Regulators

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has begun a sweep of social media sweep over concerns about “manipulative marketing techniques” employed by influencers.

Melbourne stockbroker Bradley Grimm has pleaded guilty to charges of dishonesty following an investigation alleging Grimm — whose wife is a former ASIC employee — fleeced funds from clients.

A full bench of the Fair Work Commission has overturned a ruling that a Virgin Australia flight attendant was unfairly sacked, finding she breached the airline’s policies by sleeping on the job and stashing snacks in her crew bag.

Two home finance companies and their father-son directors have been hit with $150,000 in penalties after a judge found they failed to cooperate with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority in an ASIC enforcement action and subjected AFCA staff to “inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour.”

The Fair Work Ombudsman has filed court proceedings against the owner of Super Cheap Auto, Rebel Sport, Macpac, BCF and Ray’s Outdoors for allegedly underpaying thousands of employees across Australia.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is weighing up undertakings proposed by Swiss construction chemical company Sika AG to alleviate concerns that its planned acquisition of Germany-based MBCC Group would be anticompetitive.

The fate of 25 unfair dismissal claims by former DP World employees hangs in the balance after the Fair Work Commission ruled that the stevedoring company failed to consult its workers about its COVID-19 vaccination policy.

Wood-fibre processor and exporter Midway Limited has been hit with a $33,000 penalty after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleged it failed to disclose a revenue downturn to shareholders.

ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes will step down next month after taking a role with investment manager Vanguard – which paid a $40,000 fine to the corporate watchdog just last month.

Three class action law firms have joined forces to run a landmark data breach complaint against Medibank, seeking compensation for up to 9.7 million affected customers.