Australian Government Solicitor

Collapsed vocational education provider Phoenix Institute and its marketing arm have been hit with a record $438 million penalty after a judge found they acted unconscionably and with “callous indifference” by enticing vulnerable consumers to enrol in unsuitable courses with promises of free laptops.

The Federal Court has thrown out a lawsuit accusing former NSW politician Craig Kelly of breaching electoral laws with election posters that displayed the details of his authorisation in 8 point font.

A court has set aside former Federal Minister for Resources Keith Pitt’s decision to develop a nuclear waste facility in Napandee in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, saying a fair-minded observer may have perceived that Pitt was biased in selecting the site over two other proposed locations. 

SkyCity may be the first company to test the strength of AUSTRAC’s claims in court, according to a judge who recently said in a separate case that the regulator’s habit of agreeing to penalties could give rise to a “moral hazard”.

The Full Court has rejected class action claims that the age pension discriminates against Indigenous Australians because of differences in life expectancy.

A judge has approved a $450 million penalty put forward by Crown Resorts and AUSTRAC despite reservations about evidence going to the casino operator’s financial position.

The judge asked to approve a proposed $450 million penalty in AUSTRAC’s case against Crown Resorts has questioned whether the practice of regulators settling enforcement action ahead of trial gave rise to a “moral hazard” problem.

A proposed interest-free payment plan for a $450 million penalty agreed to between Crown Resorts and AUSTRAC has been questioned by a judge, who said it would have “the Commonwealth of Australia act as the Crown’s banker” for two years.

A federal court judge has slammed Australia’s use of makeshift hotel detention centres as lacking “ordinary human decency”, but ruled they are not illegal in the case of a Kurdish refugee who was held for 14 months in two Melbourne hotels. 

The government of Peru has appealed a ruling that rejected its bid to trade mark the alcoholic spirit pisco, after an IP Australia delegate found Aussie consumers think of more than Peruvian pisco when they see the name.