Quality of Advice Review – Final Report
On 8 February 2023, the Quality of Advice Review final report was published by the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, the Hon Stephen Jones MP, outlining Michelle Levy’s findings. The Quality of Advice Review was initiated due to the complexity of the regulatory framework of financial advice, making it difficult to understand and […]
ReadmoreASIC’s Enforcement Focus – Greenwashing, Predatory Lending & Misleading Insurance Pricing Promises
In a recent media release on 15 February 2023, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has warned businesses that it will actively target greenwashing, predatory lending and misleading insurance pricing promises in the coming year. The warning follows ASIC’s release of its ‘Enforcement Priorities’ report.[1] ASIC intends to establish these yearly priorities as a […]
ReadmoreASIC commences its first greenwashing court proceeding
On 28 February 2023, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) released an announcement stating that it has launched its first proceeding in the Federal Court against Mercer Superannuation (Australia) Ltd (Mercer) for allegedly ‘making misleading statements regarding the sustainable nature of some of its superannuation investment options’. Greenwashing has become a growing concern, as […]
ReadmoreFire in the house: Interest guaranteed despite extinguishment of debt under deed of company arrangement
The Victorian Court of Appeal has affirmed that whilst a company’s debts can be released to some extent under a DOCA, that section 444J of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) expressly provides for a creditor’s rights under a guarantee or indemnity. The Court found that the ultimate page of AOL’s trading account credit terms, […]
ReadmoreMarket Integrity Rules Update: New Technological and Operational Resilience Rules to apply from 10 March 2023
Australia’s financial markets have become increasingly digitised and automated, such that the technological and operational risks faced by market operators and participants have simultaneously increased. This is not to mention that failures in this area, as seen for example in connection with the November 2020 ASX outage, ‘can have significant real-world consequences’[1]. As a result […]
Readmore22-316MR ASIC suspends FTX Australia’s AFS licence
On 16 November 2022, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) suspended the Australian Financial Services (AFS) licences of FTX Express Pty Ltd (ACN 657 907 894) and FTX Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 129 217 812) (together, FTX Australia) until 15 May 2023. This was as a result of FTX Australia being placed into voluntary […]
Readmore22-349MR ASIC’S Enforcement and Regulatory Update July to September 2022
On 12 December 2022, ASIC released its updated quarterly report (REP 753) that outlined its key actions undertaken over the previous quarter. This report focused on ASIC enforcement and regulatory actions that covered the following sectors: insurance, credit, superannuation, financial advice, managed investments, markets and auditing. ASIC also highlighted its upcoming internal and external priorities. […]
ReadmoreASIC updates its guidance on SMSF advice
By the end of 2022, ASIC had undertaken an internal review of its Self-Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSF) information sheets in line with key strategic priorities stated in ASIC’s Corporate Plan for 2022-2026 (see ASIC’s Corporate Plan 2022-26). One of ASIC’s aims is to protect and help consumers as they plan for their future retirement. Consumers […]
ReadmoreASIC issues more infringement notices for greenwashing
An important issue that ASIC is currently facing is the deterrence of greenwashing practices across the Australian business landscape. According to ASIC, greenwashing is ‘the practice of misrepresenting the extent to which a financial product or investment strategy is environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical’. ASIC’s position is that the practice of greenwashing distorts relevant information […]
ReadmoreASIC is coming for your responsible managers
A key obligation of an AFSL holder is to maintain the competence to provide the financial services covered by its licence.[1] ASIC refers to this obligation as the “organisational competence obligation.” In order to comply with this obligation, Regulatory Guide 105: Licensing: Organisational competence (RG 105) provides that the licence holder must nominate Responsible Managers […]
ReadmoreAPRA’s letter on the review of the prudential framework for groups
On Monday 24 October 2022, John Lonsdale, the APRA Deputy Chair, issued a letter to all APRA-regulated entities outlining a roadmap for the review of the prudential framework for groups. The letter supports APRA’s recent paper regarding modernising the prudential architecture, which was published on 12 September 2022. The aim of APRA’s review is to […]
ReadmoreInsights learnt from APRA’s Risk Culture Survey
On 10 November 2022, APRA released the results from their most recent risk culture survey. The survey was provided to 18 authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) between October and December 2021. The 18 ADIs comprised the five largest banks (Major ADIs) and 13 smaller entities, consisting of regional banks, foreign bank subsidiaries/branches, mutual banks, credit unions […]
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