Latest Australia Headlines

All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Australia Braces for Worsening Bushfires as National Park Burns

Dec 23 2024 // Fire restrictions are in place across the Australian state of Victoria as one of its most popular national parks burns and officials warn of potentially “catastrophic” conditions in some areas over Christmas.A...

Meta Settles With Australia’s Privacy Watchdog Over Cambridge Analytica Lawsuit

Dec 17 2024 // Meta Platforms has agreed to a A$50 million settlement ($31.85 million), Australia’s privacy watchdog said on Tuesday, closing long-drawn, expensive legal proceedings for the Facebook parent over the Cambridge...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Brokerages in Canada and Australia

Dec 3 2024 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., the Rolling Meadows, Illinois-headquartered insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, announced the acquisition of a Canadian and Australian insurance brokerages.In...

Australia’s Top Female Executives Make US$103,000 Less Than Men

Nov 21 2024 // Australia’s top female business chiefs are earning A$158,632 ($103,340) less per year than their male counterparts, according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, with the overall pay disparity between men and...

Australia Hardware Chain Breached Privacy With Facial Recognition Tool, Regulator Says

Nov 19 2024 // Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings, the country’s biggest home improvement chain, breached the privacy of thousands of customers by using facial recognition technology without gaining consent, an Australian watchdog has...

Markets/Coverages: IQUW Launches Financial Institutions Product in Australia

Nov 1 2024 // IQUW, the London-based property and specialty re/insurer, has announced that its financial institutions (FI) product, FortiFI, has launched new wording for the Australian insurance market.Launched in the US earlier this...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Australia’s Via Financial Group

Oct 28 2024 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., the Rolling Meadows, Illinois-headquartered broker, announced the acquisition of Australia’s Via Financial Group Pty Ltd.Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Based in Sydney,...

Australia Sues Insurer QBE Over Pricing Discounts, Shares Slip

Oct 23 2024 // Australia’s corporate regulator is taking QBE to court, alleging that the country’s biggest insurer by gross written premiums misled more than half a million customers about discounts on various products during...

Ardonagh Completes A$2.3B Acquisition of Australia’s PSC Insurance Group

Oct 15 2024 // The Ardonagh Group, the London-based independent insurance distribution platform, announced it has completed the A$2.3 billion (US$1.6 billion) acquisition of PSC Insurance Group Ltd.The completion of the acquisition in...

La Niña Is Becoming Less Likely, Australia’s Weather Bureau Says

Oct 15 2024 // The likelihood of a La Niña weather event in coming months has decreased, Australia’s weather bureau said on Tuesday, adding that if the phenomenon did appear, it would be weak and short-lived.The development of La...

Coal Expansion Helps Lure Insurers Back to Australia Producer Whitehaven

Oct 11 2024 // Whitehaven Coal Ltd., one of Australia’s largest coal producers, shelved a planned special purpose vehicle originally intended to provide in-house insurance after finding external insurers willing to take on the...

Australia Set for More Severe Cyclones This Season on Warm Seas

Oct 8 2024 // Australia is likely to see an above average number of severe tropical cyclones this season, according to the nation’s weather agency, which have the potential to damage crops and flood mining operations.The...

Ardonagh Marks Crucial Step Toward Completing A$2.3B Acquisition of Australia’s PSC

Sep 26 2024 // The Ardonagh Group, the London-based independent insurance distribution platform, announced that PSC Insurance Group Ltd.’s shareholders voted in favor of its proposed acquisition.The transaction, which is valued at...

Vanguard Investments Fined for Greenwashing as Australia Eyes ESG Claims

Sep 25 2024 // Australia’s federal court has fined Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd. A$12.9 million ($8.9 million) for making misleading claims about a fund, the highest penalty issued in the country so far over greenwashing.In...

Musk Calls Australian Government ‘Fascists’ Over Misinformation Law

Sep 16 2024 // Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, on Friday [Sept. 13] called Australia’s center-left government “fascists” over proposed legislation to slap fines on social media firms for failing to prevent...

Australia’s Agile Launches New Zealand Unit to Support Its New Lloyd’s Syndicate

Aug 30 2024 // Agile Underwriting Services, the Sydney, Australia-based insurtech, managing general agent, and Lloyd’s coverholder, has launched a unit in New Zealand, which Agile described as the first of its kind for a...

Australian Homeowners Struggling to Afford Insurance as Climate Risks Grow: Report

Aug 26 2024 // Home insurance is becoming unaffordable for a growing number of Australian households as increased climate threats drive up their premiums, potentially putting billions of dollars in mortgage loans at risk, a report said...

Unseasonal Winter Heat Across Australia Raises Wildfire Risks

Aug 22 2024 // Australia is facing elevated wildfire risks months ahead of the summer fire season, as an unusually warm winter scorches parts of the continent and threatens to set temperature records.Heat is forecast to bake vast areas...

Australian Insurer IAG Says Rise in Claims, Third-Party Costs to Push Up Premiums

Aug 21 2024 // Insurance Australia Group said on Wednesday it expects premiums to keep rising because of a huge jump in loss claims and third-party costs for home and automobile repairs, sending its shares more than 3% lower.IAG said the...

Australian Pensions Industry Boosts Investments in Natural Catastrophe Reinsurance

Aug 12 2024 // The risks from the growing number of natural disasters offer Australia’s largest pension funds a chance to boost returns.Colonial First State, one of the nation’s biggest pension and wealth managers, is looking...