Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Fortescue is rolling agentic AI into procurement workflows, aiming to cut working-capital tied up in purchasing, iTnews reports.
The iron ore and green-energy major is one of Australia's highest-profile listed companies testing autonomous agents in core operations.
If the tools stick, peers across resources and manufacturing will watch closely for cost and control trade-offs.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Fortescue is rolling agentic AI into procurement workflows, aiming to cut working-capital tied up in purchasing, iTnews reports.
The iron ore and green-energy major is one of Australia's highest-profile listed companies testing autonomous agents in core operations.
If the tools stick, peers across resources and manufacturing will watch closely for cost and control trade-offs.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
iTnews
Fortescue introduces agentic 'capability' to procurement
Drives a reduction of working capital requirements.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Brisbane battery maker RedEarth Energy Storage has entered voluntary administration, saying it could not withstand a flood of cheaper imported home batteries, RenewEconomy reports.
Customers of the firm have included federal energy minister Chris Bowen; an ASIC notice shows an administrator appointed in late September with creditors due to meet on 8 October.
The collapse sharpens debate over whether Australia’s battery rebate boom is building local manufacturing capacity or mainly pulling in imports.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Brisbane battery maker RedEarth Energy Storage has entered voluntary administration, saying it could not withstand a flood of cheaper imported home batteries, RenewEconomy reports.
Customers of the firm have included federal energy minister Chris Bowen; an ASIC notice shows an administrator appointed in late September with creditors due to meet on 8 October.
The collapse sharpens debate over whether Australia’s battery rebate boom is building local manufacturing capacity or mainly pulling in imports.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Renew Economy
Australian company behind home battery that Bowen bought enters administration, hit by flood of "cheaper" imports
Australian battery maker whose customers include the federal energy minister has gone into voluntary administration, unable to stay afloat in the flood of "cheaper imported batteries."
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
AI infrastructure hopeful Firmus has set an $11 share price for a float implying about a $7.1 billion equity value, Startup Daily reports.
Reuters said the offer implies a valuation far above where the company sat only a year ago, reflecting feverish demand for data-centre and AI compute plays.
Institutional books and listing day will test whether the premium holds once the stock trades.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
AI infrastructure hopeful Firmus has set an $11 share price for a float implying about a $7.1 billion equity value, Startup Daily reports.
Reuters said the offer implies a valuation far above where the company sat only a year ago, reflecting feverish demand for data-centre and AI compute plays.
Institutional books and listing day will test whether the premium holds once the stock trades.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Startup Daily
Firmus sets $11 share price for $7.1 billion ASX float
Reuters reported the offer implies an equity valuation of US$30.6 billion (A$44bn) for a company worth just $1bn 12 months ago.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Questions are mounting over the multibillion-dollar Firmus ASX float amid community backlash against AI data centres, with critics asking how far the company has come from a standing start, The Guardian reports.
The float remains one of the year’s biggest AI-infrastructure listings even as local opposition grows.
Institutional books will now price both the growth story and the social licence risk.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Questions are mounting over the multibillion-dollar Firmus ASX float amid community backlash against AI data centres, with critics asking how far the company has come from a standing start, The Guardian reports.
The float remains one of the year’s biggest AI-infrastructure listings even as local opposition grows.
Institutional books will now price both the growth story and the social licence risk.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
the Guardian
‘These guys are just coming from nothing’: questions over multibillion-dollar Firmus float amid datacentre backlash
‘AI factories’ developer on track to launch the second-biggest IPO in Australian history, but investors warn its forecasts are ‘a little bit of a fairytale’
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Data-centre operator Firmus is heading toward one of Australia’s largest sharemarket floats even as attention returns to owner Oliver Curtis’s insider-trading jail past, ABC News reports.
The listing bid keeps AI infrastructure capital in the spotlight while social licence and governance questions linger.
Institutional books will price both the compute growth story and reputational risk.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Data-centre operator Firmus is heading toward one of Australia’s largest sharemarket floats even as attention returns to owner Oliver Curtis’s insider-trading jail past, ABC News reports.
The listing bid keeps AI infrastructure capital in the spotlight while social licence and governance questions linger.
