Companies

The State of Queensland and subcontractor Sunwater have agreed to pay $440 million to settle part of a class action over the 2011 floods in Queensland that destroyed 2,000  homes in the state.

The federal government may be hit with a class action over biosecurity breaches that allegedly led to the 2016 outbreak of white spot disease in South-East Queensland that decimated the region's commercial prawn industry.

Australian Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese and the Transport Workers Union have urged the government to regulate the gig economy following the deaths of five food delivery workers and a landmark ruling from the UK's highest court that found Uber drivers are not independent contractors.

ASIC has launched court proceedings against National Australia Bank accusing the bank of engaging in unconscionable conduct by charging more than $365,000 in fees to which it was not contractually entitled.

A group representing insurers has filed another test case over pandemic coverage in business interruption policies, following a landmark loss in a test case concerning an infectious disease exclusion that could cost insurers $10 billion.

The first ever application for a group costs order will be heard in class actions against ANZ and Westpac, and the judge weighing the application has urged the parties to think carefully about the evidence they will submit in support of their bid for a cut of any settlement or judgment.

Horizon Oil has won its bid to shield Herbert Smith Freehills documents advising the company did not breach foreign bribery laws from being revealed in a defamation lawsuit brought against Fairfax Media by a Papua New Guinea government Minister.

Social media giant Facebook has announced it will soon reverse its ban on news pages in Australia after discussions with the Morrison government resulted in changes to the mandatory arbitration requirements found in the proposed Australian media bargaining code.

A former director of a Leighton Holdings subsidiary has been hit with a third foreign bribery charge after a six-year AFP investigation found bribes were paid to Tanzanian public officials to secure a mooring replacement contract worth $US66.48 million. 

A royal commission has been established in Victoria to look into whether Crown Melbourne is suitable to hold a casino licence in the state, following a damning report from the NSW gaming authority.