Adele Ferguson

As more cracks appear in the burgeoning super industry, performance won't take centre stage. The trust gap will.

The Victorian government will become the first state to force retirement village operators to sign up to a mandatory code of conduct as part of a crackdown on the sector that also includes more transparency on how fees are calculated.

Financial advisor Kris Ridgway's life began to unravel in early 2022 when it was discovered he was recommending unlisted shares to his clients. As Ridgway faces up to 15 years jail, his wife Kerrilyn says she's lost her past, and her future.

Former military lawyer David McBride has given an interview to the ABC from the Canberra prison where he is serving a sentence of more than five years for leaking secret military documents to journalists.

ASIC's decision to sue Cbus, alleging systemic claims-handling failures, after lengthy delays in death and disability claims, could be a watershed moment to revisit a sector that sits in a privileged position of looking after Australians' retirement savings with little scrutiny.

A Sydney plastic surgeon who patients say left them with "disfigurement" has been found guilty of professional misconduct. One of his former patients says her life was ruined after going under the knife.

ACTU president Michele O'Neil is calling on the government to reform a temporary working visa scheme that prevents workers leaving bad bosses and to blacklist dodgy employers who use migration worker exploitation as a business model.

Retirement village residents and their families have backed calls for tougher regulation of the sector, with one saying contracts should carry a cigarette-style financial health warning and another saying the industry is a "black hole".

Federal Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones says he wants to stamp out bad behaviour by retirement village operators following an ABC investigation that revealed "legalised financial abuse of the elderly" is rife. 

Queensland authorities are probing the fees residents are charged to sell retirement villas, following an ABC investigation into the multi-billion-dollar sector.

Days before Christmas, Maurine's retirement village threatened her with eviction. Advocates say village operators have an incentive to churn residents to maximise revenue from exit fees. 

No puppies, mandatory medical examinations and hard-to-understand financial consequences. Welcome to life inside some of Australia's retirement villages.

Retirement villages are home to more than 250,000 older Australians, but some residents complain of exorbitant fees, oppressive contracts and a sense of feeling trapped.

When Ezekiel landed in Australia as a guest worker two years ago, he was full of hope. Two years later, he is in limbo, destitute and homeless with the company that sponsored him being investigated for abuse and mistreatment of workers.

In 2015, ASIC warned Australia's banks to watch out for an overseas investment scam and take action to prevent people falling victim to it. Months later, David Sweeney's father lost $1 million to the very same scheme.

Predatory lowball cash settlements from insurance companies to victims of flood damage are a serious issue, with the peak body for financial counsellors revealing underquoting is rife.

Pawanjeet Heir was treated like a slave as she pursued the requirements for permanent residency in Australia. Her husband says she has been punished for speaking up.

Spinal cord stimulators used by some pain specialists to treat chronic back pain are being slapped with conditions or cancelled by Australia's medical devices regulator amid a review into the safety and performance of the controversial products.

The $12 billion land lease industry, which caters to retirees looking for affordable low-maintenance living, has largely flown under the radar. But across the country, more claims are emerging of questionable practices including fee gouging, excessive rent increases and misleading contracts.

Lifestyle Communities share price plunges more than 18 per cent in the wake of an ABC investigation detailing claims the operator of gated communities for the over 50s is gouging residents with unfair fees including charging the dead rent.

Land lease communities, where retirees buy their home but rent the land, are booming, fuelled by a housing affordability crisis and an aging population. But some residents say they feel trapped in a "financial prison" and experts say a lack of legal protections leave some with few options for redress.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is timid and slow and was once described as "a haven for white-collar crime". A parliamentary inquiry due this week is expected to be brutal in its assessment of the regulator. Will its recommendations chart a path forward?

Louise Beaston, the wife of ATO whistleblower Richard Boyle, is pleading with the government to look into the criminal prosecution of her husband and fix whistleblowing laws so nobody else is forced to endure what her family has. This case is the latest reminder that Australia's whistleblower laws need urgent reform.

After a year of scandals, bad publicity and a carousel of parliamentary inquiries shining a light on the shadowy world of the big four global accounting firms, it's time for reform.

After years of issues and commentators calling for reform, the findings from a parliamentary inquiry into the corporate regulator ASIC are expected next month — with signs that significant changes could be on their way.