Institutional books will price both the compute growth story and reputational risk.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
www.abc.net.au
Data centre operator Firmus about to float as its owner tries to shed jailbird image
He went to prison for insider trading but Oliver Curtis is about to be the source of one of Australia's largest share market floats.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
News Corp has again paid no corporate income tax in Australia despite serious local earnings, extending a run of more than a decade, Crikey reports.
The ATO corporate tax transparency data keeps the Murdoch group in the spotlight — even as Crikey notes it is not the nation’s worst case.
Tax transparency season remains a flashpoint for media power and public revenue debates.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
News Corp has again paid no corporate income tax in Australia despite serious local earnings, extending a run of more than a decade, Crikey reports.
The ATO corporate tax transparency data keeps the Murdoch group in the spotlight — even as Crikey notes it is not the nation’s worst case.
Tax transparency season remains a flashpoint for media power and public revenue debates.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Crikey
News Corp celebrates more than a decade of paying zero tax in Australia
News Corp continues to make serious money in Australia while paying no tax. But even the Murdoch monolith isn't the nation's worst tax dodger.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Major retailers including Mecca, Sephora and ASOS have been ordered to remove banned microbead products from NSW shelves, facing fines of up to $550,000 if they fail to comply, 7NEWS reports.
The stop notices underline how environmental product rules now land as board-level compliance risk.
Beauty and fashion chains will be auditing ranges nationwide after the NSW crackdown.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Major retailers including Mecca, Sephora and ASOS have been ordered to remove banned microbead products from NSW shelves, facing fines of up to $550,000 if they fail to comply, 7NEWS reports.
The stop notices underline how environmental product rules now land as board-level compliance risk.
Beauty and fashion chains will be auditing ranges nationwide after the NSW crackdown.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
7NEWS
Major retailers including Mecca, Sephora and ASOS ordered to remove banned microbead products from NSW shelves
The companies face hefty fines of up to $550,000 if they fail to comply with stop notices.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
ASX-listed Cyclopharm's Technegas lung-imaging product has won a major international guideline endorsement as the company builds out its long-awaited US rollout, Stockhead reports.
Clinical endorsement can unlock hospital adoption and reimbursement pathways offshore.
Investors will watch whether the guideline win converts into faster US procedure volumes.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
ASX-listed Cyclopharm's Technegas lung-imaging product has won a major international guideline endorsement as the company builds out its long-awaited US rollout, Stockhead reports.
Clinical endorsement can unlock hospital adoption and reimbursement pathways offshore.
Investors will watch whether the guideline win converts into faster US procedure volumes.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Stockhead
Dr Boreham’s Crucible: Cyclopharm breathes easier after Technegas endorsement | Stockhead
Cyclopharm’s Technegas has won a major international guideline endorsement as the company builds out its long-awaited US rollout.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Former Cancer Council Queensland research director Sandi Hayes has filed a workplace dismissal lawsuit alleging bullying by the CEO, ABC News reports.
The claim marks fresh upheaval for a major charity that supports thousands of patients and runs large fundraising drives.
Governance and culture fights at big not-for-profits quickly become public when research leadership is involved.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Former Cancer Council Queensland research director Sandi Hayes has filed a workplace dismissal lawsuit alleging bullying by the CEO, ABC News reports.
The claim marks fresh upheaval for a major charity that supports thousands of patients and runs large fundraising drives.
Governance and culture fights at big not-for-profits quickly become public when research leadership is involved.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
www.abc.net.au
Workplace dismissal lawsuit rocks top levels of cancer charity
The lawsuit filed by Sandi Hayes, former director of research at the Cancer Council Queensland, marks the latest upheaval for a charity supporting thousands of patients and raising tens of millions of dollars annually.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
A veteran says he was prescribed huge volumes of high-THC cannabis for nearly two years by doctors he had never spoken to, through a for-profit health company model now under scrutiny, ABC News reports.
The case raises questions about telehealth prescribing, DVA-funded care and how commercial clinics police dosage and follow-up.
Regulators and veterans' advocates will watch whether the model survives closer oversight.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
A veteran says he was prescribed huge volumes of high-THC cannabis for nearly two years by doctors he had never spoken to, through a for-profit health company model now under scrutiny, ABC News reports.
