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Financial Services AU
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June 19, 2026
Ashurst Says Law Firm Did Not Conduct KPMG Investigation
Global law firm Ashurst told a parliamentary inquiry on Friday it did not conduct an investigation into KPMG's whistleblower, in a direct challenge to the auditing firm's claims to senators.
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June 19, 2026
Lendlease Chair Says KPMG Audit Access A 'Grave Misuse'
Lendlease Chairman John Gillam said KPMG's alleged use of confidential information in their audit to win new accounts is a "grave misuse of access privilege" and they are "deeply disappointed" by the "fundamental breach of trust" by the auditor, in a parliamentary hearing on Friday.
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June 18, 2026
HSBC Australia Fined $35M, Admits To Serious Scam Failures
HSBC Australia must pay a $35 million penalty after admitting to serious failures to protect customers against scams that left some clients losing their life savings, a Federal Court of Australia judge ruled on Thursday, matching the fines sought by the regulator and bank.
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June 18, 2026
Justices Signal Struggles With Causation In CBA Class Action
Two High Court justices pushed Commonwealth Bank of Australia shareholders to explain how the bank's failure to disclose anti-money laundering failures caused their alleged losses, suggesting that the shareholders' causation theory was complicated and not necessarily in line with precedent they cited.
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June 17, 2026
APRA Warns Banks To Meet Threat Of Geopolitical Risks
APRA Chair John Lonsdale said the financial services industry needs to lift its standards to protect against geopolitical shocks, in a speech on Wednesday, citing the risks of foreign interference, sanctions and frontier AI models which threaten to change the nature, speed, and scale of cyber, disinformation and operational risks.
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June 17, 2026
Ex-Star CEO Fined $700K, Banned 6 Yrs On Director Breaches
The Federal Court on Wednesday ordered former Star Entertainment CEO Matt Bekier to pay a $700,000 penalty for anti-money laundering compliance breaches, around half of what ASIC had been seeking, and ordered a six-year management ban.
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June 17, 2026
ASIC Wins High Court Fight Over Block Earner Crypto Product
The High Court of Australia on Wednesday ruled Block Earner's "Earner" crypto-linked fixed-yield product was a financial investment product and required a financial services license in a win for ASIC and clarification for what constitutes a "financial product" under corporate law.
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June 16, 2026
Law Council Defends Client Legal Privilege Amid KPMG Probe
The Law Council of Australia has challenged the "public misapprehension" that legal professional privilege is inherently scandalous and against the public interest, amid concerns legal privilege will be used to shield KPMG from government regulator requests into the consultancy giant's alleged misuse of confidential client information.
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June 16, 2026
APRA Draft Rules Tighten Governance At Banks, Super Funds
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority on Tuesday announced new draft guidelines for banking, superannuation and insurance that boost board requirements to oversee risk and governance and adds assessments on the fitness and propriety of directors.
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June 16, 2026
KPMG Bids For Govt Contracts On Pause Amid Ethical Probe
The Federal Government on Monday said KPMG Australia has agreed not to bid for new Commonwealth contracts for three months while it completes its inquiry into ethical concerns around the consultancy giant.
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June 15, 2026
WA Bill Would Create Judge Complaints Watchdog
The Western Australian government is planning an independent watchdog to handle complaints about the conduct and capacity of judges and magistrates in new legislation announced on Sunday.
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June 15, 2026
ASX Settles ASIC Suit On Misleading Chess Update For $20M
The Australian Stock Exchange agreed on Monday to pay a $20.5 million penalty and $3 million of ASIC's costs in a last-minute settlement with the regulator over misleading updates the ASX made about its CHESS clearing and settlements project, just hours before the planned trial in the Federal Court.
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June 12, 2026
Federal Justice Jackman Calls Judge Delays 'Egregious'
Federal Court Justice Ian Jackman has called out a number of Federal Court judges for slow delivery of their judgments in what he described as "egregious" delays in a lecture in Sydney on Thursday.
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June 12, 2026
ASIC Wins Record $300M Fine On Union Standard Misconduct
The Federal Court issued a record $300.2 million penalty on Thursday across foreign exchange broker Union Standard International Group and its representatives EuropeFX and TradeFred for "unconscionable" conduct selling risky financial products to vulnerable customers who lost tens of millions.
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June 12, 2026
ACCC Backs Magellan, Barrenjoey Investment Bank Tie-Up
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has approved the merger between investment banks Magellan Financial Group Ltd. and Barrenjoey Capital Partners in a deal expected to complete in early July, according to a statement by Magellan today.
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June 11, 2026
High Court Rules Trust Did Not Hold Taxable Loan
The Australia High Court rejected Australian revenue authorities' bid to tax nearly $1.7 million that a real estate company held in a trust, ruling Wednesday that the money did not constitute an unpaid loan.
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June 11, 2026
Victorian Lawyer Reprimanded Over 'Dummy Directors'
A Victorian lawyer has been fined and given a stayed suspension of her practising certificate after the Victoria Civil and Administrative Tribunal found she engaged in professional misconduct including facilitating the appointment of "dummy directors" before a company liquidation, falsifying documents and failing to act in her client's best interests.
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June 10, 2026
ASIC Targets Greenwashing, Fake Endorsements In Ad Update
ASIC says financial services firms need to be aware of greenwashing, disingenuous celebrity testimonials and offering unrealistic expectations to consumers including overly promoting benefits and bait advertising low interest rates, in updated advertising guidelines.
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June 10, 2026
ASIC Admonishes Super Trustees On Death Claims Handling
ASIC pushed superannuation trustees to speed up their handling of death benefit claims on Wednesday, pointing out that Australia's ageing population has already prompted a 10% rise in claims and with growth expected to continue.
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June 09, 2026
Clive Palmer Company Pleads Guilty In Takeover Law Case
Billionaire Clive Palmer's company Palmer Leisure Coolum has pled guilty in the Brisbane Magistrate's Court to breaching takeover law over a proposed acquisition of a timeshare resort scheme after over a decade of legal battles, including a series of attempted appeals by the Queensland mining and resort businessman to the High Court
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June 09, 2026
James Hardie Hit With Class Action After Weak US Results
A James Hardie shareholder has hit the building materials giant with a class action in the Victorian Supreme Court, accusing the company of misleading investors about weaknesses in its American business that knocked more than a third off its share price value.
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June 09, 2026
MinterEllison Chided By Panel For Possible Humm Conflict
The federal Takeovers Panel has criticized MinterEllison's representation of Humm Group Ltd in its proposed acquisition by Credit Corp, calling out a possible conflict of interest stemming from the firm's earlier work for Humm founder Andrew Abercrombie, in detailed comments released Thursday.
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June 09, 2026
ASIC Launches Probe Into KPMG's Alleged Info Sharing
ASIC has started a formal investigation into KPMG, as well as two of the consulting giant's audit senior partners, escalating probes into allegations staff misused confidential client information to help win new accounts, agency Chair Sarah Court said in a senate hearing on Friday.
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June 04, 2026
H&M, Sephora, Zara Pay $600k Over Late Financial Reports
Beauty retailer Sephora and fast fashion giants H&M and Zara have paid nearly $600,000 combined after Australia's corporate regulator hit the trio with infringement notices for failing to lodge timely financial reports, ASIC announced Thursday.
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June 04, 2026
Solar Directors Must Return $880K As Judge Says Doc Faked
Two former directors of a solar equipment joint venture must return $880,000 to the company after using a faked sale document to extract funds as the business relationship broke down, a Federal Court judge ruled Thursday while criticizing both sides for unreliable, self-serving testimony that forced him to rely on the logic of events over their recounts.