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A judge who has been an enthusiastic lab rat in the virtual hearing experiment forced on the country’s courts by the COVID-19 pandemic has expressed doubts that he is accurately reading witnessses giving remote evidence.

The Fair Work Commission has thrown out an unfair dismissal claim brought by an “utterly unrepentant” automotive mechanic, who described the COVID-19 pandemic as a “scam” and repeatedly breached NSW public health orders.

A judge has suggested that a class action against the New South Wales government over a mandate requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should be de-classed, saying it was a “straightforward point” because no financial relief was sought.

Western Australia premier Mark McGowan has been ordered to appear in person in a Sydney court to give evidence at trial in a defamation case by mining billionaire Clive Palmer, but a judge has pushed back the hearing so McGowan can attend state parliament.

A judge has dismissed an urgent application to block Qantas from taking disciplinary action against unvaccinated employees, but the airline has committed to extending their leave with pay until a challenge to its COVID-19 vaccination policy can be heard.

Google has argued there would be a “devastating” effect on the internet if the High Court upholds a judgment awarded to gangland lawyer George Defteros that found the tech giant liable for linking to an allegedly defamatory article.

The Australian Federal Police is cracking down on COVID-19 rapid antigen test price gouging, deploying a zero-tolerance strike team to investigate “outrageous” markups referred by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The influence of an unvaccinated “iconic world tennis star” on the young and impressionable was not fanciful, the Full Federal Court has said in reasons for throwing out Novak Djokovic’s challenge to his deportation from Australia.

Insurers have triumphed in a lawsuit over coverage for the $3.2 million cancellation of the Big Red Bash outback music festival during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with a judge finding a communicable disease exclusion in the organiser’s event cancellation policy was engaged.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is working with the Australian Federal Police to combat price gouging over the sale of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests.