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🗞️ Rat race depression
Almost half of workers in a 20,000-person survey said their job made them feel depressed at least some of the time, and serious mental health compensation claims in Australia have risen 161% in a decade.
Pick & Scroll News
July 14, 2026
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Good morning. Almost half of workers in a 20,000-person survey said their job made them feel depressed at least some of the time, and serious mental health compensation claims in Australia have risen 161% in a decade.
The research points squarely at management, with workload pressure, bullying and a lack of autonomy driving most of it, though working from home turned out not to be the fix either.
Researchers are now arguing companies should have to publicly report psychosocial hazards the same way they report their gender pay gap.
All the headlines and more below…
The Financial Services Union has told CBA's 25,000 staff that negotiations for a new enterprise bargaining agreement have broken down after the bank refused protections against AI replacing roles or commitments to stop offshoring and branch closures. The existing EBA expired last month.
CBA is Australia's largest bank by assets at $1.2T and has been the most aggressive among the big 4 in pursuing automation and offshoring. CEO Matt Comyn has flagged AI as central to the bank's strategy, with customer service roles and back-office functions the most exposed.
NAB and Westpac are in bargaining rounds this year and face similar demands from staff for protections against job cuts driven by technology.
AUSTRALIAN NEWS
Australians affected by last week’s Telstra outage may claim up to $100,000 in compensation as the telco faces class action threats and criticism of Australia’s limited compensation laws. LINK
The Australian federal government has committed $56.1M over 4 years to replace handwritten passenger arrival cards with digital cards at all airports to modernise operations. LINK
A Four Corners investigation has found serious failures in affordable housing schemes, with many NSW and VIC rentals advertised above median market rates and some low-income renters excluded. LINK
From July 1, Australia introduced new laws to stop insider trading and price manipulation in the Murray-Darling Basin water market. It's now illegal to artificially influence water prices, create a false impression of market activity or distort efficient operations.
Foreign investors hold 13% of freshwater entitlements in the Murray-Darling Basin.
The laws follow the ACCC's 2021 review during the Tinderbox drought (2017-2019), when high prices and non-farmer ownership prompted government investigation. The regulator analysed trade records from the 20 largest non-landholder investors and found no evidence of market power abuse, though research suggests insider trading may have occurred before the first rules were introduced in 2014.
Australia runs the world's largest formal water trading system. Farmers hold entitlements - an ongoing right to water - and receive allocations each season based on availability. A farmer with 100 megalitres of high security water receives full allocation in good years but as low as 30% in drought, while low security holders can receive nothing. Allocation prices swing freely with supply, making the temporary market far more volatile than permanent entitlement trades.
With El Niño forecast this year, prices are expected to rise again to drought levels.
COMPANY NEWS
Volvo has launched Australian-built electric trucks focused on city use as it urges better charging infrastructure, while the federal government confronts EV-related road funding and damage challenges. LINK
Stax has entered voluntary liquidation after previously going into receivership with NAB, placing its 160 jobs, customer orders and gift cards at risk despite annual turnover above $30M. LINK
City Chic shares rallied after the retailer projected earnings growth of up to 95% for FY26, pointing to a turnaround for the plus-size fashion brand. LINK
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