Industries

Defunct forex broker Union Standard and its former agents have been hit with a combined $300.2 million penalty for “egregious” contraventions, including deliberately pushing risky derivative contracts onto inexperienced investors.

A Mitre 10 franchisee’s case alleging Bunnings engaged in anti-competitive conduct by launching a $36 million store in regional Queensland will have significance for other independent hardware retailers that have closed down, a court has heard.

A class action alleging Sportsbet provided unlawful gambling services plans to cross-examine its CEO over his claim the company would not have offered the bets if it knew they were illegal, with the court hearing he relied on legal advice. 

Engineering firm Clough Projects Australia has lost its challenge to a judge's decision that stayed a $55 million cross-claim against former EnergyConnect joint venture partner Elecnor but kept Elecnor's case alive.

A developer has taken builder LU Simon to court, seeking an order that it pay $8.7 million in liquidated damages for failing to complete a $74 million residential development in Box Hill on time.

The Albanese government has appointed a senior executive with more than 25 years of leadership experience to take the reins as the first chief executive officer of the new national EPA, a cornerstone of the government's recent environmental law reforms. 

The Fair Work Commission has rejected Japanese company Inpex’s urgent application to halt industrial action at its Darwin Ichthys onshore and offshore facilities, saying the company failed to prove the action would significantly disrupt the economy. 

Real estate investment trust GPT Group has dropped $1.19 billion to acquire interests in Queensland’s Sunshine Plaza and Campbelltown’s Macarthur Square shopping centre.

A lawyer for ASIC has told a judge that $300 million in Shield Master Fund investments intended for property developments appear to have been diverted for other purposes.

Oral care company Hismile has paid $138,600 in penalties after the consumer watchdog issued it with seven infringement notices over alleged false and misleading social media advertisements.