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
Executive Summary The recent passing of the Tax Laws Amendment (Tax Incentives for Innovation) Act 2016 (Act) reflects the Federal Government’s commitment to further its National Innovation and Science Agenda. The measures should help in boosting the use of pooled venture capital focused funds as a way of channelling investor capital into otherwise cash starved … Continue Reading
ASIC has reminded AFS licensees of their obligation to report significant breaches to ASIC promptly and of the need to ensure that internal risk management systems are sufficiently robust to identify, assess and escalate breaches and report significant breaches to the regulator. In an open letter to the Institute of Internal Auditors Australia, and a … Continue Reading
ASIC proposes new Class Order on Fee and Cost Disclosure Australia’s peak corporate regulator has just released a proposed Class Order that may have an impact on the PDS (Product Disclosure Statements) of MySuper, choice super and managed investment products. Frustratingly, PDS will again need to be reviewed and if necessary, amended to comply with … Continue Reading
The next few months provide a crucial opportunity for participants in the Australian financial services industry to influence the final report of the Australian Financial System Inquiry, headed by David Murray. The Interim Report has generated a lot of debate around the role of vertically integrated groups, the favourable funding and regulatory position of the … Continue Reading
Major financial institutions should prepare for group wide regulation as Australia’s peak prudential regulator gears up for stricter supervision of conglomerates. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) planned framework for supervising conglomerates arises from its concern around the potential contagion risks faced by APRA-regulated entities within conglomerate groups. APRA is concerned that the current arrangements … Continue Reading
There are three major issues life insurance companies and superannuation trustees need to consider regarding the Australian Treasury Department’s recent discussion paper on the review of retirement product regulation. First is whether the current regulations for annuity and pension products impede the development of new and innovative products. The second issue is if, and how, … Continue Reading