The case raises questions about telehealth prescribing, DVA-funded care and how commercial clinics police dosage and follow-up.
Regulators and veterans' advocates will watch whether the model survives closer oversight.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
www.abc.net.au
Ketamine cold calls and 'free' cannabis: Veterans treated as 'cash cows'
For nearly two years, veteran Steve Johnstone was prescribed huge quantities of high-THC cannabis by doctors he had never spoken to.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
KPMG Australia is considering asking the firm's global network for up to $100 million in loans as it deals with the fallout from a whistleblower scandal that has cost it several major clients, The Sydney Morning Herald reports, citing The Australian Financial Review.
Chief executive John Sams is also reportedly seeking a waiver of the fee the local firm pays to use the KPMG name and resources. The whistleblower's allegations, which include claims senior partners misused confidential information to win work, were made public by Senator Deborah O'Neill in March.
KPMG says it is working with KPMG International to assess financial projections and that any funding request will be considered under its governance arrangements.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
KPMG Australia is considering asking the firm's global network for up to $100 million in loans as it deals with the fallout from a whistleblower scandal that has cost it several major clients, The Sydney Morning Herald reports, citing The Australian Financial Review.
Chief executive John Sams is also reportedly seeking a waiver of the fee the local firm pays to use the KPMG name and resources. The whistleblower's allegations, which include claims senior partners misused confidential information to win work, were made public by Senator Deborah O'Neill in March.
KPMG says it is working with KPMG International to assess financial projections and that any funding request will be considered under its governance arrangements.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
The Sydney Morning Herald
KPMG Australia going cap in hand for $100m in loans
The consultancy is seeking to stop other big clients deserting the firm and keep partner pay at a higher level.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Energy Bay has signed an agreement with property fund manager Centuria Capital Group to install about 70MW of rooftop solar and 300MWh of battery storage across up to 240 properties, pv magazine Australia reports.
Energy Bay will lease the rooftops and finance the roughly $430 million build across Centuria's office, industrial, retail and healthcare sites. Centuria gets long-term lease income, and tenants can choose to buy power from the onsite systems.
Energy Bay says it is the largest renewable energy deal among Australian commercial property landlords.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Energy Bay has signed an agreement with property fund manager Centuria Capital Group to install about 70MW of rooftop solar and 300MWh of battery storage across up to 240 properties, pv magazine Australia reports.
Energy Bay will lease the rooftops and finance the roughly $430 million build across Centuria's office, industrial, retail and healthcare sites. Centuria gets long-term lease income, and tenants can choose to buy power from the onsite systems.
Energy Bay says it is the largest renewable energy deal among Australian commercial property landlords.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
pv magazine Australia
Energy Bay strikes deal for 70 MW rooftop solar, 300 MWh battery rollout - pv magazine Australia
Energy Bay will install about 70 MW of rooftop solar and 300 MWh of battery energy storage capacity across 240 properties after signing what it says is the Australia’s largest renewable energy deal among domestic commercial property landlords.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
ASX-listed FlexiRoam says one of Australia's Big Four banks has added its global mobile data benefit to premium rewards Mastercard credit cards, Stockhead reports.
Eligible cardholders get a free 3GB global data plan once a year, with the bank paying FlexiRoam an annual fee for every eligible card. The company's planning case puts the initial revenue at around $200,000 a year, which it says is not guidance. The bank has not been named.
FlexiRoam is betting the Reserve Bank reforms that ended card surcharges on October 1, and cut the fees banks earn on credit card purchases, will push banks toward cheaper-to-fund perks like its own.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
ASX-listed FlexiRoam says one of Australia's Big Four banks has added its global mobile data benefit to premium rewards Mastercard credit cards, Stockhead reports.
Eligible cardholders get a free 3GB global data plan once a year, with the bank paying FlexiRoam an annual fee for every eligible card. The company's planning case puts the initial revenue at around $200,000 a year, which it says is not guidance. The bank has not been named.
