This post was co-authored with Abhirami Ravishankar. On 10 May 2023, following the Federal Treasurer’s Budget announcement of additional funding for ASIC’s greenwashing surveillance and enforcement work, ASIC issued two noteworthy publications providing guidance for market participants on how, and how not to, display their green credentials. The first release was the ASIC Report 763 ‘ASIC’s recent … Continue Reading
April was another fast moving month in the financial services sector. ASIC released updates to the breach reporting requirements to introduce new guidance and clarify existing guidance regarding reportable situations. The regulator also provided further communications surrounding the superannuation performance test, as well as commenced proceedings against an insurance company alleging unfair contract terms in … Continue Reading
The month March was a busy month which saw some significant developments in the financial services sector. Notably, ASIC is currently consulting on class orders about financial requirements in considering whether to remake certain class orders. The regulator is also consulting on ‘sunsetting’ class orders changing responsible entities and equal treatment. ASIC also granted conditional … Continue Reading
The month of February saw ASIC and APRA outlining their plans for the year ahead. ASIC announced that it would be expanding its enforcement focus areas in 2023 and published a timeline for regulatory developments. It also released its first Indigenous Financial Services Framework, which was a landmark document for the regulator. APRA released its … Continue Reading
Today’s announcement of a review into managed investment schemes signals a potentially significant overhaul of the laws governing Australia’s main investment vehicle. In arguably the broadest review since that undertaken by the former Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee in 2012, the Assistant Treasurer announced that the Federal Government will undertake a review of “the regulatory … Continue Reading
As 2022 came to a close, the regulators concluded the year with a busy month in December. Notably, ASIC ended the year by reminding stakeholders of the importance of ensuring that claims made in relation to a product were accurate, especially in the context of environmental claims, reflecting ASIC’s increased focus on greenwashing in 2022. … Continue Reading
To all of our global readers we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We will resume posting material following the festive period on 9 January 2023 although if there are any significant developments we will endeavour to provide an update.… Continue Reading
The month of November saw a flurry of regulatory activity by APRA and ASIC across strategic focus areas: crypto-asset regulation, enforcement of design and distribution obligations, reforming operational risk requirements for super funds and improving governance practices across the superannuation industry at investment and board levels. Meanwhile, AUSTRAC launched two consultations on proposed changes and … Continue Reading
In the second in our global series of regulatory podcasts focusing on conduct issues, financial services partners from Australia, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States consider the cross border distribution of funds by focussing on the following five topics: What trends or industry developments are you seeing in your jurisdiction as … Continue Reading
October has been a busy month for regulators with both ASIC and APRA releasing their reports on the 2021/22 financial year. The chairs of both regulators, in addressing the House of Representatives, signalled their progress in the past year and their goals for the year ahead. The month of October 2022 also saw both ASIC … Continue Reading
September saw a variety of regulatory changes from ASIC, APRA, AUSTRAC and ACCC in the financial services sector. Meanwhile, ASIC conducted a review into claims made by funds in their marketing material, finding that many did not adequately explain the risk profile of the investment. ASIC also exempted insurers from releasing a cash settlement fact … Continue Reading
In the first in our global series of regulatory podcasts focussing on conduct issues, financial services partners from Australia, United Kingdom and the United States cover the rising cost of living, vulnerable customers and consumer duty. (Apple Podcasts / Spotify)… Continue Reading
The month of August saw a broad array of regulatory updates from ASIC and APRA. Notably, ASIC announced an extension of the transitional relief for foreign financial services providers from the requirement to hold an Australian Financial Services licence. August also saw ASIC release its corporate plan illustrating its strategic priorities for the next four … Continue Reading
The month of July saw a suite of regulatory and industry updates following the start of a new financial year. Notably, ASIC announced assistance for unlisted companies and issued its report on its enforcement and regulatory actions. It also announced that it will be taking new measures designed to strengthen the financial system by regular … Continue Reading
The month of June saw an increase of material regulatory and industry updates following the Australian federal election. ASIC released further industry guidance for its expectations regarding sustainability disclosure and has released the remade instruments on disclosure relief for product disclosure statements, Financial Service Guides and superannuation dashboards. As we move towards the second superannuation … Continue Reading
As we have previously reported (see here), the law on sustainability-related disclosures is an evolving area and increasingly a topic of concern in the face of regulatory enforcement and class action risk. Significant international developments have included the establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board and the recent proposal by the US SEC for new environment … Continue Reading
The month of May brought a lower number of material regulatory and industry updates due to the Australian federal election. ASIC cancelled the registration of a number of SMSF auditors for failing to lodge their annual statements. In superannuation, APRA published its Quarterly Superannuation Performance publication and Quarterly MySuper Statistics Report, which provides material superannuation … Continue Reading
What have the financial services regulators been doing following the sanctions imposed on Russia? In the latest instalment of our Regulation Around the World series we cover some of the regulatory alerts that financial services regulators have issued in key jurisdictions. Our global updater focussing on the regulatory alerts is accompanied by further analysis in our … Continue Reading
The first instalment in our new Regulation Tomorrow podcast series, the Australian wrap up, is now available to stream and download. In this month’s episode Jon Ireland, Ray Giblett and Timothy Chan take a deeper dive on some of the key issues identified in April’s monthly wrap up covering the recent APRA life insurance statistics, … Continue Reading
The month of April saw the release of the ASX’s consultation paper ‘Enhancing the ASX Investment Products Offering’, as well as the publication by APRA and ASIC of the latest data pertaining to claims and disputes outcomes for life insurance. April also saw ASIC extend the relief from certain dollar disclosures in PDSs for litigation … Continue Reading
The month of March saw developments in relation to major legislative initiatives and regulatory consultations. Notably, the Security Legislation Amendment (Critical Infrastructure Protection) Bill 2022 passed both Houses of Parliament and Amended Regulations pertaining to both Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers and the CCIV framework were registered. ASIC also opened up industry consultation on the AFS … Continue Reading
To all of our global readers we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Easter. We will resume posting material on 26 April although if there are any significant developments we will endeavour to provide an update.… Continue Reading
What’s on the regulatory horizon for financial services firms? In the latest instalment of our Regulation Around the World series we focus on horizon scanning with members of our global financial services team exploring some of the key upcoming regulatory trends. Our global updater focussing on horizon scanning is accompanied by further analysis in our … Continue Reading
To all of our global readers we would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We will resume posting material following the festive period on 6 January 2021 although if there are any significant developments we will endeavour to provide an update.… Continue Reading
