Karl Barnett

Karl is a litigator with a decade of experience acting in corporate and commercial litigation, regulatory disputes, corporations, markets, financial services and consumer credit law, competition, antitrust and administrative law.

Karl is a trusted adviser to government clients. He has effectively managed large and complex investigations and litigation on behalf of ASIC, the ACCC and AUSTRAC.

Experience

Karl has acted in, and has successfully concluded, commercial and civil disputes for corporate regulators, large corporations and high-net worth individuals in complex regulatory, commercial, contractual, trust and family law disputes. He also regularly advises in relation to competition law and merger matters.

Karl has extensive experience acting for regulators, including ASIC, AUSTRAC and the ACCC, in high-profile, large-scale regulatory disputes and investigations in the banking, financial, superannuation, resource, telecommunications, insurance, construction and logistics sectors. Karl has recently acted successfully for the ACCC in the High Court. He has also undertaken a secondment with ASIC.

Karl was recognised by Doyle's Guide as a 2024 Rising Star for Commercial Litigation & Insolvency Law in Victoria.

Career highlights

Karl's career highlights include:

• acting for the ACCC in the High Court against Productivity Partners Pty Ltd, Site Group International Ltd and Mr Blake Wills in a systemic unconscionable conduct case arising out of an abuse of the Federal Government’s VET Fee-HELP vocational education scheme. Also acting for the ACCC on appeal to the Full Court and at the penalty stage, in which the ACCC secured pecuniary penalties of over $30m and an order that Mr Wills be disqualified from managing corporations for a period of three years.
• acting for ASIC in the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry and subsequently acting for ASIC in matters arising out of the Banking Royal Commission, including against Youi and TAL, and assisting in securing total penalties in excess of $40 million.
• acting for ASIC in its significant continuous disclosure proceedings against:
  • a major bank, arising out its failed 2015 capital raising (including on appeal to the Full Court of the Federal Court);
  • GetSwift Ltd and three of its directors which resulted in the highest ever penalty for a company for contravening the continuous disclosure laws and the second highest penalty ever awarded against an individual for breaching the Corporations Act; and
  • Ryzon Materials Ltd (formerly Magnis Energy Technologies Limited) and its Executive Chairman, Frank Poullas. The proceeding concerns a failure to disclose material information concerning the company’s self-described “flagship” lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in New York.
• acting for Alex Waislitz, the Founder and Executive Chairman of Thorney Investment Group – an investment fund with over $1.5bn in assets – in relation to a proceeding in the Supreme Court of Victoria against Heloise Pratt and the Visy Group concerning the future control of the investment business and the division of matrimonial assets. A settlement on all issues was achieved.
• acting for ASIC in a proceeding alleging insider trading, unconscionable conduct and s 912A claims against a major bank concerning the NSW Government’s privatisation of Ausgrid.
• acting for Viterra Malt Pty Ltd in relation to its application to the Supreme Court of Victoria to reopen the trial in a proceeding brought by the Cargill group following hard-fought litigation in the Victorian Supreme Court over the sale of Joe White Malting, assisting with the orderly resolution of that proceeding at first instance including applications for confidentiality and costs orders and assisting with the formulation of grounds of appeal.