Regulators

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.

Lendlease has dropped KPMG as its auditor, after it was revealed under parliamentary privilege that the firm misused the developer's confidential client data. 

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. 

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.

A shipping and logistics company that services remote communities in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland has amended its contracts with remote customers, after the ACCC expressed concerns about anti-competitive clauses. 

Children’s charity The Smith Family will pay $5.9 million to hundreds of underpaid workers following an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has found telco Optus failed to protect the data of customers whose personal information was listed in the White Pages after they sought an unlisted number.

JB Hi-Fi will refund customers over $250,000 after the consumer watchdog raised concerns the electronics retailer's 'was/now' pricing campaign was misleading. 

A judge has found that online training provider RSA Express, which reaped $8 million from consumers who paid for courses they did not complete, made misleading representations that customers would only pay for courses after they passed.