A former Wotton Kearney senior associate is taking his old firm to court, alleging he was unfairly dismissed in breach of Fair Work general protections. He’s also named chief people officer Odile Shepherd and partner Charu Stevenson, and he’s representing himself. WK will defend the claim, insisting it “prides itself on being a people first business”: Lawyerly

⚖️ Regulatory: The Federal Government’s new digital duty of care Bill has passed the House and is expected to clear the Senate by late November. It requires almost any online business, not just big platforms, to proactively manage the risk of harm, rather than just taking content down when told to. That means doing risk assessments at least once a year and before any major product change. When deciding what safety measures are needed, cost can’t be taken into account. Maximum penalties hit $109.2m, and AI features are flagged as high risk. A 12-month transition follows, so now’s the time to review your safety processes: Ashurst Perkins Coie

⚖️ Corporate: How does the ASX’s draft overhaul of its Corporate Governance Principles stack up globally? Clayton Utz says it brings Australia closer to the flexible UK and Japanese models and further from the stricter US and German rules. Listed companies can still depart from recommendations if they explain why. Boards also get more freedom to judge director independence, and a shareholder now needs 10%, not 5%, before a director is presumed non-independent. The weak spot is diversity - the 30% gender target for ASX 300 boards trails the UK and EU, which aim for 40%. Dr Philip Lowe’s Advisory Group will recommend a final version by December, with reporting from financial years starting 1 July 2027: Clayton Utz

⚖️ Consumer: H&M Australia has paid $138.6k in penalties after the ACCC issued seven infringement notices over more than 4,000 items of children’s nightwear sold without the required fire hazard labels. Some pyjamas, dressing gowns and ponchos had no warning at all, while others had the wrong wording or a label in the wrong spot. The garments actually passed the flammability tests, but that didn’t help. Getting the warning label wrong is a breach in itself. H&M has also given a court-enforceable undertaking to run a safety awareness campaign, re-advertise its recalls and overhaul its compliance program: ACCC

What are the chances mushroom murderer Erin Patterson gets a High Court appeal? She has 28 days to seek special leave after the Victorian Court of Appeal dismissed her appeal. RMIT criminology expert Brianna Chesser says you’d need something egregious, like a serious procedural irregularity. She doesn’t see it here, but expects Patterson to try anyway: Guardian

Binance has covered 90% of the US$6.3bn stolen in crypto’s biggest hack on record, using its own treasury to make users whole. The rest will take longer. The FBI has blamed North Korea’s Lazarus Group. An engineer’s compromised laptop was the likely entry point: BBC

📉 OpenAI has slashed the target for its latest private funding round by US$10bn amid a tech sell-off driven by AI worries. The ChatGPT maker is now seeking about US$20bn, with its desired valuation dropping to US$1.25tn from US$1.4tn: Reuters

💊 EBOS is still being heavily shopped to private equity buyers. Shares in the $3.4bn pharmacy and pet care group are down 30% in a year and execs are heading for the exits, fuelling talk that suitors could grab the business on the cheap: The Australian

🤖 Amazon has set up supplier financing arrangements to borrow up to US$80bn against the hardware it buys, as AI spending runs hot. The secured facility can be drawn from early 2027 to Q3 2028, with lenders getting collateral rights over some purchased assets: Bloomberg

Gina Rinehart’s dividend from Roy Hill fell 25% to $1.06bn, while Hancock Prospecting’s profit dropped to $2.8bn, its lowest in seven years. Atlas Iron helped offset the fall, with its dividend jumping to $1.11bn. Meanwhile, a long-running dispute with her children has frozen $6.5bn in dividends: AFR

Westpac posted a $6.96bn full-year profit, with fewer customers struggling to repay their loans despite a record run of rate hikes. Stressed loans dropped 11 basis points, while business and institutional lending grew 12% and 18%. CEO Anthony Miller says rates will likely stay high into 2027: The Australian

White Fox founders Daniel and Georgia Contos took $58m in dividends last financial year, even as sales fell from $571m to $493m. Profit still rose from $134m to $144m. The company has also lent its founders nearly $160m, and ASIC fined it $187.8k last December for failing to file audited accounts: AFR

Apple has finally put a touchscreen on a MacBook, reversing Steve Jobs’ 2010 verdict that laptop touchscreens were “ergonomically terrible”. The new MacBook Pro starts at $4,599 and tops out at $22,424. It’s new CEO John Ternus’ latest bid to leave his mark on Apple, now worth over US$5 trillion: The Australian