Regulators

A judge has hit ANZ with a $25 million penalty in a case by the corporate regulator that alleged the bank short-changed hundreds of thousands of customers to the tune of $200 million.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has filed an appeal after a judge dismissed its case alleging the Commonwealth Bank of Australia accepted conflicted remuneration through the sale of its Essential Super product, finding it was “misconceived”.

Queensland crane company NQCranes has agreed to pay a $1 million penalty in the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s case alleging it engaged in a conspiracy with a multinational rival to divide the Brisbane and Newcastle markets.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has brought proceedings against a Sydney-based issuer of Qoin that is also facing a class action, alleging it misled customers about the unregulated and ‘inherently risky’ crypto-asset. 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has dragged Google-owned Fitbit to court for allegedly telling consumers they had to mail in broken devices within 45 days in order to obtain a refund.

Companies will face penalties of up to $50 million for serious privacy law breaches under legislation to be introduced the Attorney-General following data breaches by Optus, Medibank and Woolworths unit MyDeal.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is currently “not satisfied” that the public benefits from allowing Virgin and Alliance to continue to cooperate in markets for fly-in fly-out customers will outweigh its competition concerns. 

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has found that Seven and Nine breached industry rules by showing gambling ads during their coverage of the Olympics and the NRL grand final last year.

The former managing director and CEO of Bingo Industries has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the waste company in fixing prices for demolition waste services in Sydney.

The ACCC has expressed concerns that Forestry Corporation of NSW’s proposed acquisition of Hume Forests could lead to price increases in regional areas by removing a significant competitor in the softwood market.