If you were forwarded this email (Hi! Welcome!), you can sign up to the newsletter here.

Good morning!

Here is today’s trivia question: Which country has won the most men’s FIFA World Cups?

Answer is in the titbit!

I’ve got 10 seconds

The quote: “Three months is a holiday, not a punishment.” Greens Senator Barbara Pocock announcing her party will refer KPMG to the National Anti-Corruption Commission for “suspected corruption breaches,” after the Government issued a three-month ban on new contracts with the financial services company.

The stat: 47. The number of posties who encounter "an aggressive or unrestrained dog" every week, according to new Australia Post data. In some serious cases, employees are requiring hospital treatment, AusPost said.

The big question:

Is Australia doing enough for First Nations people?

Login or Subscribe to participate

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

  • The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has kept interest rates on hold for the first time this year. Following three consecutive rate rises, the central bank’s monetary policy board voted unanimously to leave the cash rate steady at 4.35%. A statement from the RBA Board said inflation is “still too high”. However, it noted “financial conditions are now tighter than they were, and there are signs that the economy is slowing as expected”.

  • An Australian World Cup referee has been cleared of wrongdoing after he was accused of making a hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign. Victorian video assistant referee (VAR) Shaun Evans was on the referee team for Germany's 7-1 win over Curaçao on Monday. Before the game, he was broadcast making an upside-down "OK" symbol with his right hand. The gesture has been linked to white power in recent years. Evans said he “did not intentionally” make the gesture, calling it “an involuntary, subconscious twitch”. FIFA’s independent disciplinary committee investigated the footage, finding no breach of its disciplinary code.

Recommendation of the day

Pay bills with confidence using BPAY®

When you pay with BPAY®, your bank details never leave your banking app, so you can get on with paying bills using a method you already trust. BPAY has been keeping bill payments in Australia secure for over 28 years, and once you've paid a Biller, their details can be saved in your banking app for next time.

Rent, energy, council rates, credit cards, tax – sorted, safely.

Scheduled payments are subject to systems and funds availability. T&Cs apply. BPAY is a registered trade mark of BPAY Pty Ltd ABN 69 079 137 518. BPAY is made available by over 150 BPAY participants. You should obtain a PDS from your relevant BPAY participant and consider whether BPAY is right for you. Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.

I’ve got 1 minute

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has introduced a bill creating a legal right for employees to work from home two days per week.

If passed, the law will begin on 1 September for most businesses where it is considered reasonable to work remotely, and will apply to casual and part-time workers.

WFH

In August 2025, the Victorian Government sought feedback from employees and businesses on proposed working-from-home legislation.

It released more details in March after that consultation, saying the law would cover all workers who can reasonably work from home, regardless of their employer’s size, and create a dispute resolution process.

On Tuesday, Allan brought the legislation to Parliament. It now includes casual and part-time workers.

Allan said guidance on pro-rata arrangements would be released before 1 September. Pro-rata refers to a proportional arrangement, such as wages or leave entitlements based on hours worked.

Unveiling the plan, Allan said around 60% of professionals regularly work from home and save about $110 a week, or $5,308 a year, by doing so.

“Work from home works for families because it saves time and money and it gets more parents working,” Allan said.

Response

Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said the Coalition “supports flexible working arrangements.”

Wilson said the Shadow Cabinet “will consider this legislation” and “make its position known once that process concludes.”

The Victorian Congress of Employer Associations argued there was “no problem to fix.”

The group said the law would create “additional compliance obligations for employers who are already doing the right thing.”

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

Good finds

🐾 Spend more time with your pets and less time cleaning up after them. The new BISSELL PowerClean® DualBrush removes embedded pet hair 2x faster, FurFinder™ Headlights reveal hidden fur in every nook and cranny, and the HEPA Sealed Allergen System captures 99.97% of pet dander so the air in your home is actually cleaner too. Shop the range here.

🖼️ Music merch has officially become home décor, and the Warner Music Store is full of pieces worth showing off. From collectible vinyl and limited-edition drops to rare signed releases from artists like Dua Lipa, My Chemical Romance, Madonna, and RÜFÜS DU SOL, it’s the kind of place where “just browsing” quickly turns into a new shelf obsession. Find your next addition at https://WMA.lnk.to/wmastore.

Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.

