Competition & Consumer Protection
Judge orders Apple to allow developers’ in-app payment methods
Apple has been ordered to reinstate Epic Games' Fortnite game to its App Store in Australia and allow developers to offer in-app payment methods to Australians, after it was found to have breached competition laws.
Privacy & Cybersecurity
Optus fights for soft class closure in data breach class action
Optus has urged a court to make orders requiring group members to register for a data breach class action that covers 9.5 million people, but the lead applicant argues the case should remain open.
Class Actions
Hotel quarantine class action deal wins OK, firm earns record contingency fee
A court has approved a $125 million settlement in the class action over Victoria's botched hotel quarantine program, and has largely signed off on the plaintiff's firm proposed contingency fee.
Securities
CSL hit with shareholder class action
A class action on behalf of shareholders has been lodged against ASX-listed biotechnology company CSL over disclosures in relation to its forecast for the 2026 financial year.
Class Actions
Law firms to fight it out for carriage of Cochlear shareholder class action
Two law firms will battle for carriage of a shareholder class action against hearing device manufacturer Cochlear, a court has heard.
Class Actions
Meta hit with class action over social media addiction
Digital giant Meta faces a class action in the Federal Court after the company's multibillion-dollar settlement in the US over harms caused by its social media platforms – the first Australian class action of its kind.
Class Actions
Judge appoints barristers to weigh in on Toyota class action funder’s cut
In a change of heart, a judge has appointed two barristers to act as contradictors in argument over the funder's proposed $244 million cut of a record $750 million settlement in two Toyota class actions.
AI
Law firms ‘wrangling’ with new pricing models in wake of AI
Law firms are moving away from time-based billing to other pricing models with the advent of generative AI, according to an expert, and the shift could help junior lawyers retain critical skills.
Courts
Judge calls for ‘fundamental’ reform of expert evidence, with AI’s help
A judge has called for an overhaul of the traditional expert evidence process, which he said was one driver of the high cost of civil litigation, remarking that courts are not an “expensive dispute resolution service” reserved for corporations and the wealthy.
Class Actions
Sydney Uni postgrads take failed class action to High Court
The High Court has been asked to revive a class action brought by a postgrad student who alleges the research stipend he received from Sydney University was less than minimum wage.
