Kia Motors is facing an investigation into a possible class action on behalf of car owners whose vehicles were recalled due to the risk that they could catch fire when parked.
In a victory for gig economy workers, the Fair Work Commission has found that a Deliveroo driver who was sacked for not working fast enough was an employee, saying the company’s power to exert control over its workers with data collected through its app weighed in favour of a finding of that employer-employee relationship existed.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has fined Regional Express Holdings $66,000 after finding there were reasonable grounds to believe the airline violated it continuous disclosure obligations by telling a journalist, but not shareholders, about its potential plans to launch domestic operations.
The former chief financial officer of delisted Traditional Therapy Clinics has been sentenced to one year and ten months in prison after pleading guilty to market manipulation charges relating to transactions intended to create an artificial share price for the traditional therapy clinic company.
Ernst & Young has resigned from its role as Omni Bridgeway’s long-time auditor after determining a class action against it that’s being backed by the litigation funder could threaten its independence.
A Worrells liquidator facing ASIC proceedings seeking to have his registration cancelled has won costs from the regulator after a judge found he was entitled to a “coherent pleading” and ordered the regulator to file a statement of claim.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has banned the former managing director of collapsed financial services provider Theta Asset Management from providing financial services for four years, after a court hit the company with a $2 million penalty for issuing defective product disclosure statements for a property investment scheme targeting retirees.
Several banks and executives facing criminal cartel charges over a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement have won access to interview notes taken by whistleblower JP Morgan prior to it being granted immunity, which the banks say will prove inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case.
Telstra has been fined $50 million for using unconscionable tactics to sign up more than 100 Indigenous customers with post-paid mobile plans they didn’t understand and could not afford, the second highest penalty ever imposed for consumer law violations.
Lawyers welcomed the government’s “overdue” announcement of a so-called patent box that will slash the tax rate on income derived from patented drug and biotech inventions developed in Australia, but called on the government to apply the regime to other sectors.