Regulation

The Morrison government has moved a step closer to beefing up the powers of the securities watchdog as part of its aim to restore trust in the nation's banking system.

Live animal exports will be policed by an independent inspector-general under legislation poised to pass federal parliament.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has cancelled the financial services licence of Perth-based Platinum Perpetual Global Private Wealth, after an adviser from the firm was charged with stealing $948,000 of clients’ funds.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is launching legal action against the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and Bank of Queensland amid allegations of unfair small business lending terms.

A Chinese company suspected of illegally clearing land at a pastoral station in Western Australia's north has had its appeal against a stop-work order dismissed, but has been encouraged to apply for a permit retrospectively.

Suspended Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi has told an inquiry it was a coincidence a city chief executive was axed after she learned he had referred her to the Corruption and Crime Commission.

Dale Alcock and Dale Alcock Homes have been fined a total of $10,000 in relation to a defective concrete slab that ultimately led to a decision to demolish and rebuild a Woodvale house.

The company that manages the Galleria Shopping Centre has been fined $45,000 after it was found guilty of failing to ensure safe access and egress for persons who were not its employees, after an explosion at Galleria in 2015 killed two men and left two others with severe burns.

Business people could face up to 20 years in prison and their company fined up to $10 million under industrial manslaughter laws to be introduced by the state government.

Perth company Shed Systems has been ordered to pay almost $77,000 in fines, compensation and costs after taking deposits from consumers for sheds but failing to supply them.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has banned Perth businessman Max David Goldenberg from providing financial services and engaging in credit activities for a period of eight years.

Nicholas Oud has been removed from the roll of legal practitioners, after the Supreme Court of Western Australia upheld an earlier decision by the Legal Profession Complaints Committee.

Two Perth businesses and their director must pay almost $90,000 in fines and costs after claiming to be authorised to undertake work for which they were not registered.

The Environmental Protection Authority has recommended environmental approval for the state government's Thornlie to Cockburn rail line extension, despite adverse effects on residents and cockatoo habitats.

Ronald Bower, the former sole principal of Perth-based Corser & Corser Lawyers, has been removed from the roll of legal practitioners, after the Supreme Court of Western Australia upheld the Legal Profession Complaints Committee’s decision.

Western Power is seeking an order in the Supreme Court of Western Australia to recover its costs from a class action following the Parkerville bushfire in 2014.

Lynas Corporation's licence to operate a rare earths processing plant in Malaysia appears set to be extended, though it could be for a shorter duration than the usual three years, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter say.

Mining project approval delays will be the target of a one-year Productivity Commission review looking at how to streamline regulation across Australia's resources sector.

The construction company overseeing the 2017 refurbishment of the GPO building in Forrest Place has been fined $38,000 after pleading guilty to charges over the death of a 17-year-old worker on the site.

A Perth window company and its director have been fined a total of $66,000 for not complying with a building commissioner’s order to fix incorrect glass installed at a Mandurah home.

Central Norseman Gold Corporation (CNGC) has been fined $150,000 in the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court today over the death of a worker two years ago at the company’s processing plant at its Norseman gold mine.

The chief executive of iron ore exploration and development company Elmore, formerly IndiOre, has confirmed his brother’s law firm undertook the independent review into the business’s failed project expansion, which was approved and under construction despite no adequate mineralisation being discovered.

Google and Facebook face increased regulation in Australia, after the federal government indicated it would back recommendations of an ACCC report.

The Shire of Peppermint Grove has been strongly criticised in a Supreme Court ruling that found it mishandled the listing of heritage properties, and specifically a prominent house on the Swan River foreshore.

The competition watchdog has accepted AP Eagers' proposed takeover of rival car dealer Automotive Holdings Group, on the condition AP Eagers sells its dealerships in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley region.

A Perth building company has been found to be negligent and fined $5,000 by the Building Services Board for winning a contract to renovate a chocolate store in Fremantle, but then failing to carry out or supervise the work.

Uber Eats has committed to changing its contracts with restaurants following an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

A junior miner’s chief executive says he has voluntarily submitted to ASIC the contents of an internal investigation into a failed project expansion in India.

Michael Hill International says it will spend $10 million to $25 million to compensate employees who were underpaid over a six-year period.

National Australia Bank could face class action proceedings over excess superannuation fees levied by its wealth arm.

AP Eagers has offered to sell dealerships in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley region, as it aims to assuage the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s issues with its proposed acquisition of rival Automotive Holdings Group.

The consumer watchdog is taking Samsung to court for telling consumers that many of the four million Galaxy phones sold in Australia were water resistant, while knowing they were not.