Investigation

Sydney lender GEMI may face a class action for allegedly enticing wealthy individuals to make investments in products they were misled into believing were low risk.

The Australian Information Commissioner has launched an investigation into the personal information handling practices of law firm HWL Ebsworth following a cyberattack that saw the firm’s data dumped on the dark web. 

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs is facing a class action investigation for allegedly sharing the sensitive medical and personal data of 300,000 veterans and their families without authorisation.

US consumer goods giant 3M is facing a possible class action on behalf of members of the Australian Defence Force who allegedly suffered hearing loss from defective combat earplugs.

An investigation has been launched into a possible class action that would seek “housing justice” for Aboriginal tenants living in substandard public housing in Western Australia, following a landmark ruling by the High Court.

Two units of insurer IAG are facing possible class actions that mirror claims in proceedings brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission last week that accuse the insurer of misleading home owners insurance customers about loyalty discounts.

The ACCC has raised concerns about Coles plans to acquire milk processing plants from Saputo, with the regulator saying the transaction — marking the first time a supermarket chain has ventured into the processing market — would be a “major structural change”.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has raised Medibank’s capital adequacy requirement by $250 million, following last year’s cyber attack against the private health insurer, which exposed the personal details of 10 million customers. 

Casino operator Crown Resorts has agreed to backpay employees more than $1.2 million, after the company notified the Fair Work Ombudsman that it had underpaid workers at its Melbourne and Perth locations for almost six years. 

Commonwealth Bank of Australia has copped a record $3.55 million penalty for breaching spam laws after it sent more than 65 million emails without an easy way for individuals to unsubscribe.