Deloitte retreats, staff cut

PRACTICE POINTS

Super deadline slashed

• From 1 July 2026, employers must pay super within 7 days of payday—no more quarterly lag. That means getting SG (super guarantee) contributions—currently 11.5%, rising to 12% from July 2025—into employee funds faster. Miss the deadline and you’ll cop a new SG charge with a 60% penalty uplift on unpaid amounts, plus daily compounding interest. But if you voluntarily disclose underpayments early, you can cut that uplift down. The new changes mean employers will need to update contracts, payroll systems and record-keeping: Clayton Utz

• ASIC’s reissued RG 253 sets out fresh guidance for foreign companies offering CDIs in Australia. It explains how new Instrument 2025/180 tweaks disclosure and licensing rules under the Corporations Act to ease CDI fundraising. It also outlines when individual relief may be granted, and how to draft effective CDI offer docs that keep ASIC happy.

• Despite a cross-claim success, an employer was held liable for unauthorised investment made by his employee. In a new Federal Court decision, the Court found a financial services provider liable for its rogue employee’s actions under the Corps Act—even though the employee breached his contract by promoting an unauthorised investment. The employee used his work email and never told the investor he was acting off-script, but still the employer wore the “strict liability” under the Corps Act. He can still claw back losses from the employee, thanks to the contract breach of the express and implied terms.

WORD ON THE STREET

Antisemitic messages exposed

• Two ex-BlackBay Lawyers plotted starting their own rival firm by taking clients, while also swapping antisemitic messages according to The Australian. They appear to joke about the "holohoax" and called OpenAI CEO Sam Altman “trouble” because he’s Jewish. The pair were fired for alleged “serious misconduct”. Blackbay has now launched legal action to recover computers, phones and confidential info: The Australian

• Deloitte has cut over 100 partners and 800+ staff, but still sent its remaining leaders to Cairns for a retreat. While execs did “strategic planning” up north, staff back home stewed over job cuts, silence from management, and shaky market conditions. The optics aren’t great: AFR

• EY’s pouring $1.6bn into audit tech, rolling out a GenAI tool to help its 140,000 auditors tackle 160,000 audits a year. The move is a bid to tackle burnout and churn. The tool, EYQ Assurance Knowledge, provides responses for auditors based on the context of the audit as well as disclosure checklists and accuracy checks: Capital Brief, The Australian

• HSF adds Andy Leadston as a real estate partner in Sydney after 8 years at Corrs. His arrival boosts HSF’s push into private capital and emerging assets like build-to-rent, student housing and data centres.

TALKING POINTS

Tax cut war escalates

• Tax cuts go head-to-head as Labor drops a $2.4bn plan for a no-receipts $1000 work expense deduction, available to almost 6 million workers. Dutton has already pitched a one-off $1200 tax cut for about 10 million workers. With both sides also dangling first home buyer perks, tax and housing are now the election’s main battlegrounds: AFR

• Madison Branson Lawyers sacked a solicitor after he chucked a sickie to hit up AFL Gather Round and then got busted after posting pics on social media. The Fair Work Commission called his lies to both the firm and the commission “inexcusable”. Moral of the story: if you're gonna chuck a fake sickie, don't post about it on social media: Lawyers Weekly

• An IVF mix-up is headed to court after a Monash IVF patient gave birth to the wrong baby due to a botched embryo transfer. Monash IVF calls it "human error". Shine Lawyers says determining the child's parents is a family law matter, raising all kinds of questions around parentage, custody and compensation. And experts say there’s no clear precedent: The Guardian

TREASURY

DEAL ROOM

Glencore eyes Rio (again)

• Glencore’s top execs touched down in Aus last week, fuelling whispers of a fresh tilt at Rio Tinto. A merger would create a copper-heavy giant—just as BHP and Rio hunt for iron ore alternatives. But Rio’s not keen on Glencore’s coal assets, and Glencore’s 30% share price slide makes the maths tricky: The Australian

• Andrew Forrest-backed Greatland Gold is sprinting towards a 24 June ASX listing, lining up BofA, Barrenjoey and Canaccord for a $60m–$90m raise. Fresh off a $US475m buy of Telfer and Havieron, the cross-listing aims to boost liquidity, attract instos and tap into Australia’s deep capital markets: AFR

• Dexus and GPT were considering a $15bn+ merger that’d create a $60bn property powerhouse. The combo could unlock major synergies—scaling up ops, slashing costs, and giving global players like Brookfield a run for their money. Talks have cooled for now, but insiders say the logic’s too strong to ignore forever: The Australian

• Gold Road will vote its $1bn stake in De Grey in favour of Northern Star’s $5bn takeover, despite its own standoff with suitor-turned-rival Gold Fields. If the scheme goes ahead, Gold Road swaps its 17.26% holding for NST shares—and says it’ll do whatever maximises value for its own shareholders: The Australian

SECTOR SPECIFIC

MinRes sues WA

🚜 DIGGERS

• Chris Ellison’s MinRes is suing the WA govt after being slugged with two multi-million dollar port levies, with the cash going straight to Chevron. The charges, linked to its troubled $3.5bn Onslow Iron project, have pushed MinRes to breaking point—accusing Chevron of cashing in on Aussie iron without lifting a finger: The Australian

• Gold has cracked US$3200 for the first time ever as markets freak over recession risks, a weakening US dollar, and Trump’s tariff chaos. Gold’s up 21% this year and counting: Mining Weekly

🏦 FIN

• A Westpac customer’s $50k crypto transfer was blocked by call centre staff, triggering a PR nightmare after the recorded call went viral. The customer lost $6k from the halt. Things quickly got worse… The customer received a message from a Westpac exec saying he handled the call “brilliantly” – a message intended for the employee. Not what you want to hear when you’re down $6k. Westpac’s CEO back tracked with an apology to the customer for the oversights: AFR

• Australian Retirement Trust is cutting around 50 roles and overhauling its investment team. Head of public markets Greg Barnes and Herbert Chang are out, as the fund plans to streamline ops. With $310bn in assets, ART says it’s evolving—but the Finance Sector Union are already pushing back on the job cuts: AFR

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• Bunnings is shifting gears into the $14bn auto parts market, rolling out 400 car products nationwide—but analysts say it’s no Supercheap Auto killer…just yet. It’s an offering the retail giant had when it first open its doors in 1994. And she’s not quite back up to speed. The range is patchy, key brands are missing, and price wins are hit-and-miss. Still, with 20,000 shoppers polled and EV gear in the mix, this is clearly Wesfarmers long game strategy: AFR

• Mercy Health has offloaded its vacant Newport aged care home for $5.7m, or $154k per empty bed. Despite interest from NDIS and childcare groups, the 3,178sqm site is tipped to stay in aged care, thanks to a local bed shortage and redevelopment upside. CBRE, who led the sale, says buyer appetite’s broadening as vacant sites become rarer: COMO

📱 TECH & START UP

• Canva’s new Visual Suite 2.0 marks a shift from design disruptor to defending its $49bn turf. It’s taking on Adobe, Microsoft and AI-native upstarts with slick productivity tools—but rising costs and slowing growth mean it’s not just innovating anymore, it’s protecting ground. The AI moat’s shrinking, and Canva knows it: Capital Brief

• “Nobody is off the hook”: Trump’s tariff flip-flops are fuelling market chaos—now hitting iPhones with chips from China will soon face fresh levies under a national security probe. Tech giants just got a brief reprieve when Trump poised an exemption causing Wall Street to rattle. Now it looks like separate levies are on the cards escalating the tariff confusion. Even allies like Bill Ackman are begging for a pause: Reuters