Thomson Geer buried the "Geer" today, rebranding as Thomsons and spinning out a separate AI-powered practice, Faculti Lawyers, built around proprietary platform Fai. CEO Adrian Tembel says years of deliberate investment have put the firm in the same conversation as the top tier. Over 800 people, 155-plus partners, six cities, two brands: Point Blank

⚖️ Penalties: Getting legal advice before a dodgy-looking business model goes live won't get you off the hook entirely, but it can meaningfully cut the bill. In ASIC v BSF Solutions Pty Ltd (Penalty), Jackman J found that BSF and Cigno had obtained advice from Piper Alderman before launching their No Upfront Charge Loan Model. The Court found the advice didn't exonerate the respondents from a pecuniary penalty, but accepted it was relevant in reducing the amount that would otherwise have been appropriate. Critically, the Court also rejected ASIC's submission that the contraventions were deliberate or reckless, primarily because the respondents had sought legal advice on compliance.

⚖️ Privacy: The Australian Privacy Commissioner has found rental tech company InspectRealEstate (IRE) breached the Privacy Act by collecting unnecessary personal information through its 2Apply platform, including gender, dependants' names, bankruptcy status and visa expiry dates. In a first for Australian privacy law, the Commissioner also found IRE's interface design constituted unfair collection under APP 3.5, with "confirmshaming", biased framing and bundled consent all contributing to the finding. Critically, the statements weren't untrue, just manipulative in context. Digital businesses collecting personal information at scale should audit their consent flows and sign-up screens now: Mallesons

⚖️ Regulatory: ASIC has flagged its financial reporting, audit and sustainability reporting priorities for FY2026–27. On the financial reporting side, the usual suspects are back: revenue recognition, asset impairment and financial instruments, with a new addition covering decommissioning and site-restoration cost disclosures. ASIC will review 25 audit files across listed and unlisted companies, RSEs and MISs, and will actively monitor whether firms are following through on remedial actions flagged in prior reviews. Non-lodgement by large proprietary companies remains squarely in the crosshairs, as does mandatory climate reporting for Group 1 entities: ASIC

The International Court of Justice ruled the right to strike is protected under international law, breaking a 14-year deadlock at the International Labour Organisation. It won't change the Fair Work Act directly, but unions can now wave it at courts to fight injunctions on sympathy or political strikes. Conveniently, the Transport Workers Union has lined up 200-odd agreements to expire in July for its biggest ever coordinated campaign: AFR

The budget's CGT overhaul is continuing to rattle the startup world, and Cabinet Secretary Andrew Charlton is finally admitting why. The plan swaps the current 50% discount for inflation-indexation plus a 30% minimum tax on net gains, covering property, shares and businesses. Start-ups with a tiny capital base have almost nothing to index off, so Charlton's promised direct consultation with small businesses and start-ups before the changes land: Bloomberg

🧑‍⚕️ Bain Capital is offloading Estia Health, Australia's second-largest aged care operator, to Stonepeak for circa $2.5bn, less than three years after plucking it off the ASX for $838m. Abu Dhabi-based Axight is co-investing alongside Stonepeak, marking its second local deal in five weeks: AFR

🏥 Jardine Matheson is closing in on a $3.4bn acquisition of I-MED Radiology Network from Permira, which picked up the business from EQT back in 2018 for around $1.3bn. I-MED runs 250-plus clinics nationally across MRI, CT, X-ray and ultrasound: Bloomberg