HSBC's bonus bloodbath

👋 G’day

Today’s brief:

• HSBC slashes staff on bonus day amid cost-cutting measures.

• Albo has called the Election Day for 3 May, Dutton targets fuel.

• MinterEllison overhauls pay to retain top billers.

And we made it – here’s your latest 👇

PRACTICE POINTS

FWC slams silent sacking

• Parental leave does not excuse radio silence. In a recent FWC decision, an employee went on 12 months of unpaid parental leave, and when she tried to extend her leave, she found out she was made redundant. With zero prior communication. The FWC found she had been unfairly dismissed.

• Courts clarifies whistleblower protections. In Federal Court decision, a CEO’s claims of being axed for blowing the whistle on fraud and safety risks failed. The employee made 6 protected disclosures, and alleged his whistleblowing led to his redundancy and rejected time-in-lieu claim. The courts found the employers in both cases did not breach whistleblower protections, and reinforced that employers must:

  • Keep robust records of whistleblower and HR decisions

  • Separate responsibilities between whistleblower handling and employment actions

  • Ensure the whistleblower is not identified during the investigation process: Clayton Utz

• No date, no deal. The NSW Supreme Court ruled that a chair cannot adjourn a shareholder meeting “sine die” (fancy talk for without setting a new date) unless the company’s constitution explicitly permits it. Chairs must specify the time of adjournment and follow all constitutional and listing rule requirements (including the need to communicate the new date/time to the market), or risk invalidating the adjournment altogether.

WORD ON THE STREET

Rainmakers rewarded

• MinterEllison scraps its traditional model to keep its rainmakers. In a bid to stop top billers from walking, the firm has overhauled partner pay, stretching equity at the top to reward performance over seniority. It's the latest Aussie heavyweight to break from lockstep, joining Clayton Utz and KWM as US firms flash $5m+ paycheques and the poaching pressure heats up: AFR

• Apparently, pig-hunting is the new BD? Mark Streeter, principal of Streeter Law, lied to Insurance Australia about a late-night pig-hunting accident that left a former client with a broken leg. A court found Streeter knowingly misled his insurer. He claimed they were just inspecting the farm, but video evidence showed otherwise: Lawyers Weekly

• KPMG has come out with 10 predications for the legal industry. The Big 4 giant thinks we will shift from legal advice to legal “services”, including legal, risk and advisory, consulting and the implementation of legal tech. And lawyers won’t be driving this change – they will be the minority in legal teams. Demands for efficiency will drive less lawyers and more prompt engineers, paralegals, data scientists and project experts. Check out their crystal ball here: KPMG

TALKING POINTS

‘The choice is yours’

• And we’re off to the races. PM Albanese has called the federal election for May 3, marking the start of a closely contested campaign focused on cost-of-living pressures and the housing crisis amid a sluggish economy. Voters are at the ready to decide what matters most: ABC

• Here’s Dutton’s budget reply —and he’s banking on the fuel and gas:

  • 25c/L off fuel for a year, costing $6bn, by halving the fuel excise. It’s Dutton’s headline pitch to voters battling cost-of-living pain

  • A National Gas Plan to drive down energy bills

  • Axing 41,000 public servants hired under Labor, calling it wasteful spending

  • Cutting the permanent migration program by 25%

  • $9 billion investment in health

  Read the full breakdown here: SBS

• In other news, childcare booms into a property goldmine, which is worth more than $20bn a year. Rent-hungry landlords are squeezing centres—and families. Fees are topping $220/day and landlords are collecting $2.7bn in rent annually. According to the ACCC, childcare fees rose between 20% and 32% between 2018 and 2022. But as fees increased, quality has been dropping not improving. Critics say per-child rent models drive overcrowding and safety risks: ABC

TREASURY

DEAL ROOM

$30bn gold rush

• Gold dominated 2024’s mining M&A, making up A$30bn of the $42bn total deal value, as buyers chased stability and soaring prices. No megadeals, but 62 gold transactions (up 32%) led by Northern Star’s $5bn De Grey bid. Copper took a backseat, zinc crept back, and nickel remained the loneliest metal in the room: Mining Weekly

• CoStar has lifted its bid for Domain to $4.43 per share, calling it its “best and final” offer. With due diligence now underway, Domain’s board and controlling shareholder Nine supports Domain’s decision to engage with CoStar (and why wouldn’t you when you’re set for a $1.4bn post-tax payday?) The offer gives a 42% premium, and between Nine and CoStar’s stakes, the 75% vote hurdle is already cleared. Domain is repped by G+T and Ashurst is acting for Nine: AFR

• Brookfield is awaiting bids for its Aveo retirement village business, with potential buyers including Charter Hall, Scape, Oxford Properties, AustralianSuper, and GIC. However, some parties are either seeking capital, unwilling to meet the $3bn asking price, or interested in only part of the business: The Australian

SECTOR SPECIFIC

Bonus day bloodbath

🚜 DIGGERS

• Albo has struck an emergency gas deal to head off a winter shortfall, after the ACCC warned southern states face a record 40PJ supply gap. Queensland exporters may be forced to delay LNG exports and power station producers might have to divert gas into the domestic market: The Australian

• Labor’s budget did not extend the Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive, a scheme that delivered $182m in tax perks over 7 years for greenfield explorers. Small miners are spooked, saying the move will slam investor confidence in Australia’s minerals pipeline: AFR

🏦 FIN

• Imagine coming to work on bonus day, only to be told to pack up your things. Well, that’s what happened at HSBC. Many staff went home empty handed, despite their 2024 results. The cost-cutting crackdown comes under new CEO Georges Elhedery, who’s slashing US$1.5bn from the bank’s cost base. The move stunned insiders who say HSBC’s reputation for loyalty is fading fast: Irish Times

• CBA opens a tech hub in Seattle, aiming to supercharge its AI capabilities and fast-track small biz banking tools. CBA's tech team will undergo three-week tech exchanges with Amazon, Microsoft and Anthropic in a push to import cutting-edge ideas back to the motherland: Capital Brief

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• Centuria Capital Group has acquired a $38.6m Perth-based industrial facility from its opportunities fund. The facility, located in Canning Vale, WA and is leased to AAA Trailers and the Australian Electoral Commission, marks Perth's largest industrial transaction since December 2023. This is Centuria’s fourth acquisition in a 15-month period, growing its portfolio to $100 million: Capital Brief

• Coles is undergoing a booze rebrand, axing Vintage Cellars and First Choice, rebranding them as Liquorland Cellars and Liquorland Warehouse after a successful 4-month trial. The move expands Liquorland’s footprint by 25%. It’s Coles’ biggest liquor shake-up since 1981 as it battles pressure from Uncle Dan's: AFR

📱 TECH

• TikTok has taken another swipe at Labor's decision to exempt YouTube from new social media age restrictions, arguing it entrenches Google's market power. In a submission to Treasury on digital competition rules, TikTok claims the move highlights inconsistencies in how platforms are categorised, potentially skewing the market in Google’s favour and undermining fair competition: Capital Brief

• Speaking of TikTok, Trump is dangling Chiina tariff relief to force ByteDance to sell the platform by the April 5 deadline. With 170 million US users at stake, the President says he’d “maybe give a little reduction” to get China’s approval: Reuters

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