Slaters see third HR boss exits in year

Employment suits surge class actions

Ashurst swoops merger regime architect

Forget getting fit. Get an AI personal trainer instead. That’s what PwC CEO does. Kevin Burrowes spends his Sundays studying AI, and has his own AI “personal trainer” to keep him accountable. PwC has trained 184 internal AI coaches globally to help execs use tools like agents and prompt templates. Burrowes says 75% of PwC staff use AI monthly, and he’s pushing leaders to stay ahead of the curve: AFR

Ashurst has snapped up Annalisa Heger, one of the architects of Australia’s new mandatory merger regime, ahead of its January 2026 start. The ex-Treasury adviser and former ACCC director joins as counsel, warning businesses to expect a “well-prepared” regulator. After KWM took Jennifer Barron and HSF hired Liza Carver, she’s the latest top hire as firms brace for ACCC reform: Lawyerly

Another Slater & Gordon HR bites the dust. Julie Catanach, the firm’s third chief people officer in just over a year, has resigned — the latest casualty in Slater & Gordon’s never-ending saga. An internal staff survey seen by the AFR shows employee satisfaction in HR and finance has sunk below 30%, though the firm maintains its culture is “strong”: AFR

The first half of 2025 saw 36 new class actions filed - nearly double the four-year average. Employment claims dominated, making up 56% of filings (well above the usual ~15%). The spike was driven by 19 near-identical underpayment suits by junior doctors against Victorian health districts, which quickly gave rise to a $175m sector-wide settlement (awaiting court approval in September). Beyond employment, consumer and shareholder class actions remain key drivers. The High Court’s ruling against solicitor common fund orders may also tilt more filings toward the Supreme Court of Victoria, though the Federal Court remains the jurisdiction of choice for now: Allens

The High Court has ruled that Michael Stewart, left paralysed after negligent treatment at Redcliffe Hospital, is entitled to damages that fund at-home care, not just institutional care. Earlier courts had limited his payout, relying on the 1977 case Sharman v Evans, to say home care was “unreasonable” given the higher cost. The High Court unanimously rejected that narrow cost-benefit approach, stressing that damages must restore dignity, autonomy and quality of life, not just minimise expenses. Stewart’s quality of life, the Court found, would be “significantly enhanced” by living at home with appropriate support. Maurice Blackburn, who acted for Stewart, called the judgment a landmark for Australians with catastrophic injuries: Lawyerly

The High Court has granted special leave in ASIC v Web3, its first case on cryptocurrency. Initially, Jackman J held that Web3’s crypto-product was a managed investment scheme, breaching ss 601ED and 911A of the Corps Act. Although liability was established, the Court excused Web3 from penalties given the novelty of the law and reliance on legal advice. The Full Federal Court then overturned that finding, ruling the product was not a financial product under Ch 7. While a novel point of law, the case will shape how our crypto-assets are treated under financial services law.

Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation fight ends. Former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has lost his final bid to appeal his failed defamation case against Nine, with the High Court refusing him leave. A judge in 2023 found allegations of unlawful killings in Afghanistan were “substantially true.” The ruling leaves Roberts-Smith liable for Nine’s legal costs: TDA

Is mental health being ‘weaponised’? SafeWork NSW blocked a meeting of 800 UTS staff, called with a day’s notice to outline $100m in cuts and up to 150 job losses, citing a “serious and imminent risk of psychological harm”. Employers warn the intervention could see mental health used as a new industrial tactic, stalling restructures across universities and beyond: AFR

Labor and Coalition cut a deal to exile migrants to Nauru. Parliament has passed laws removing basic legal rights for 354 noncitizens slated for deportation, stripping them of natural justice and appeals. The move follows a $2.5bn deal with Nauru to take the cohort, with $408m paid in the first year. Critics branded it a “toxic deportation deal” that turns Nauru into a “dumping ground and penal colony.” The Guardian

Atlassian: is buying The Browser Company for $937.5m cash, pushing into the AI-browser race with its Dia product. Atlassian says Dia will be retooled as a work-first browser, taking on Microsoft’s Edge and Google Chrome’s 69% market share. The 2019-founded startup, last valued at $550m, counts Salesforce Ventures and Figma’s Dylan Field as backers: Reuters

Carma: the online used-car dealer backed by Tiger Global, Five V and Regal Partners, has hired Canaccord Genuity and E&P Capital to steer a planned ASX float. Modelled on US-listed Carvana, Carma sold 2000 cars last year for $68m revenue and wants to list within 6 months. Outgoing REA boss Owen Wilson is chair, with co-founders Lachlan MacGregor and Yosuke Hall at the wheel: AFR

Santos: takeover suitor XRG (ADNOC + Carlyle) has issued a statement pledging to deliver fair domestic gas deals while meeting LNG export contracts, as Treasurer Jim Chalmers weighs conditions on its $30bn bid. With east coast supply under pressure and the AWU pushing for a gas reservation scheme, ADNOC insists it will fund new projects and secure local supply. DD now runs to 19 Sept: The Australian

Mitsui has hauled partners Woodside and ExxonMobil into Federal Court over $300m in disputed tax payments linked to the Kipper gas field. Woodside and Exxon demanded Mitsui cover more of the petroleum resource rent tax, but Mitsui says it’s not liable and is seeking $20.3m in reimbursements: AFR

Shell is mulling a sale of its 16.7% stake in the North West Shelf, Australia’s longest-running LNG export project. A deal would follow its exit from the $46bn Browse venture and could open the door for Woodside to lift its 50% grip. With gas fields waning, new supply is critical to keep the five-train plant alive into the 2030s: The Australian

Macquarie Bank wrote nearly $4 in every $10 of new home loans in July, growing its book by $3.2b to $147.7b - 6.4 times faster than the majors. Brokers credit its four-hour approvals and decision to ditch discretionary pricing. With 95% of loans broker-originated, Macquarie is now a formidable rival to the big four: The Australian

RBA boss Michele Bullock says staff are trialling a new AI chatbot trained on 40 years of research to help shape analysis. The chatbot isn’t setting policy, but it’s already synthesising 25 years of liaison notes and crunching data on mortgages, retailers and super. Bullock says the aim is efficiency, not disruption: The Australian

Qantas has tapped Rebecca Vallance to redesign its uniforms for a 2027 launch, the first shake-up since Martin Grant’s decade-long run. The overhaul comes as Qantas embarks on its biggest fleet renewal. Vallance, who previously designed the airline’s business-class pyjamas, says the brief is to keep it functional while timeless: The Australian

Centennial Property Group, with $3.3bn under management, is shopping for a strategic partner, with CBRE running the process. A buyer could grab 10–49% of the platform, valuing it at up to $200m, while also seeding new funds in logistics and retail. Centennial, backed by Brookfield and KKR, is targeting $5bn assets by 2028: AFR

Seek says Employment Hero pinched its candidate data while the two were quietly exploring a partnership. By 2023, Employment Hero had launched its own jobs board, Swag, and an AI-matching tool. By mid-2024, it was publicly positioning itself as a direct competitor, despite allegedly using Seek’s API access to build its own platform: The Australian

Airwallex, now worth nearly $10bn, is building a virtual CFO bot for small businesses, aiming to democratise financial tools once reserved for corporates. The fintech has also snapped up San Fran billing start-up OpenPay to chase the $1tn global subscription market by 2030. Co-founder Lucy Liu says AI will shift finance from manual grunt work to real-time strategic insights: The Australian