boosting protection, service and global competitiveness: Capital Brief

Gateway Capital has boosted its Industrial and Logistics Partnership to $186m with a $75m Sydney buy from Blackstone. The Eastern Creek site, leased to Kuehne & Nagel, joins seed assets in Sydney and Melbourne as the fund targets $800m. CEO Stuart Dawes says GILP complements Gateway’s core-plus and value-add strategies amid strong e-commerce and population growth: The Australian

Dexus has sold Melbourne’s Flinders Gate complex to PAG for close to $260m as it cuts gearing and pivots toward higher-returning real assets. CEO Ross Du Vernet has flagged further office disposals, with the group also in talks to offload Brisbane’s AM60 for ~$200m and potentially revive a $600m North Sydney tower sale: The Australian

Elon Musk says xAI will sue Apple, alleging the App Store unfairly keeps OpenAI’s ChatGPT in top spot while blocking rivals like xAI’s Grok from the “Must Have” list. Musk claims it’s an “unequivocal antitrust violation”. The threat comes the same day an Aussie court found Apple and Google misused market power in their app store operations: Capital Brief

NBN Co CEO Ellie Sweeney expects 500Mbps to be the most popular plan within two years, as homes on 100Mbps fibre plans get auto-upgraded from September. High-speed plans now make up 32% of connections, up from 24% last year. Backed by a $3bn government cash injection, NBN is cutting costs with AI tools and moving to just two installation providers: AFR