Regulatory Updates

Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones will today announce legislation implementing most of the reforms recommended by Michelle Levy last year …

Screen scraping is a technology that collects displayed data to be used for another purpose. Perhaps most commonly, it is …

Reforms to the Payment Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 – Exposure draft legislation. This draft legislation aims to update the …

ASIC has website “takedown” power

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones and ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court held a press conference about …

The Supreme Court of New South Wales recently found that Beyond Bank Australia Ltd (Beyond Bank) wrongfully de-banked Human Appeal …

AUSTRAC has again highlighted the importance of entities lodging suspicious matter reports (SMRs), in stopping crimes such as the sexual …

AUSTRAC has continued its collaboration with partner financial intelligence units across the Pacific, providing the Cook Islands Financial Intelligence Unit …

AUSTRAC has accepted an EU from Gold Corporation (trading as Perth mint) to uplift its compliance with AML/CTF Laws.

In …

With data breaches becoming more common, AUSTRAC has released new guidance on data breaches.

The guidance aims to help businesses …

AUSTRAC has established an operational response to the unfolding conflict in Israel/Gaza.

The response covers a range of AUSTRAC’s capabilities …

AUSTRAC has opened consultation on draft AML/CTF Rules amending Chapter 21 of the AML/CTF Rules, and a draft Explanatory Statement. …

With significant numbers of consumers experiencing financial distress and difficulty due to cost-of-living pressures, ASIC has called for lenders to …

Licensees may be impacted by the proposals set out in the Government’s Sustainable Finance Strategy Consultation paper.

The strategy …

The FSCP has decided not to take action against a relevant provider who had clients sign blank off-market transfer forms. …

The commencement of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 3) Act 2023, means that a financial adviser who …

ASIC has signaled its intention to take strong, targeted enforcement action in the coming months and into 2024, as part …

ASIC has supervised more than $17.4 million in compensation payments to retail clients affected by breaches of financial services laws …

The Superannuation (Objective) Bill 2023, which would enshrine the objective of superannuation in legislation, was introduced into Parliament this …

The Government has released the first tranche of exposure draft legislation relating to the outcomes of the Quality of Advice …

The Federal Court has ordered Mercer Financial Advice (Australia) Pty Ltd (Mercer) to pay a $12 million penalty after being …

After some confusion and delay, the additional obligation to register financial advisers with ASIC has now commenced.

The requirement for …

ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court alleging Telstra Super failed to comply with internal dispute resolution …

ASIC has taken action against H.E.S.T. Australia Limited (HESTA), the trustee of HESTA superannuation fund, for alleged false or misleading …

AFCA held its latest member forums on 16 and 17 November 2023.

In his opening address, Chief Ombudsman and CEO …

The year 2022-23 was the year of the biggest data breaches Australia had ever seen.

This is revealed in the …

The project to simplify financial services laws continues, with the making of Treasury Laws Amendment (ALRC Financial Services Interim Report) …

Like licensees, ASIC also has obligations under the reportable situations regime. These obligations include reporting annually on information lodged by …

ASIC has called on organisations to prioritise their cyber security after its report into the cyber capability of corporate Australia …

Reforms to the unfair contract terms regime took effect on 9 November, making UCTs illegal, with substantial penalties for contraventions …

In an article published in Company Director magazine, Sarah Court has written about ASIC’s ongoing focus on concerns of greenwashing. …

The Australian Information Commissioner has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Australian Clinical Labs Limited (ACL) following …

On 21 November, at the ASIC Annual Forum 2023, ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court announced ASIC's enforcement priorities for …

The Government has kicked off the implementation of 10 recommendations from the Quality of Advice Review, with Treasury releasing draft …

For the time poor readers, here’s the TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) version: Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents unique …

Consumer Data Right rules – expansion to the non-bank lending sector. These draft rules and amending instrument, released by …

Technology neutrality improvements continue

The Government has made Treasury Laws Amendment (Modernising Business Communications) Regulations 2023. These are designed …

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

AUSTRAC has reminded entities to ensure they are enrolled with AUSTRAC before 9 November 2023, to avoid increasing penalties.

Following …

Greg Yanco’s speech at the recent Credit Law Conference gives insights into ASIC’s current views on consumer credit.

Key points …

ASIC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against Cigno Australia Pty Ltd and BSF Solutions Pty Ltd and their …

ASIC has announced that the Federal Court has ordered ANZ to pay a $15 million penalty after it admitted to …

Upcoming ASIC consultation in relation to a range of subordinate legislation may be of particular interest to trustees, fund managers …

The Financial Services and Credit Panel has reported that a relevant provider failed to comply with a number of obligations …

ASIC announced that the Federal Court has ordered National Australia Bank Ltd to pay a $2.1 million penalty for unconscionable …

ASIC announced that it has successfully taken action against Bobbob Pty Ltd regarding representations it made about a crypto asset …

ASIC announced that it has banned former insurance adviser Mr John Durant, the sole director of Assurance Corp (Aust) Pty …

The Corporations (Relevant Providers Degrees, Qualifications and Courses Standard) Amendment (2023 Measures No. 3) Determination 2023 was registered on 11 …

ASIC Chair Joe Longo and ASIC Deputy Chair Karen Chester gave speeches on regulating crypto assets and improving insurance basics …

ASIC has lost Federal Court proceedings brought against Diversa Trustees Limited in 2021.

The Court found that Diversa did not …

A recent ASIC decision following the high profile issues regarding PWC is a reminder to AFS licensees that conduct outside …