Regulatory Updates

The recent banning of adviser, Mark Babbage by ASIC underscores the expansion of responsibility now carried by financial advisers as …

ASIC has fixed a legislative drafting problem relating to existing relevant providers and the financial adviser exam, by making ASIC …

The Federal Court has handed down its decision in the last of six separate civil penalty proceedings brought by ASIC …

ASIC has extended relief from certain dollar disclosure requirements in PDSs for litigation funding schemes.

From August 2020, these schemes …

HN Hub T-REX Regulatory Update Business introduction relief extended, published in March 2022, reported that ASIC was extending relief …

The Government has tidied up the intersection of the corporative collective investment vehicle regime with the passport fund regime by …

The Government has made the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Consumer Data Right Measures No. 1) Regulations 2022.  The aim …

The Federal Court has ordered that Westpac subsidiary and superannuation trustee, BT Funds Management Limited pay a $20 million penalty. …

The Federal Court has ordered that Westpac Banking Corporation pay a $1.5 million penalty for mis-selling consumer credit insurance.

The …

ASIC reports that superannuation trustees have revised their internal policies and procedures after ASIC raised concerns following a surveillance last …

ASIC has started civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Macquarie Bank Ltd, alleging breaches of the “efficiently, honestly …

AFCA has updated its Operational Guidelines to reflect changes to how and when parties to a complaint can request an …

Of ASIC’s recent speeches, Regulating crypto-asset-based investment products within the financial services framework is particularly timely given the current consultation …

The Australian Law Reform Commission continues to release resources and schedule events shedding light on the current work of the …

ASIC has released updated FAQs explaining the requirements for virtual meetings for companies and registered schemes held from 1 April …

The Council of Financial Regulators has released its latest Quarterly Statement and the RBA’s latest half-yearly Financial Stability Review. …

ASIC has extended the Product Intervention Order that applies to CFDs issuers and distributors for a further 5 years.  ASIC …

ASIC has released the final requirements for the internal dispute resolution (IDR) data reporting framework.

The framework will be implemented …

Important changes have been made to the Consumer Data Right Rules that enable ‘trusted advisers’ to access consumer data via …

The following items were open for consultation in March 2022:

ASIC Consultation Paper 356 ETP naming conventions: Updates to INFO …

ASIC Enforcement Update

ASIC released its Enforcement Update for July to December 2021.  The period includes the filing of …

FATF has released Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks Arising from Migrant Smuggling.

The report analyses the ML/TF risks …

FATF has published two recent updates relating to international ML/TF risk.

The updates relate to jurisdictions which may pose a …

FATF has adopted amendments to Recommendation 24 and its Interpretive Note, which require countries to prevent the misuse of legal …

FATF has released a public statement expressing their concern regarding the situation in Ukraine.

FATF raised concerns about the impact …

FATF held its sixth Plenary in March 2022.  It included 206 delegates from both the global network of FATF members …

AUSTRAC has joined the Canadian, French, German, Italian, Dutch and New Zealand Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) to condemn Russia’s invasion …

AUSTRAC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth for alleged serious and systematic non-compliance …

Lenders should be aware of a recent decision handed down by the High Court on asset-based lending and unconscionable conduct, …

There should be greater consistency across industry in the collection, use and disclosure of financial hardship information following the approval …

ASIC has introduced new market integrity rules which aim to:

• promote the technological and operational resilience of securities and futures …

ASIC has released dates for the next three sittings of the financial adviser exam.

Exam Sitting 17 will take place …

ASIC’s COVID-19 relief in relation to ROAs and SOAs is due to expire on 15 April 2022.  Some of this …

The Government has announced the release of the Terms of Reference for the Quality of Advice Review.  It has also …

AFCA issued a determination in relation to a business that allows customers to pay bills using cryptocurrency.  The financial firm …

Following consultation earlier this year, ASIC stated that it has extended the relief for business introduction services to 1 October …

ASIC has started a surveillance into the marketing of managed funds.  It is specifically looking for the use of misleading …

A matter currently before the Southport Magistrates Court in Queensland is a reminder to licensees to ensure that their activities …

Licensees who use social media influencers should take note of a new Information Sheet released by ASIC.  It is …

ASIC has taken steps to extend conditional relief for superannuation trustees from advice, conduct and disclosure requirements in Part 7.7 …

ASIC has released Consultation Paper 360 Corporate collective investment vehicles: preparing for the commencement of the new regime.

The …

AFCA is consulting with financial firms in relation to a proposed new funding model.  The model would more accurately reflect …

ASIC has released the final mandatory reporting requirements for the internal dispute resolution data reporting framework.

Financial firms needing to …

ASIC has granted relief to allow additional time for certain companies and registered schemes to hold virtual-only meetings.

The extended …

The Government has commenced public consultation in relation to the extension of the Consumer Data Right to non-bank lending, releasing …

The Australian Law Reform Commission has released Background Paper FSL 5 – Legislative Framework for Corporations and Financial Services Regulation …

ASIC Chair, Joe Longo, delivered a speech to the Australian Institute of Company Directors, ASIC’s corporate governance priorities and the …

ASIC has alerted organisations to the heightened cyber threat environment globally as a result of the Ukrainian situation and has …

The Government has opened consultation in relation to crypto asset licensing, custody and token mapping.  It has released a Consultation …

Treasury has opened consultation for the Quality of Advice Review.  Consistent with the terms of reference, this consultation seeks feedback …