The ACCC has fined Dendy Cinemas $19.8k for drip pricing after it failed to clearly show total ticket prices upfront, including unavoidable per-ticket booking fees. The full price only appeared late in checkout, which the ACCC says misleads consumers and breaches the ACL. It’s part of a broader crackdown on undisclosed surcharges and add-on fees, with Webjet, Bloomex, Jetstar and Virgin also in the firing line. Businesses must show all mandatory fees early or risk enforcement: KWM Pulse

Calling all insolvency practitioners. From 11 April 2025, ASIC stopped auto-requesting supplementary statutory reports (SSRs) after reviewing an initial statutory report (ISR). An ISR gives ASIC the key facts about an insolvent company, while an SSR provides extra detail. Liquidators must now use their own judgment on whether to lodge an SSR, though ASIC can still request one if it helps with their work. If funding’s a barrier, grants from the Assetless Administration Fund may be available to assist with report preparation: ASIC

The NSW Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Metal Manufactures Pty Ltd, where it challenged a decision that it lost its security interest in goods which were disposed of in the ordinary course of trading. Under s 32 of the PPSA, the interest was extinguished and instead attached to the proceeds. In addition to addressing the meaning of “proceeds of collateral”, the Court also considered the ‘taking free rule’ under s 46 of the PSSA, which allows a buyer to acquire collateral free of any security interest if sold in the ordinary course of its business.

Minters is facing a $766k lawsuit from a former employee who claims she was overworked, bullied, and sidelined after disclosing her autism. She alleges the firm ignored warnings about team culture and her colleagues sent aggressive all caps, underlined and bolded emails. Minters denies the claims, calling them exaggerated and says coaching (not an investigation) was provided: AFR

Greenway Chambers’ Jamie Darams SC has copped a $10k fine and a public reprimand for sexually touching a solicitor at a 2023 Christmas party. The Bar Council called it “unsatisfactory professional conduct” and ordered him to apologise, undergo counselling, and reflect on his drinking. Darams, ironically, specialises in workplace law: Lawyers Weekly

A new AFR analysis shows NSW Supreme Court judges hand down commercial judgments four times faster than their Victorian counterparts. Justice Sloss’s Tolstoy-length ruling (nearly 5,000 paragraphs…) has become the poster child for Vic’s delay problem. NSW’s snappier, no-fuss “commercial culture” is luring litigants north, while Vic’s registry gridlock and mediation obsession ain’t it: AFR

Hayley Bennett and Paul McGuire are headed to the NSW Supreme Court, replacing retiring Justices Stevenson and Davies. Bennett lands in Equity, McGuire in Common Law. Frank Veltro steps into McGuire’s old seat at the District Court. The AG says the trio will bring “skill and integrity” to the bench: Australasian Lawyer

Forget austerity—governments everywhere are splashing cash. From Trump’s multi-trillion-dollar tax cut bill to Germany’s €800bn spending spree, rich countries are fuelling deficit spending. That’d be standard in a recession, but unemployment is near record lows, and profits are strong. Economists are warning that this kind of free-spending in good times risks a debt blowout: The Economist

The Chinese Communist Party just cracked 100 million members, despite Xi Jinping tightening the ranks by booting out anyone lacking “revolutionary spirit”. That hasn’t deterred ambitious hopefuls, with membership still seen as a ticket to the top. Even Xi himself had to apply ten times before getting in. Looks like party loyalty is a long game: Bloomberg

What jobs are safe? Microsoft’s new AI tool nailed 85% of complex medical cases, compared to just 20% by human doctors (albeit without Google). It uses five virtual agents who argue like a bunch of overqualified interns until they land on a diagnosis. It’s fast, it’s cost-conscious, and Microsoft reckons it’s 4x better than your GP: AFR

Liza Carver: warns that the new merger regime is so unclear it could void deals on technicalities and drag transactions into court for reasons unrelated to competition. The HSF Kramer partner and ex-ACCC enforcer says the thresholds are murky, legal risk is high, and disgruntled bidders or shareholders could easily pounce, turning reforms meant to streamline mergers into a Federal Court bottleneck: AFR

RetireAustralia: is back in play after Scape’s $3.85bn Aveo swoop reset the aged care market. Infratil’s 50%-owned operator has quietly opened its data room, with suitors sniffing around again for the $1bn business. Looks like aged care M&A’s booming.

Jason Pellegrino: is set to return as president if CoStar’s $3bn takeover of Domain goes through. The ex-CEO, who stepped down last year, has been consulting for CoStar on Homes.com strategy. If shareholders approve the $4.43-a-share offer on 4 Aug, Pellegrino replaces interim CEO Greg Ellis as CoStar delists Domain. G+T is advising Domain, and Corrs are repping CoStar: Capital Brief

Delta Power & Energy, owner of the Vales Point coal station, is being sued by ASIC for allegedly rigging electricity futures prices 30 times in late 2022. Chair Joe Longo warned that such conduct can raise supplier costs and energy prices, especially during market volatility. Delta says the conduct pre-dated its current exec team (classic “it wasn’t me” defence): AFR

ASIC sues Delta Power & Energy for market manipulation, alleging the Vales Point operator tried to shift NSW electricity futures prices on 30 occasions in late 2022. The trades, made just before market close, allegedly created false pricing signals. ASIC says this distorted financial benchmarks and undermined confidence in Australia’s energy derivatives market.

Bupa’s been hit with a $35m penalty after it admitted to misleading and unconscionable conduct, wrongly telling thousands of members they weren’t covered when part of their hospital claims actually were. The ACCC says some skipped treatment or were upgraded unnecessarily, while others were left out-of-pocket: The Australian

Ex-Goldman analyst Jeremy Raper is blasting Humm’s board for handing chairman Andrew Abercrombie due diligence on his “lowball” offer of 58¢ per share takeover bid—calling it “opportunistic” and “anchoring”. Raper wants a strategic review and rival offers. With Latitude circling and analysts valuing Humm closer to 90¢, this one might still have legs: AFR

Endeavour Group is going vertical, lodging plans for a 30-storey tower above Brisbane’s Morrison Hotel with 245 apartments and 140 hotel suites. It’s part of a $250m project aimed at capitalising on Woolloongabba’s Olympics-fuelled uplift. The pub giant says it’s not turning into a developer, it’s just leveraging prime real estate: AFR

Bunnings landlord deal unlocks $143m. Wesfarmers has sold BWP Management, scoring longer leases across 62 Bunnings sites and freeing up cash for store upgrades. Lease terms will stretch from 4.6 to 9.5 years, and BWP will invest $56m to expand five key stores: The Australian

Meta’s chasing US$29bn from Apollo, Brookfield, KKR and Pimco to bankroll a fleet of US data centres and keep pace in the AI arms race. The tech giant is hoping for US$3bn in equity and US$26bn in debt. It's one of the biggest private fundraisings ever, with Zuckerberg betting big on beating OpenAI: Financial Times

ACMA slapped TPG with a formal warning after the telco took 7 hours to alert Telstra to an outage affecting access to triple-0 calls. The 80-minute disruption happened at 1:22am, but Telstra wasn’t told until after 9am. While no harm was recorded, ACMA says delays like this undermine emergency call systems: The Australian