I’ve got 2 minutes

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accused burger chain Grill’d of greenwashing. From 2021 to 2024, Grill’d’s ‘Tree Day Tuesday’ promotion pledged $1 from burger purchases to “protect forests”.

The ACCC now alleges only 4% of all burgers bought on Tuesdays were actually eligible.

Grill’d said it “takes Australian Consumer Law very seriously”.

Background

Grill’d started in Melbourne in 2004. Today, it has 178 stores in every state and territory, as well as Bali.

From January 2021 to April 2024, Grill’d ran its ‘Tree Day Tuesday’ promotion. The campaign appeared on social media and the Grill’d app, including one post which said: “For every Tuesday Grill’d burg purchase, $1 goes towards planting a tree.” In other posts viewed by TDA, Grill’d specified the promo is for Relish loyalty program members.

In 2022, the burger chain announced environmental offset charity Greenfleet had planted 10 “Grill’d forests”.

ACCC case

This week, the ACCC announced it would pursue legal action against Grill’d for “misleading consumers” and “greenwashing”. Greenwashing is when a business publishes incorrect or misleading information to suggest they are more environmentally responsible than they are. For a burger to be eligible for the campaign, it had to fit specific criteria, such as being purchased by a Relish member.

Eligible orders had to be: purchased on Tuesday; a ‘main item’ (burger or salad); bought by a Grill’d Relish loyalty program member who scanned their barcode; dine-in only – not takeaway, online order, or delivery; placed at the front counter, not via table QR codes; and not combined with any other offer.

The ACCC’s legal filing includes examples of posts on Grill’d’s social media accounts which did not specify several of these conditions, such as it only being for loyalty program members, or only being for dining in.

The watchdog says the criteria meant only 4% of the five million burgers bought on Tuesdays from January 2021 to April 2024 were eligible for the $1 donation. The ACCC also alleged the donation claims may have “given Grill’d an unfair competitive advantage,” and “deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed decision”.

It alleges Grill’d was “greenwashing” by “overstating” the extent of environmental benefits of the promotion, due to the strict criteria a purchase had to meet to be eligible.

“Any business that seeks to appeal to consumers’ environmental concerns must make sure that its claims are accurate and that any conditions or qualifications are adequately disclosed,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

Response

In response to the case, Grill’d said the promotion was “undertaken with positive intent and over $250,000 was donated to plant over 100,000 trees and restoration of over 40 hectares of forests”.

“Grill’d has a proud history of supporting and donating to thousands of community groups,” it said. The burger chain added that it “takes Australian Consumer Law very seriously,” and has worked with the ACCC so that its sustainability initiatives “are clear and cause no confusion”.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

A message from Dry July

July is weeks away. Have you considered making your July dry?

Each year, thousands of Aussies have a Dry July® to raise money for people affected by cancer.

The funds go to the practical things that matter most such as transport to a life-saving appointment, specialist nurse guidance, or access to rehabilitation programs.

It's free to sign up and every dollar makes a difference. Not to mention - spending a month without alcohol? Your health will thank you too.

Give me some good news

Credit: UNSW

A once locally extinct kangaroo-like marsupial has been released back into the far northwestern NSW desert.

The burrowing bettong vanished from mainland Australia within a century of colonisation, but the UNSW-led ‘Wild Deserts’ project is working to bring them back. Together with Taronga and Parks and Wildlife, the team has now released a small population of bettongs into two designated safe havens inside Sturt National Park. These 100-square-km fenced ‘Wild Training Zones’ give native species a chance to adapt in environments with low levels of invasive species, like feral cats. Based on the success of similar efforts with bilbies and quolls, Wild Deserts Project Manager Dr Reece Pedler said: “we think bettongs will also do well in the same area.”

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

TDA titbit

Credit: Carabinieri of Volpiano

Police in Italy found a stolen moped after stopping a man riding it without a licence plate, which matched reports from when the vintage bike vanished 42 years ago. Yes, 42. Years. Ago.

Its original owner told the local newspaper he “immediately thought it was a joke”. So did TDA. However, officers confirmed the frame details and charged the rider with possessing a stolen item, although he was not the original thief.

The original owner now plans to ride his moped along the Ligurian coast. What a win!

Reporting by Pavitra Ravi.

Trivia answer: Brazil, having won it five times.

TDA asks

Keep Reading