Financial Services AU
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August 25, 2026
ASIC Warns Super Trustees Falling Short, Flags Private Credit Risks
ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant has hit out at superannuation trustees not delivering core requirements and signalled the regulator's dissatisfaction with their oversight on high-risk private credit.
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August 25, 2026
InterPrac AFCA Challenge Delays $578K Investor Payouts
Almost 1,400 complaints against Interprac Financial Planning over advice linked to the failed First Guardian and Shield schemes, including three cases in which investors are awaiting payment of $578,000 in compensation, face at least another four months in limbo after the Federal Court gave the firm access to AFCA documents and extra time to prepare its case.
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August 25, 2026
Berndale Director Appeals 23-Month Sentence On Siphoning Funds
One of the former directors of collapsed broker Berndale Capital is appealing his two-year jail sentence in the Federal Court of Australia over his conviction for siphoning client funds for his personal benefit.
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August 24, 2026
Victoria Bar Sounds Alarm Over Plan To Split Court Of Appeal
The Victorian Bar Association says it is "deeply concerned" about threats to the independence of the judiciary in response to a state opposition party proposal to establish a standalone court of criminal appeal if elected.
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August 24, 2026
MinterEllison Worker Denied Most Trial Aid Requests
A MinterEllison employee suing the law firm for nearly $800,000 has failed to convince the Federal Court of Australia to grant her most of the special accommodations she had sought for her discrimination trial to be heard next month.
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August 24, 2026
Ex-ACCC Chair Rejects Big Four Break-up As 'Draconian Overreach'
Former ACCC chair Graeme Samuel has rejected growing calls to break up the Big Four accounting firms by separating their audit and consulting divisions, describing the move as "draconian overreach" in a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into KPMG audit leaks published on Monday.
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August 24, 2026
ASIC Wins Liquidators For Firms Of Banned Adviser, Lawyer
ASIC has secured orders winding up 12 companies owned or directed by accountant and solicitor Christopher Edwards, after the NSW Supreme Court cited "significant deficiencies" in his property and investment network, a lack of confidence in the companies' management and serious regulatory findings that led to bans by the Council of the Law Society of NSW, the Tax Practitioners Board and as a financial services director by ASIC.
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August 24, 2026
KPMG Australia To Cut 360 Staff Amid Whistleblower Fallout
KPMG Australia said it will cut 27 partners and about 360 staff from its consulting division as the fallout from the whistleblower scandals hits revenues.
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August 24, 2026
Judge Denies Brothel Owner's Bid To Stay Bendigo Debanking
The owner of Melbourne brothel Gotham City has lost another bid to keep his Bendigo Bank accounts open in the Supreme Court of Victoria, failing to stay the discharge of a debanking injunction that ended at 5pm last Friday.
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August 21, 2026
Law Firm Drops 'Deposit Flicking' Case After Media Attention
Law firm Agency Settlements has discontinued its case against the founder of conveyancing firm Dott & Crossitt, Jared Zak, and agreed to pay costs over his allegations that it engaged in "deposit flicking," citing media coverage of the matter driving such rapid growth that it could no longer substantiate specific losses, director Lucas McEntee said in a statement to Law360 on Thursday.
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August 21, 2026
Judge Backs NetWealth $100M First Guardian Deal With ASIC
A Federal Court judge has approved a more than $100 million agreement between NetWealth Superannuation and ASIC, with no further penalties for NetWealth, after it paid out customers for their net deposits into the collapsed First Guardian Master Fund.
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August 21, 2026
ART Chief Enlists Staff To Head Off Next Robodebt
The President of the Administrative Review Tribunal and Federal Court of Australia Justice Emilios Kyrou says the sheer volume of cases overseen by the ART makes it impossible for leadership alone to identify systemic maladministration issues, saying he calls on members and staff to bring attention to recurring problems as a safeguard against another "Robodebt-type tragedy."
