Education

An underpayments class action brought by postgraduate research candidates at the University of Sydney is facing another summary dismissal bid from the federal government, as the university foreshadows a novel argument that the group members are not employees.

A judge has slapped the University of Melbourne with a $74,590 penalty for taking adverse action against two casual academics to prevent them from claiming payment for extra hours worked.

Australia’s largest childcare centre operator G8 Education has agreed to pay $46.5 million to settle a shareholder class action alleging the company failed to keep investors in the loop about factors affecting its 2017 financial performance, and the firm that ran the case is set to make $13 million after securing the first group costs order in Victoria.

The Australian Law Reform Commission has called for reforms that would do away with a broad exception that allows religious schools to discriminate against students and staff on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Developer Centurion Australia Investments has lost an appeal in a dispute with builder APM Group in which it argued that its RMIT Village student accommodation falls under laws applying to domestic buildings. 

The competition regulator has taken training provider Express Online Training to court for allegedly misleading consumers by promising they would only be charged for their online courses upon completion and that the courses could be finished in one day.

Plaintiff law firm Shine Lawyers has succeeded in narrowing the services an early learning services chain can register its 'Shine Advantage' trade mark for.

Embattled wealth guru Dominique Grubisa has succeeding in overturning banning orders from the corporate regulator, with a tribunal finding she did not pose a threat to consumers or the financial services market.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has taken the University of New South Wales to court, alleging its record keeping practices were “so inadequate” that it was difficult to identify whether employees were underpaid.

The High Court has granted defunct online educator Captain Cook College special leave to appeal a finding that it engaged in systemic unconscionable conduct by enrolling thousands of unsuitable students, who accrued $60 million in debt but never finished their courses.