Former EY partner banned over tax evasion and schemes for clients – 18 May 2025
Former EY partner Peter White has been banned by the Tax Practitioners Board for five years for personal tax evasion and creating schemes for clients to minimise tax. The Tax Practitioners Board gave White the maximum ban and said his conduct was “serious, deliberate and dishonest” and broke tax law and the tax agent code of conduct. The board said White was no longer a “fit and proper person to remain registered”.
Couple flees to India in business class after allegedly defrauding NZ government of $2M – 18 May 2025
A trusted Indian-origin property manager at Oranga Tamariki and her husband allegedly defrauded the government agency of more than $2 million in a brazen, years-long scheme that ended in business-class tickets to India and criminal convictions. The Christchurch-based couple orchestrated an elaborate fraud by secretly inserting Amandeep’s company into the government agency’s job system, with Neha personally approving and allocating work to Divine Connection—despite knowing it was a serious conflict of interest and that the company was not an approved supplier.
The growing push for ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ laws – 19 May 2025
When Queensland woman Emma Lovell was stabbed to death by a teenager in 2022, the community and nation was shocked. The crime was a catalyst for a campaign for stricter sentencing for youths and Queensland went on to become the first state to introduce ‘Adult Crime, Adult Time’ laws. ABC News Queensland presenter Jessica van Vonderen on why other states could follow suit.
Anglican diocese seeks to sell property to pay child sex abuse claims – 19 May 2025
The North Queensland Anglican Diocese needs to find millions of dollars to compensate victims of historic child sexual abuse under the National Redress Scheme. The Bishop of North Queensland is preparing a Supreme Court application to allow the church to sell off parish assets and dissolve charitable trusts. The abuse claims against the diocese stretch back as far as the 1950s, with most cases occurring in the 1960s to 1980s.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-19
Domestic violence survivors living in fear of having addresses leaked by energy companies – 20 May 2025
A new report has found that survivors of domestic abuse can be put at increased risk with abusers using energy and water accounts to stalk, control, and punish them. The report — Designed to Disrupt: Safety by design for essential services — found that abusers were exploiting weaknesses in companies’ privacy systems to access information from their victims’ energy and water accounts.
Strata licences cancelled over insurance failures, misconduct – 21 May 2025
NSW Fair Trading has taken formal disciplinary action against Result Strata Management Pty Ltd and its general manager, Michael Lee, permanently revoking their licences to operate in the state’s strata management sector. An investigation revealed multiple violations, including:
• failure to manage conflicts of interest
• improper conduct related to meeting instructions
• billing for undelivered services
• neglect of fire safety obligations
• insufficient insurance arrangements for managed properties
New NDIS firm in integrity probe: tip-offs claim holidays on taxpayers, doctor collusion – 21 May 2025
An NDIS firm was accused of using taxpayer money to send clients and carers on holidays, offering people with disabilities cash payments instead of support, and colluding with doctors to inflate plans, court documents state.
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Hackers unleash botnet capable of ‘killing most companies’ – 21 May 2025
Security researchers have uncovered what could be the biggest ever botnet, capable of “crippling digital assaults” that could take down entire companies. Hackers performed what appeared to be a test run of the botnet’s capabilities last week, targeting the website of cybercrime investigator Brian Krebs. A botnet is created by compromising the security of internet-connected devices and linking them together to carry out distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which overwhelms websites and online services with traffic to knock them offline.
https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/botnet-cyber-attack-google-aisuru-krebs-b2755072.html
Major online retailer sued for allegedly overcharging more than 40,000 customers – 22 May 2025
A major online retailer will face the federal court after the corporate regulator accused it of tricking over 40,000 customers into overpaying for electronics and household goods. Aussie retailer Snaffle allows customers to buy electronics and household goods including washing machines, fridges and mobile phones through weekly instalments over a period of years. But the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) claims the company has inflated the price of goods and also overcharged customers on interest contracts.
Microsoft says 394,000 Windows computers infected by Lumma malware – 22 May 2025
Microsoft said that it broke down the Lumma Stealer malware project with the help of law enforcement officials across the globe. The tech giant said in a blog post that its digital crimes unit discovered more than 394,000 Windows computers were infected by the Lumma malware worldwide between March 16 through May 16. The Lumma malware was a favorite hacking tool used by bad actors, Microsoft said in the post. Hackers used the malware to steal passwords, credit cards, bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.
Disability services provider which collapsed with $500,000 tax debt investigated by NDIS regulator – 22 May 2025
The NDIS regulator is investigating a Queensland-based disability housing and support provider – which collapsed in March with more than half a million dollars in tax debt – after residents made complaints alleging that their support needs were not being fully met. In the midst of insolvency proceedings, Core & Capacity staff began to issue residents with new agreements for rent and disability support.