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August 21, 2026
Struck-Off Lawyer Jailed For Holding Back Email Details
A Victorian Supreme Court judge has ordered former solicitor Joseph Guss to spend a week in jail after he refused to hand over email login details to a manager appointed to his practice following the cancellation of his practising certificate for several instances of professional misconduct.
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August 21, 2026
NSW Judge Must Recuse Over Grievance Against DPP Chief
NSW District Court Judge Penelope Wass has been ordered to stand aside from three criminal cases after the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal found a reasonable observer may have doubts about her impartiality on the bench.
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August 21, 2026
BGH Tops TPG With $663M Bid For Equity Trustees
Equity Trustees, the superannuation trustee being sued by ASIC over alleged failures linked to the collapsed First Guardian and Shield funds, said it received an unsolicited $663 million takeover bid from Melbourne-based private equity firm BGH Capital, eclipsing TPG Global's offer earlier this week.
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August 21, 2026
Alleged Thief's Silk Tells High Court Bitcoin Is Not Property
Bitcoin is a concept or idea rather than property that can be stolen, counsel for a former Federal Police officer charged with the theft of $493,000 worth of Bitcoin has told the High Court of Australia, as part of an appeal over the legal status of the cryptocurrency.
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August 21, 2026
Ex-KPMG Whistleblower Suit Targets Big Four Liability Caps
A small public-interest case listed for trial in NSW's Supreme Court next year could expose the Big Four accounting firms to larger damages bills, forcing them to take accountability for "negligent, deceptive or misleading" advice given to clients, according to the ex-KPMG whistleblower behind the action Brendan Lyon.
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August 21, 2026
Shine Writes Down $13M In Surprise Class Action Ruling
Class action law firm Shine Lawyers said an "unexpected" interlocutory judgment in an ongoing class action has forced it to write down $13.7 million from this year's earnings, though it is considering appealing the case.
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August 20, 2026
Holley Nethercote Sees More Coordinated Regulator Scrutiny
Holley Nethercote managing partner Paul Derham says he expects APRA to use more independent experts that shift power away from banks during remediation, alongside more regulatory overlap by the major financial watchdogs as one investigation prompts greater scrutiny by others.
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August 20, 2026
Mawhinney Can't Dodge ASIC Demand For Company Reports
The Administrative Review Tribunal has upheld an ASIC decision demanding financial reports from three companies run by banned financial director James Mawhinney.
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August 20, 2026
APRA Puts Super Trustees On Notice Over Platform Risks
APRA has told superannuation trustees offering investment platforms to expect "intensive and risk-based supervisory oversight," while saying trustees facing enforcement action will be watched closely to ensure remedial action is appropriate and timely, as part of the regulator's corporate plan for this financial year.
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August 20, 2026
Ovanti Plans To Sue Former US CEO Amid BNPL Collapse
Fintech firm Ovanti said it is preparing legal proceedings against the former CEO of its bankrupt US buy-now pay-later business, according to an Australian Securities Exchange statement on Thursday.
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August 20, 2026
Ex-Arrium CEO Rejects 'Blind Optimism' Claim In Class Trial
Former Arrium Ltd CEO Andrew Roberts rejected allegations on Thursday that he engaged in "blind optimism" regarding the mining and steelmaking company's future prospects ahead of its collapse, in his final day of testimony in a shareholder class action trial over allegedly misleading financial reports.
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August 20, 2026
White Oak Must Turn Over Greensill, Gupta WhatsApp Chats
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered private lender White Oak to hand over WhatsApp messages between its executives, Greensill founder Lex Greensill and British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta that insurers say covered transactions similar to those at the heart of the multibillion-dollar litigation over Greensill Capital's collapse.
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August 19, 2026
Super Trustees Bear Brunt Of Mulino's Compensation Reform
A new compensation scheme to be funded by trustees and overseen by APRA was announced today by Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino, while the government reins in payouts from the existing CSLR scheme, funded by financial advisers, brokers, securities dealers and loan and credit providers.