LAW – AUSTRALIA – CASES

Coles concedes mistake in discounting item to make it more expensive after a week

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Original article by Elias Visontay
The Age – Page: Online : 18-Feb-26

The Federal Court has been told that consumers understand that grocery prices will change in a high-inflation environment. Coles Group’s lead barrister John Sheahan addressed the court on the second day of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s case against the supermarket giant over alleged ‘sham’ price discounts. He contended that shelf tickets with a ‘was/is’ price are a legitimate sign of "good value today" for a specific product, and that the ‘Down, Down’ campaign was a broader indication that Coles was trying to keep prices low rather than advertising a specific discount. Sheahan also said Coles has acknowledged that one of the products that attracted the ACCC’s scrutiny should not have beeen added to the ‘Down, Down’ promotion only a week after a large price rise.

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Santos defeats landmark greenwashing court challenge

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Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 15 & 24 : 18-Feb-26

Santos committed to a 2040 target of net-zero from its Scope 1 and 2 emissions in its 2020 annual report and investor presentations. The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility subsequently pursued legal action against Santos, alleging that the oil and gas group had breached continuous disclosure or consumer laws, but the Federal Court has dismissed the case. The court has not yet published its reasons for ruling in favour of Santos, although the judgment is expected to clarify that forward-looking emissions pledges are not in breach of disclosure laws provided that a company can demonstrate that they had reasonable grounds for making the claims at the time.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, AUSTRALASIAN CENTRE FOR CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Australian tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle may avoid jail in plea deal

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Original article by
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 28-May-25

Former Australian Tax Office debt collection officer Richard Boyle has pleaded guilty to four criminal charges in the Adelaide District Court, while 15 charges were withdrawn. Another five charges had been withdrawn in March. Former senator Rex Patrick, who founded the Whistleblowers Justice Fund, has described Boyle as a ‘superhero’ for publicly exposing the ATO’s debt recovery tactics; he adds that it is a disgrace that Boyle has been pursued for eight years over his revelations. Patrick believes that Boyle could potentially avoid custodial sentence after pleading guilty; however, he adds that Boyle may still be convicted, which would affect his future career prospects.

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AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, DISTRICT COURT OF ADELAIDE

Medibank must release hack reports

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Original article by Angelica Snowden
The Australian – Page: 17 : 8-Apr-25

The Federal Court has ruled that Medibank’s customers should be given access to cyber-security reports that were prepared by Deloitte in the wake of the health insurer’s data breach in October 2022. Medibank had contended that the reports were subject to legal professional privilege. Justice Helen Rofe noted that Medibank had consistently stated that it would share the results of the external review, although she concluded that chairman Mike Wilkins had in fact never intended to do so. Customers who were affected by the cyber-attack are pursuing a class action against Medibank.

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

Unions build case for same job, same pay

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Original article by Euan Black
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 21-Jan-25

The Mining & Energy Union and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union are testing the federal government’s ‘same work, same pay’ laws in the Federal Court. They want workers at three BHP mines who are employed either by labour hire firms or BHP units and who are doing the same jobs as people directly employed by BHP to be paid the same amount, with the federal court hearing the difference in pay between those directly employed by BHP and those who are not being but are performing the same role can be as much as $49,000 a year. Should BHP lose the case, its estimates suggest it will have to pay an extra $1.3 billion a year.

CORPORATES
MINING AND ENERGY UNION, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Labor stares down furious CFMEU’s court challenge

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 4-Sep-24

The CFMEU’s former national president Jade Ingham says legislation to appoint an administrator to its construction division is "unconstitutional and undemocratic". He has launched a legal challenge to the legislation in the High Court, contending that the laws could potentially be used to target any organisation that "gets off-side" of the federal government. Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have stated that the federal government had expected a legal challenge and has prepared for it.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Fortescue insists spying on families wasn’t inappropriate

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Original article by Angelica Snowden
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 21-Aug-24

Fortescue is being represented by Julian Cooke SC in its intellectual property dispute with ‘green iron’ start-up Element Zero. The company was founded by former Fortescue employees Bart Kolodziejczyk, Bjorn Winther-Jensen and Michael Masterman, allegedly using the iron ore miner’s intellectual property. Cooke has defenced Fortescue’s use of a private investigator to place the three executives and their families under surveillance, telling the Federal Court that there was a real risk that information pertaining to the pending court case could have been destroyed. The surveillance operation was followed by raids on the homes and business premises of the Element Zero directors

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, ELEMENT ZERO PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Fortescue ‘portrayed former execs as dishonest’, court told

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Original article by Angelica Snowden
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 20-Aug-24

Element Zero is seeking to have search orders awarded to Fortescue in May by Federal Court judge Melissa Perry thrown out; Parry granted the orders on the back of allegations that former Fortescue executives who are now directors of Element Zero had stolen Fortescue’s intellectual property. In trying to convince Federal Court judge Brigitte Markovic that the orders granted by Parry should be thrown out, the Element Zero directors told the court on Monday that Fortescue had sought to portray them as ‘shady actors’ who were seeking to steal its ‘green iron secrets’ so as to justify its request for the orders, which saw it raid their homes and offices.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, ELEMENT ZERO PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

War crimes whistleblower jailed for nearly six years

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Original article by Michael Pelly
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 15-May-24

Defence whistleblower David McBride will spend a minimum of 27 months in prison for providing classified military documents to journalists. The ACT Supreme Court has sentenced McBride to five years and eight months in jail, and he will be eligible for parole in August 2026. Justice David Mossop said the former military lawyer’s actions were a "gross breach of trust" of his position in the Australian Defence Force, and others must be deterred from engaging in similar conduct. The leaked documents were subsequently used as the basis for a series of media reports on Australian solders’ alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.

CORPORATES
SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE

More staff come forward in Super Retail legal case

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz, Ayesha de Kretser
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 30-Apr-24

Harmers Workplace Lawyers has confirmed that it is acting for four female employees at Super Retail Group who are seeking compensation over alleged governance breaches, including an undisclosed relationship between CEO Anthony Heraghty and its former head of HR, Jane Kelly. Harmers has stated that more staff have come forward to join the action after Super Retail Group disclosed the relationship in an announcement on Friday, with the company stating that it expected two employees to bring a claim for between $30 million and $50 million alleging governance failures, including the non-disclosure of the romance between Heraghty and Kelly.

CORPORATES
SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, HARMERS WORKPLACE LAWYERS