Bosch warns Vic plan hurts internships

Ex-AG fronts for sanctioned oligarch in HC

Law firm eye $40m slice of BHP settlement

Christian Porter is back in Canberra, appearing in the High Court for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska in his sanctions challenge. That breaks Bret Walker SC’s four-day streak of consecutive High Court appearances. Porter isn’t taking Walker’s throne though - he’s still the court’s busiest advocate, and has already fronted 12 full court appeals this year: Capital Brief

HFW has launched a Brisbane office, poaching Christopher Rowden and his team from CDI Lawyers to ride Queensland’s construction boom ahead of the 2032 Olympics. It’s the firm’s fourth Aussie office and part of a rapid buildout that’s added 16 partners since FY24: Point Blank

Maurice Blackburn and Phi Finney McDonald could pocket up to half of the $110m BHP settlement, nearly triple their original 18% cap. The new proposal gives litigation funder G&E KTMC up to 27.5% of the settlement, with legal fees tipped at $30–$40m: AFR

Johnson Winter Slattery has bolstered its disputes team, poaching Lee Carroll from White & Case to head arbitration in Melbourne and Andrew Gill from MinterEllison in Canberra. The pair boost JWS’s across energy, resources and defence: Point Blank

Disputes/Corporate: ASIC has sued suspended explorer AVZ Minerals and two directors for allegedly hiding a legal dispute over its flagship Manono lithium project in the DRC. The regulator claims AVZ failed to meet continuous disclosure rules and engaged in misleading conduct by keeping investors in the dark for nearly a year. Directors Nigel Ferguson and Graeme Johnston are accused of authorising false or incomplete ASX statements, breaching their directors’ duties. Deputy Chair Sarah Court said investors relied on the company to provie “timely and accurate information” given the project’s remote location. ASIC’s seeking penalties and declarations of contravention: ASIC

Employment: The Government has passed the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya’s) Bill 2025, making it unlawful for employers to cancel paid parental leave if a baby is stillborn or dies shortly after birth. The change follows the widely publicised Baby Priya case, where a mother’s PPL was withdrawn 42 days after her child’s passing. The reform inserts new protections into the Fair Work Act, broadly covering any contractual or policy-based PPL entitlements, with limited exceptions (such as at the employee’s request). Employers aren’t required to offer PPL, but those that do must now honour it in tragic circumstances once the law takes effect: Allens

Regulatory/Corporate: ASX is consulting on changes to Listing Rule 17.5 to prevent automatic trading suspensions for entities that miss the deadline to lodge their new sustainability reports. The rule currently mandates suspension if annual financial reports are late, but the Corporations Act’s new ESG reporting requirements would have extended that to sustainability reports too. ASX wants to preserve the status quo, so only delays in directors’, financial or audit reports would trigger suspension. Submissions close 28 Nov 2025: ASX

Companies are fighting back against new WFH laws. Bosch is the latest to warn that Victoria’s plan to guarantee two days of WFH rights could force it to end its 20-year internship program, cutting off opportunities for 80 students a year. Oceania president Gavin Smith said interns need “face-to-face learning” and called the plan a “votes-first mindset”. Bosch says future investment may shift interstate: AFR

Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones will face a four-month hearing over 27 indecent assault charges involving nine complainants. The 84-year-old has denied all allegations. Up to 139 witnesses are expected to be called during the trial. His lawyer says the defence plans a “significant case”. It will be heard before a magistrate, not a jury: ABC News

Macquarie Group: is leading a $1.1bn deal to acquire US-based Potters Industries from TJC, joined by Partners Capital and UniSuper. The move extends Macquarie’s push into infrastructure-adjacent businesses after its February buy of DynaGrid: Bloomberg

Rokt: is edging toward a US IPO at a $US7.9bn (A$12.1bn) valuation, after MA Financial’s oversubscribed fund priced shares at $US37.50. Founded by ex-Jetstar boss Bruce Buchanan, Rokt is now Australia’s third-largest unicorn behind Canva and Airwallex. An IPO is tipped for mid-2026: The Australian

Octopus Investments Australia has approved its $900m Blind Creek solar and battery farm near Canberra — the first major renewables project to reach financial close this year. Backed by Hostplus, REST, CEFC and Westpac, the hybrid project will deliver evening power under a four-hour PPA: AFR

MinRes will sell a 30% stake in its lithium business to South Korea’s POSCO, valuing the deal at US$765m (A$1.2bn). The new JV will hold MinRes’ 50% shares in the Wodgina and Mt Marion mines. MinRes will stay on as operator, while POSCO secures spodumene supply for its planned processing plants: Mining.com

ANZ and Westpac are accused of “little more than greenwashing”, after a report found they’d funnelled billions into fossil fuel giants despite backing the Paris Agreement. Market Forces says the pair continue to fund coal, oil and gas expansion, while CBA and NAB have sharply cut exposure, marking a clear split in climate credibility among the big four banks: The Australian

Visa and Mastercard have struck a staggering $38bn settlement to end a 20-year antitrust fight with US merchants over excessive “swipe fees.” The deal would cut average fees by 0.1% for five years and cap standard rates at 1.25%, but retail groups say it’s not enough, calling it “window dressing” that still leaves merchants overpaying to accept rewards cards: Reuters

Morgan Stanley says China’s real estate investment trust market could surge 30x to US$1tn within 20 years as developers shift from homebuilding to rental income and asset management. Giants like China Resources Land and Longfor are already leaning in, with recurring revenue cushioning profits amid plunging home sales and shrinking development margins: SCMP

Nine Entertainment is cutting around 50 jobs across its broadcast and streaming arm, the first major move by Amanda Laing since taking charge. The shake-up targets Stan, news, sport and creative teams as Nine looks to cut duplication and lift efficiency: AFR

Australia’s top tech leaders warn new merger laws starting Jan 1 will choke start-up growth and push capital offshore. SafetyCulture’s Luke Anear says the regime “builds walls around innovation,” while Aconex founder Leigh Jasper calls it “friction in the system.” The ACCC insists 80% of deals will be cleared fast, but founders fear red tape will stifle scale-ups: AFR

Rod Drury has launched Corro, a trans-Tasman start-up aiming to fix what he calls the “communication chaos” created by Microsoft Teams and Slack. Co-founded with ex-AWS national security exec Sara Goldsworthy, Corro is built with government-grade security to end the trade-off between control and flexibility: The Australian