How the law and the registers actually work, written for people who need to use them.
The Register
For twenty years the anti-money laundering regime covered about 17,000 businesses: banks, casinos, remitters, bullion dealers. From 1 July 2026 it covers lawyers, conveyancers, accountants, real estate agents, developers, trust and company service providers, dealers in precious metals and crypto exchanges as well. That is roughly 100,000 businesses, most of them small, and the enrolment deadline has already passed.
By T. Nguyen · 11 September 2026 · 5 min read
Politics
Polling has put Pauline Hanson's party ahead of the major parties on primary vote. But the evidence behind the surge shows a narrower story: immigration, Coalition collapse, distrust of government and a preference system still working against One Nation.
By B. O'Connell · 10 September 2026 · 8 min read
Crime
On 17 May 2026 China's state media announced a joint operation with the United States and the UAE that had arrested 276 telecom fraud suspects in Dubai. Every number was right, and eighteen days old: Dubai Police and the US Justice Department had announced the same operation on 29 April as Tri-Force Sentinel. What the two accounts share, what Beijing's leaves out, what the scam was, and why the buyers of what those nine dens sold are, on the numbers, in Australia.
By T. Nguyen · 10 September 2026 · 5 min read
Crime
Official crime data says murder in NSW is statistically stable. Police and media records tell a more disturbing story: a gangland conflict in which the wrong people are increasingly being killed.
By T. Nguyen · 9 September 2026 · 10 min read
Explainers
The paid-media industry has rate cards, resellers and guarantees. It sells contributor bylines, magazine profiles, wire syndication, knowledge panels and Wikipedia pages, and it sells the psychology that makes them work. What the trade calls itself, what it charges, why it lands, and how to check a reputation in two minutes.
By B. O'Connell · 8 September 2026 · 11 min read
Explainers
Criminal defamation carries up to ten years in Victoria and is almost never prosecuted. The civil process is what happens: a serious-harm test, a compulsory concerns notice, a one-year clock, capped damages and uncapped costs. This is how it works, and what to keep if it is happening to you.
By B. O'Connell · 31 August 2026 · 6 min read
The Register
Every company a person has ever held office in, with the dates. What the document shows, what it leaves out, and how to order one.
By NOFUF · 29 August 2026 · 2 min read
Explainers
The report to creditors is the only formal account of a company's collapse. Here is how it is made, who it relies on, and where its limits are.
By NOFUF · 28 August 2026 · 2 min read
Explainers
Since 2021 a defamation claim fails unless the publication caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm. What the test is and why it changed the calculus.
By NOFUF · 26 August 2026 · 2 min read
