Regulatory Updates

ASIC has begun publishing outcomes of decisions of the Financial Services and Credit Panel, starting with two decisions.

In the …

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 3) Bill 2023 has been introduced into Parliament, further progressing the possibility of …

The Government has issued its formal response to the Quality of Advice Review, with the Final Report from Michelle Levy …

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Law Improvement Package No. 1) Bill 2023 has been introduced to Parliament.

The Bill seeks, …

ASIC speeches, published on its website, can provide good insights into the regulator’s current priorities. Speeches delivered by ASIC over …

ASIC has invited regulated entities (including licensees) to take part in a survey designed to assess cyber resilience in Australia’s …

The Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2023 will be considered by the Economics Legislation Committee for a little longer than …

ASIC announced that Buy Now Pay Later entity Humm BNPL Pty Ltd successfully took corrective action in response to an …

In another interim stop order “first”, ASIC has issued an interim stop order against one superannuation product and three managed …

ASIC has continued its trend of taking action in relation to the product design and distribution obligations. It has issued …

After protracted consideration, Parliament has passed a package of legislation to set up the compensation scheme of last resort.

The …

The Federal Government has responded to the Quality of Advice Review, adopting 14 recommendations in full or in principle today. …

Last month, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) updated its guidance on the breach reporting regime, with …

AFCA’s proposed amended approach to non-financial loss claims (March 2023). AFCA is proposing to add a matrix to its …

ASIC cancels AFS licences – ceasing to carry on financial services business

ASIC cancelled the licence of DGR Bloodstock Services …

During April, the Virtual Assets Contact Group of the FATF met in Tokyo to discuss global progress and challenges in …

FATF has updated its consolidated list of ML/TF country assessment ratings.  This list assesses the effectiveness and technical compliance of …

AFCA continues to see an increase in the number of complaints lodged with it, with a record number of complaints …

Treasury has released draft legislation in order to address uncertainty around the ability of AFCA to hear complaints relating to …

Financial Services Minister, Stephen Jones, has announced that Buy Now, Pay Later services will be regulated as credit products. …

The National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Financial Sector Reform) Regulations 2023 were recently registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. …

ASIC has commenced proceedings against car finance provider Money3 Loans Pty Ltd for alleged breaches of its responsible lending obligations …

As part of its review of the Legislative Framework for Corporations and Financial Services Regulation, the Australian Law Reform Commission …

ASIC has issued proceedings against HCF Life Insurance Company Pty Limited. ASIC alleges that three types of insurance policies issued …

ASIC has successfully sued MLC Limited in the Federal Court of Australia, with the judgment covering:

• false or misleading representations …

ASIC released Report 764: ASIC enforcement and regulatory update: January to March 2023 which provides an overview of ASIC’s work …

ASIC issued an infringement notice to superannuation fund promoter, Future Super Investment Services Pty Ltd.

Future Super is the promotor …

In an Address to the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, Stephen Jones, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, …

Report 763 ASIC’s recent greenwashing interventions, released by ASIC, gives licensees an important opportunity to review their advertising …

The OAIC announced a joint investigation with the New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) into the Latitude Group …

The Federal Court has found that four AMP companies breached the law when charging life insurance premiums and advice fees …

Eight recent interim stop orders made by ASIC give clear messaging to CFD issuers about ASIC’s expectations in relation to …

ASIC called on product issuers to “lift their game” after an initial review found significant room for improvement in how …

ASIC has updated the implementation timeframe of the IDR data reporting framework. As noted in HN Hub Alert IDR data …

ASIC made eight interim stop orders preventing Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) Limited from issuing some new contracts for difference to …

Changes have recently been made to the internal dispute resolution data reporting framework with the introduction of ASIC Corporations (Amendment) …

With the recent spate of data breaches now extending to the financial services industry, Australian financial services licensees are racing …

Draft Treasury Laws Amendment (Measures for Consultation) Regulations 2022: ALRC Financial Services Interim Report Tranche 2.  These draft Regulations …

Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2023

The Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2023 was introduced to the Senate.  The Bill …

The Attorney-General has announced public consultation on proposed reforms to Australia’s AML/CTF legislation.

The proposed reforms include extending the existing …

AUSTRAC has released updated guidance to help reporting entities meet their AML/CTF obligations in relation to:

• employee due diligence (“EDD”) …

AUSTRAC has released two new AML/CTF e-learning modules.  These join the existing e-learning suite designed to increase reporting entities’ understanding …

AUSTRAC has partnered with the AFP and the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) to stop child exploitation networks, …

AUSTRAC has provided an update on its Reporting Entity System Transformation (REST) Program, which focuses on improving AUSTRAC Online.

The …

ASIC has commenced the first proceedings alleging unfair contract terms in an insurance contract.

The proceedings have been issued against …

The Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Act 2023 was passed by Parliament at the end of March and received Royal Assent …

ASIC has made ASIC Corporations (Amendment and Repeal) Instrument 2023/36.

The Instrument amends or repeals exemption Instruments that provide …

ASIC continued its trend of DDO enforcement actions last month, issuing stop orders in relation to CVC Limited preventing it …

ASIC has released new Information Sheet 278: Inventory of superannuation trustee transparency and disclosure obligations.  The inventory consolidates superannuation …

APRA is required to conduct an annual performance test for MySuper products.  The assessment under the performance test is intended …