Regulators

Dairy processor Lactalis Australia has been hit with a $950,000 penalty in the first proceedings against a company for breaches of the Dairy Code.

The competition regulator has delayed its final decision on whether to approve ANZ’s $4.9 billion acquisition of Queensland-based Suncorp, after expressing worries the tie-up could stifle the growth of smaller banks.

Wholesale retailer Costco has paid a penalty of $33,000 to the consumer watchdog after being caught out for labelling imported lobster as locally sourced.

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 proposed $1.5 billion merger of Australian Clinical Labs and Healius — two of Australia’s largest pathology services providers — is likely to substantially lessen competition, the ACCC has warned.

A former chef of catering company Peter Rowland Group has lost her fight for gender pay equality, with the Fair Work Commission accepting the merits of her claim but ruling the legislation that covers equal pay can apply only to current employees.

The corporate watchdog has cancelled the AFS licence of FTX Australia, the Australian subsidiary of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has revealed that its files were among those exposed in a cyberattack against law firm HWL Ebsworth.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has taken Bakers Delight to court for the alleged $1.25 million underpayment of staff at three stores, the regulator’s second attempt at holding a franchisor responsible for the alleged unlawful conduct of a franchisee. In proceedings launched in the Federal Court last month, the FWO claims Bakers Delight Holdings Pty Ltd,…

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”.