Canva slashes staff

PRACTICE POINTS

ACCC case collapses

• High Court shuts down ACCC's case. Hutchinson Builders had an EBA requiring it to consult the CFMEU on subcontractors. When the union threatened to "sit the job down" over a waterproofing subcontractor, Hutchinson dropped the subcontractor. The ACCC claimed this was an unlawful agreement under s 45E(3) of the CCA. But the High Court ruled there was no express or tacit communication of assent—just a response to pressure. Compliance with a demand does not mean collusion with proof of a "meeting of a minds".

• Immaterial tweaks don’t kill a contract. In a dispute over a $41.25m loan, The NSW Court of Appeal reaffirmed that material amendments to an offer constitute a counter-offer, while immaterial changes don’t negate acceptance. After the guarantor signed the contract, the establishment fee amount was amended (due to an increase in the loan amount) without notice to the guarantor. But the Court found the change didn’t alter the substance of the deal, and therefore was not a counteroffer—he was still guaranteeing the same loan for the same borrower.

• Good news for real estate funds. The Treasury has released draft legislation which exempts certain land deals from the ACCC merger notification regime. The exemption applies to deals for the purpose of:

  • residential development; or

  • where buyer carries on a business in buying, selling or leasing land, other than a purpose relating to operating a commercial business on the land.

WORD ON THE STREET

Deloitte's $370m hit

• Deloitte is the biggest loser in Trump's consulting crackdown. The Big Four giant has seen 127 federal contracts slashed or tweaked, twice as many as any other consulting firm. That's a US$370m hit. Ouch: Yahoo Finance

• Stephen Free SC has been appointed to the NSW Court of Appeal. The Sydney silk has an impressive CV, repping Apple over its app store anti-competition battles and the likes of Jaguar and Volkswagen over car defect class actions: Lawyerly

• HopgoodGanim has supercharged its energy transition play, appointing Jo Garland—a leading decarbonisation and renewables expert—from HFW to its Perth office. Garland, backed by Special Counsel Jessica Marshall, brings serious green credentials, advising on major industrial decarb projects and emissions schemes.

TALKING POINTS

Global tariffs

• Australian exporters face a 10% tariff on goods shipped to the US, signalling out Australian beef for additional scrutiny in his speech. Trump announced a broad sweep of tariffs, including 49% on Cambodia, 46% on Vietnam and 34% on China. Trump. PM Albanese rejected reciprocal tariffs but called the move unwarranted. It all kicks off 5 April, here’s the White House’s fact sheet: AFR

• Massive moves at BHP. The mining behemoth was considering spinning off its Aussie iron ore and coal ops to focus on copper and potash. The move would radically reshape BHP, with iron ore making up 60% of its profits. A separation of divisions with an Australian listing was on the cards, similar to the South 32 spin-off. The plans were shelved for the time being, but a future move is not ruled out: Mining Weekly

• If voted in, the Coalition will class gas as ‘critical mineral’. Gas projects would get the same status—and access to $4bn in funding—as lithium and rare earths under a Coalition government, in a bid to ease east coast shortages. Critics say it’s climate backsliding, but the gas industry’s cheering: AFR

• Nintendo will release its highly anticipated Switch 2 console on June 5, priced at $450 in the US, up from the original $300. The launch will debut with alongside Mario Kart World: SMH

TREASURY

DEAL ROOM

A TikTok tussle

• Amazon made a last-minute bid for the reel sensation. TikTok has two days to secure a non-Chinese buyer to avoid being banned in the U.S. As the deadline approaches, Amazon and a consortium led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely have joined the list of potentials. Some sources doubt the seriousness of Amazon’s bid, while Blackstone and Andreessen Horowitz are exploring serious ways to support the purchase: Reuters

• Perpetual will likely tap Barrenjoey as its investment banking adviser as the company prepares to sell its wealth-management unit. The sale process is expected to begin in about three months, with interested parties including FirstCape, Oaktree Capital, and TA Associates. The unit could fetch between $500m and $1bn, helping to reduce Perpetual's debt: The Australian

• Tourism sale – Kelsian Group is eyeing a sale of its entire tourism arm—including the classic Captain Cook Cruises as well as SeaLink ferries. The goal is to slash debt and focus on core transport ops. While the tourism made $160m in FY revenue, the move will generate more predictable earnings and lift shareholder returns: AFR

• Virgin’s put a price on its IPO, looking to target around $750m to $800m, with the group looking at a primary selldown of about 20% of the business: The Australian

SECTOR SPECIFIC

Canva’s first lay-offs

🚜 DIGGERS

• Mineral Resources and boss Chris Ellison are being sued by shareholders claiming the company hid governance failures tied to Ellison’s $9m tax scandal, inflating its share price. MinRes says the issue's already been address and will fight the case. Law firm Phi Finney McDonald are repping the shareholders in the class action: WA Today, The Australian

• Rio Tinto has been accused by the activist hedge fund Palliser Capital of resisting a transparent review ahead of its dual-listing vote. Palliser argues that shareholders deserve more disclosure, with key investors showing interest in unification's value-enhancing potential. Rio's board, led by Dominic Barton, has unanimously opposed the review, calling Palliser's claims of a $50bn value loss "unfounded": The Australian

🏦 FIN

• ANZ must hold an additional $250m in capital, topping the APRA imposed capital buffer to $1bn. The moves as APRA criticised its non-financial risk management and corporate culture, citing persistent oversight issues. The regulator’s concerns follow an independent review, which highlighted leadership failures, including failure to address bullying and substance misuse in the markets division. The bank has committed to a comprehensive remediation program in response: AFR

• AustralianSuper has increased its net assets by $43bn in the last financial year, surpassing all other funds. This growth, driven by strong natural inflows and competitive transfers, solidified its dominant position in the APRA-regulated market. Its net inflows from member contributions were $16.4bn, more than double the $7bn of Australian Retirement Trust, its closest rival: The Australian

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• Commercial property deals jumped 28% in Q1, with transaction volumes hitting $6.7bn. Office deals were the main breadwinner, surging 69% with Daibiru Corporation’s $600m Sydney buy and Mirvac’s $580m sale of 10-20 Bond Street: AFR

• Star has failed to secure a crucial lifeline with its $750m rescue deal with Salter Brothers called off. It’s now forced back to the table with US giant Bally’s, which is offering $250m for a 50.1% stake. Star warns its future is uncertain, accounts remain unlodged, and shares suspended: ABC

📱 TECH & START UP

• Canva’s first-ever redundancy round is here—and AI’s the trigger. After urging staff to embrace AI, Canva cut 10 of 12 technical writers. Writers say they did exactly what was asked: used generative AI tools. They were even told AI wouldn’t cost jobs… but clearly, that didn’t pan out. The move comes after Canva confidently said no cuts were coming: AFR, SMH

• Datadog’s building its first Aussie data centre with AWS, which will be used to provide sovereign cybersecurity services. It’s a move to tap into the $147bn local IT market, which is tipped to grow 13.4% in 2025. Datadog is calling Australia "high priority", increasing its local headcount to more than 100 employees: realcommercial