FlexiRoam is betting the Reserve Bank reforms that ended card surcharges on October 1, and cut the fees banks earn on credit card purchases, will push banks toward cheaper-to-fund perks like its own.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Stockhead
FlexiRoam lands Big Four bank deal as Mastercard model delivers | Stockhead
FlexiRoam has landed a Big Four Australian bank, putting its global data roaming onto premium Mastercard credit cards.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Administrators are seeking a buyer for Brisbane-based battery maker RedEarth Energy Storage, which entered voluntary administration last month citing "damaging levels" of competition from cheaper imports, pv magazine Australia reports.
Travis Pullen of B&T Advisory was appointed on September 25 and has opened an expressions-of-interest process for the business, its intellectual property, inventory and equipment. Offers close on Friday, with a first creditors' meeting on Thursday.
Founded in 2013, RedEarth designs, assembles and sells home battery systems from Darra. Its board told investors cash flow difficulties had become "overwhelming", according to the Australian Financial Review.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Administrators are seeking a buyer for Brisbane-based battery maker RedEarth Energy Storage, which entered voluntary administration last month citing "damaging levels" of competition from cheaper imports, pv magazine Australia reports.
Travis Pullen of B&T Advisory was appointed on September 25 and has opened an expressions-of-interest process for the business, its intellectual property, inventory and equipment. Offers close on Friday, with a first creditors' meeting on Thursday.
Founded in 2013, RedEarth designs, assembles and sells home battery systems from Darra. Its board told investors cash flow difficulties had become "overwhelming", according to the Australian Financial Review.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
pv magazine Australia
Administrators seek buyer for Brisbane-based battery maker - pv magazine Australia
Administrators are seeking buyers for Queensland-based battery maker RedEarth Energy Storage after the company entered voluntary administration.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
DBG Health, the parent company of online fitness business 28 by Sam Wood, has terminated all commercial arrangements with its founder, 7NEWS reports.
The company had placed Mr Wood on indefinite leave a day earlier. He appeared in court on Monday charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation in a domestic setting following an incident in Noosa on Saturday night. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Mr Wood sold 28 in a $71 million deal in 2022 but remained the face of the business. DBG Health says 28 will continue under Mark Watkin, and ready-meal partner Foxes Den has also ended its partnership with the brand.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
DBG Health, the parent company of online fitness business 28 by Sam Wood, has terminated all commercial arrangements with its founder, 7NEWS reports.
The company had placed Mr Wood on indefinite leave a day earlier. He appeared in court on Monday charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation in a domestic setting following an incident in Noosa on Saturday night. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Mr Wood sold 28 in a $71 million deal in 2022 but remained the face of the business. DBG Health says 28 will continue under Mark Watkin, and ready-meal partner Foxes Den has also ended its partnership with the brand.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
7NEWS
Sam Wood ‘terminated’ from fitness empire he founded amid domestic violence allegations
Wood had been placed on indefinite leave but its parent company has now taken another step.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Adidas has taken Australian online fashion label White Fox to the Federal Court, claiming its four-stripe designs infringe the sportswear giant's three-stripe trademark, 7NEWS reports.
At the first hearing on Friday, Adidas's barrister Patrick Flynn SC said the Sydney-based company had used the stripes for months and refused repeated requests to stop. He pointed to an influencer promotion pairing White Fox shorts with genuine Adidas shoes, arguing it would confuse consumers.
Adidas has held the three-stripe trademark in Australia for more than 50 years. White Fox's response in court was not detailed in the report.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Adidas has taken Australian online fashion label White Fox to the Federal Court, claiming its four-stripe designs infringe the sportswear giant's three-stripe trademark, 7NEWS reports.
At the first hearing on Friday, Adidas's barrister Patrick Flynn SC said the Sydney-based company had used the stripes for months and refused repeated requests to stop. He pointed to an influencer promotion pairing White Fox shorts with genuine Adidas shoes, arguing it would confuse consumers.
Adidas has held the three-stripe trademark in Australia for more than 50 years. White Fox's response in court was not detailed in the report.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
ASX-listed Maas Group has been caught up in the collapse of the Firmus float, with its shares falling almost 25 per cent on Thursday, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The Herald says the slump wiped almost $550 million off the company's market value. Maas Group holds a 3.2 per cent stake in Firmus and has work contracts with the AI infrastructure developer. In response to an ASX query, it said it had no knowledge of undisclosed material information behind the drop.
