The WFH risk

👋 G’day

Today’s brief:

• The WFH right debate ramps up as employers face liability for home injuries.

• London bonuses reach record US$115k for lawyers.

• Revolut eyes Australian banking licence approval.

Enjoy your morning ☕️

PRACTICE POINTS

WFH: A right—or a risk?

• Aussie white-collar workers see WFH as a right, but employers could face liability for home office injuries. Legal cases like Vercoe v Local Government Association Workers Compensation Scheme underscore the need for safe setups – an employer was liable for a worker tripping at home. Maddocks' Catherine Dunlop warns businesses to tackle both physical and mental hazards, with 2025 shaping up to test the "right" to WFH.

• In a landmark case testing Labor’s "same job, same pay" laws, the Mining and Energy Union is pushing BHP to match pay for 2,200 labour hire workers with its direct hires. But BHP isn’t backing down. The mining giant argues that its in-house labour hire aren’t "labour hire" at all—they’re service contractors handling specialist tasks. If BHP's argument fails, BHP is facing an estimated extra $1.3bn a year in costs.

• The Scams Prevention Framework Bill is putting businesses on notice. Initially targeting telcos, banks, social media, and internet services, the Bill creates new legal obligations to prevent and respond to scams—with penalties topping $50m for breaches. But not everyone’s thrilled. Optus has slammed the rules as “unworkable and ineffective”, while Telstra warned enforcement could backfire. Telcos are already required to trace and block scam messages under a voluntary code monitored by ACMA, and stricter rules might push them into a “highly risk-averse approach”—potentially screening out legitimate communications like medical test results or parcel notifications.

WORD ON THE STREET

London bonuses hit US$115k

• US law firm Goodwin Procter is throwing big numbers around in London. Base salaries are hitting £240k for 3PQE lawyers and £325k for 6PQEs—bonuses excluded. Associates can cash in if they bill 1,950 hours a year 👆

• Terence Palmer is stepping up to the Supreme Court of WA after 15 years at the bar and a stint as special counsel at ASIC. He’s filling the seat left by Justice Vandongen, who’s headed to the Federal Court of Australia.

• Hicksons Lawyers’ partnership is now 55% women after Katrina Jenkins’ promotion as the firm’s 29th partner.

• HFW adds Perth-based commodities partner from HSF. Graeme Gamble joins having previously also worked at Ashurst, Eversheds and Clyde & Co.

• Jones Day has snapped up Charles Bogle and James Wood from Hogan Lovells as its newest corporate partners. Bogle brings expertise in complex M&A deals, while Wood focuses on private equity and fund transactions.

TALKING POINTS

DOGE in Australia

• Meet Australia’s own Elon Musk—Adam Gilmour of Gilmour Space Technologies. Beyond launching rockets, Gilmour wants to see DOGE in Australia. Frustrated with the glacial pace of permitting through the Australian Space Agency, Gilmour claims the country is “stymied by regulation".

• The ASX is pumping the brakes on its new diversity rules, which would force boards to disclose director demographics like sexuality, race and disabilities. Pushback on the rules? Oh, there’s plenty. Fund manager John Wylie didn’t hold back, slamming the focus on diversity over shareholder value. Meanwhile, in the US, Trump’s crackdown on DEI is in full swing—federal diversity officers are out the door.

• Rupert Murdoch’s UK papers have apologised to Prince Harry, settling a lawsuit over alleged unlawful info-gathering by tabloid journalists. News Group will pay “substantial damages” and give a “full and unequivocal apology” for intrusion by private investigators working for The Sun newspaper, lawyers said.

• LinkedIn hit with lawsuit over AI data misuse. Premium users are suing LinkedIn for sharing private messages to train AI models without consent, alleging the platform secretly updated its privacy policy and misled users.

TREASURY

DEAL ROOM

The IPOcalypse is upon us

• The IPOcalypse is here. In 2024, new listings hit a 20-year low—with only 29 new listings. ASX is banking on a comeback in 2025, thanks to a (hopefully) clearer Aussie economic outlook and some post-US election calm. Meanwhile, others say a comeback is a pipedream at best.

• Another One – Wealth manager Insignia Financial is now fielding an improved offer from Bain Capital, which matches the latest bid from rival CC Capital. Both bidders have been provided with limited due diligence to determine if a sweeter offer is on the table.

• Trump’s open to Elon Musk or Oracle’s Larry Ellison buying TikTok as part of a joint venture with the US government. ByteDance has previously flat-out refused to sell TikTok. However, with a Supreme Court ruling backing the ban, what other option do they have?

• Recently released US filings show that packaging business Berry Global only agreed to sell to Amcor for $13bn after five months of talks with a rival fizzled out. Now, if Amcor pulls the plug on the merger, it'll owe Berry $410m (~3% reverse break fee).

• Private equity-backed Real Pet Food Company has put out feelers to investment bankers, signalling that its PE backers are looking to sell. The asking price? A hefty $1.8bn to $2bn.

SECTOR SPECIFIC

The end of ESG

🚜 DIGGERS

• "Peak ESG" has officially passed its prime. Australian oil and gas giant Woodside, alongside the rest of the fossil fuel players, is hitting pause on its hydrogen and concentrated solar plans in the US. The industry is taking a hard look at its low-return clean energy bets under Donald Trump’s watch, who has made it clear that decarbonisation has dropped down the list of priorities.

• Rio Tinto is looking to wrap up its tax dispute with the Mongolian government over the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, offering US$295m to settle the long-running dispute.

• BHP has fired 26 contractors while investigating corruption claims linked to its coal operations in Queensland. Evidence of wrongdoing within BMA, Australia’s largest metallurgical coal supplier, prompted the company to instruct labour hire firm Hays to end their contracts.

🏦 FIN

• Revolut is on the brink of snagging an Australian banking licence, paving the way for deposits, expanded credit, and a trust boost. With 800k Aussie users and 85% payment growth in 2024, the neobank bucks the trend of local failures. CEO Matt Baxby sees the licence as key to funding growth amid tighter markets.

• JPMorgan kicked off 2025 with a bang, reporting a record $58.5bn profit, thanks to a 49% surge in investment banking fees. The global windfall has trickled down under, with Aussie bankers scoring even bigger bonuses and salary packages.

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• Dexus is set to snap up a stake in energy distributor Powerco from the Australian Retirement Trust, reshaping the $2bn company's ownership structure.

• FTI Consulting is prepping Star Entertainment's lenders for possible voluntary administration as the company faces a $400 million cash crunch.

• Four years after Woolies spun off Endeavour Group, the true cost of the split is coming to light. The demerger involved developing bespoke software and disentangling processes once handled by Woolworths. The price tag? Up to $570m, according to internal documents.

• Qantas and Virgin are still running late—literally. Post-pandemic punctuality hasn’t bounced back, with just 72% of Virgin’s domestic flights and 75% of Qantas’ flights landing on time last year.

📱 TECH

• Big tech fuels market surge. A tech rally and upbeat corporate earnings pushed stocks to the brink of a record close. Netflix shares are up 15% premarket after a historic 2024 subscriber boom, driven by live sports and the return of Squid Game

• Meta’s cooking up AI-powered upgrades for its smart glasses—rumoured to include an Oakley collab—and is eyeing new wearables like watches and camera-equipped earbuds.

• Trump has unveiled "Stargate", a US$500bn joint AI venture with OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. The goal is to build massive data centres and infrastructure to fuel AI development. Trump claims it’ll create over 100k American jobs “almost immediately.”

P.S.

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