The Australian Treasury has recently released draft legislation[1] with respect to Consumer Data Right (CDR) for a second round of public consultation. Under the proposed CDR regime, businesses in certain sectors of the economy will be compelled to provide consumers (individuals and business customers) with access to particular data, including their transactions,
New AUSTRAC Compliance Report format for 2018
AUSTRAC has released a new format for reporting entities to submit their annual compliance report (Compliance Report). This new compliance reporting format comes as a result of AUSTRAC’s reforms to their previous Compliance Report requirements which were suspended for the 2017 reporting period, and is designed so that reporting entities are required to
Australian financial services and sanctions law
“Sanctions” have been in the news quite often lately. The United Nations has adopted, and many of its member-states have imposed, trade and economic sanctions against North Korea to pressure its regime to give up nuclear weapons. Similarly, recent political developments surrounding the so-called “Iran Nuclear Deal” have been all about re-imposing sanctions in relation
What Australian financial institutions need to know about cybersecurity and responding to cyber-attacks
It has been 3 months since Australia’s Notifiable Data Breach Scheme (NDB Scheme)[1] came into force and, already, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) is receiving many notifications of cyber-attacks and other data breaches – both voluntarily and under the NDB Scheme.
We will see even greater awareness
Sizing up the 3 BEARs
The Australian Treasury has released and completed its consultation process on its Exposure Draft and accompanying Explanatory Material for the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (Size of an Authorised Deposit-taking Institution) Determination 2018.
This draft legislative instrument defines what small, medium and large Authorised Deposit-Taking Institutions (ADIs) under the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) are:
ASIC updates INFO 225: Corporate regulator bytes back at misleading and deceptive ICOs
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released its updated guidance with respect to the treatment of initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrencies.
In its updated Information Sheet (INFO 225), the corporate regulator has clearly outlined its intent to crack down on any misleading or deceptive conduct
Royal Commission is making the BEAR growl louder – striking FEAR into financial institutions
At Norton Rose Fulbright, we have commented on a number of occasions that we expect the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) to be extended beyond just authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) and so as to cover other areas of the financial services sector. Such move, which we have previously informally nicknamed “FEAR” (Financial Executive Accountability Regime),
Taking a byte at financial crime: New AML/CTF guidance and timelines for digital currency exchanges
Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regulator, AUSTRAC, has released its guidance with respect to new laws that require digital currency exchange (DCE) providers to register and comply with AML/CTF obligations.
AUSTRAC takes a broad approach in interpreting what is covered within the legal definition of a DCE. Essentially, any
Possibility of extending the claws of BEAR
As the financial sector waits for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to fully awaken the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) through the provision of further guidelines, there is already a lot of chatter as to whether BEAR should be extended beyond its initial coverage of APRA-regulated Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs).
The Parliamentary Joint Committee
Listed funds holding crypto-assets: ASX’s position
Increasingly, clients are coming to us for regulatory advice surrounding the mining of cryptocurrency tokens, operating digital currency exchanges, raising funds through Initial Coin Offerings, and investments involving cryptocurrencies.
On the heels of such heightened interest in investing in cryptocurrencies, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has released their guidance with respect to Listed