Founder Wes Maas has also put his Village Southlakes shopping centre on the outskirts of Dubbo on the market for $50 million. The mall is anchored by a new 10-year lease to Coles and Liquorland, according to the Herald.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
ASX-listed Maas Group has been caught up in the collapse of the Firmus float, with its shares falling almost 25 per cent on Thursday, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The Herald says the slump wiped almost $550 million off the company's market value. Maas Group holds a 3.2 per cent stake in Firmus and has work contracts with the AI infrastructure developer. In response to an ASX query, it said it had no knowledge of undisclosed material information behind the drop.
Founder Wes Maas has also put his Village Southlakes shopping centre on the outskirts of Dubbo on the market for $50 million. The mall is anchored by a new 10-year lease to Coles and Liquorland, according to the Herald.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
NRMA Insurance has repaid hundreds of people injured in car crashes after miscalculating some compulsory third party benefits since 2019, ABC News reports.
The insurer first estimated 700 people were underpaid, then revised the figure to 400, and told the ABC it had identified a further group it believed was owed interest. The error was spotted by a lawyer whose client's weekly payments did not add up, not by the insurer or the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, which had earlier audited the company.
NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd said it was "extraordinary" the insurer had not found the problem itself.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
NRMA Insurance has repaid hundreds of people injured in car crashes after miscalculating some compulsory third party benefits since 2019, ABC News reports.
The insurer first estimated 700 people were underpaid, then revised the figure to 400, and told the ABC it had identified a further group it believed was owed interest. The error was spotted by a lawyer whose client's weekly payments did not add up, not by the insurer or the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, which had earlier audited the company.
NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd said it was "extraordinary" the insurer had not found the problem itself.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Domino's Pizza Enterprises chief executive Andrew Gregory has taken direct control of the company's Australia and New Zealand business, effective immediately, after ANZ chief Merrill Pereyra agreed to leave, Inside Retail reports.
Chairman Jack Cowin said the reset, focused on cutting costs, paying down debt and lifting franchise partner returns, "remains on track", and that the board wanted a faster pace of execution in its most important region.
Mr Pereyra was appointed earlier this year. Domino's is searching for a new ANZ chief executive.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Domino's Pizza Enterprises chief executive Andrew Gregory has taken direct control of the company's Australia and New Zealand business, effective immediately, after ANZ chief Merrill Pereyra agreed to leave, Inside Retail reports.
Chairman Jack Cowin said the reset, focused on cutting costs, paying down debt and lifting franchise partner returns, "remains on track", and that the board wanted a faster pace of execution in its most important region.
Mr Pereyra was appointed earlier this year. Domino's is searching for a new ANZ chief executive.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Inside Retail Australia
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises CEO seizes ANZ reins as Merrill Pereyra exits
Domino’s Pizza CEO and MD Andrew Gregory has taken direct control of the group’s Australia and New Zealand business, effective immediately.
Australian Companies | @AustralianCompanies
Specialty baby retailer Baby Bunting says early fiscal 2027 trading remains resilient, with Australian sales up 2 per cent and New Zealand sales up 8.7 per cent from mid-August to early October, Inside Retail reports.
The company spent $44.5 million on its Store of the Future program in 2026 and still aims to refurbish and open 120 stores across Australia and New Zealand. Seven stores are currently closed for refurbishment.
Cumulative sales growth at Store of the Future sites now stands at 20 per cent, underscoring the board's bet on refreshed stores ahead of the peak trading period.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies
Specialty baby retailer Baby Bunting says early fiscal 2027 trading remains resilient, with Australian sales up 2 per cent and New Zealand sales up 8.7 per cent from mid-August to early October, Inside Retail reports.
The company spent $44.5 million on its Store of the Future program in 2026 and still aims to refurbish and open 120 stores across Australia and New Zealand. Seven stores are currently closed for refurbishment.
Cumulative sales growth at Store of the Future sites now stands at 20 per cent, underscoring the board's bet on refreshed stores ahead of the peak trading period.
@AustralianNetwork | @AustralianNetworkPublisherBot | @AustralianCompanies