Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 29 May 2023
28/05/2023
No Comments
This week’s blog covers BNPL reform, AFCA’s systemic issues report and APRA’s statistics.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 22 May 2023
20/05/2023
No Comments
This week’s blog covers Binance’s debanking, fines levied on AMP for charging deceased customers and an excellent speech by APRA on governance.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 15 May 2023
13/05/2023
No Comments
This week’s post covers more UCT action, ASIC’s focus on credit / debt providers and a great essay on AI regulation by Lord Sales.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 8 May 2023
08/05/2023
No Comments
This week’s blog covers ASIC’s DDO report, an important life insurance case and reporting of IDR data to ASIC
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 1 May 2023
01/05/2023
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This week’s post covers breach reporting updates from ASIC, EU’s MiCA passing, AFCA’s MoU with APRA and more!
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 24 April 2023
23/04/2023
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This week’s blog is on the RBA review, massive tranche 2 AML/CTF reforms and ASIC’s latest report on scams.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 17 April 2023
16/04/2023
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This week’s post covers academic papers on FAR, ASIC’s great update on super disclosure, finfluencer risk and more.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 10 April 2023
08/04/2023
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This week’s post is a big one! Binance’s cancelled AFSL, the UCT action against A&G and the FCA’s different approach to finfluencer conduct. Its all here!
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 3 April 2023
02/04/2023
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This week’s blog covers new crypto regulation, action against Binance and AFCA’s updated rules.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 20 March 2023
19/03/2023
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This week’s blog covers ASIC’s evolving approach to DDO, AUSTRAC’s newest enforceable undertaking and developments in the banking sector abroad.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 13 March 2023
12/03/2023
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This week’s update contains the news we have all been waiting for – FAR has passed! It is hard to concentrate on anything else, but I have also covered whistleblowing reports from ASIC, its action on unlicensed credit activities and Mr. Longo’s views on directors duties.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 6 March 2023
05/03/2023
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This week is all about the RBA’s CBDC announcement, FAR going through Parliament this March, ASIC’s action against Terracom and more!
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 27 February 2023
25/02/2023
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Lots happening this week with ASIC’s RACQ action, the Senate hearing on crypto and multiple tweaks to ASIC’s DDO / PIP power.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 20 February 2023
18/02/2023
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This week’s blog covers massive privacy reforms, ASIC’s cool new regulatory timetable, and more uses of the DDO power.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 13 February 2023
11/02/2023
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A super interesting week covering: future of financial advice reforms; SEC’s action against Kraken regarding ‘staking’; the Government’s vision for crypto protection in Australian moving forward and more!
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 6 February 2023
04/02/2023
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This blog covers: crypto reform in the UK, our crypto token mapping exercise in Australia, FAR fines and ASIC’s new restructure. It has been an exciting week!
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 30 January 2023
29/01/2023
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Covers federal judicial commission; AFCA case; legislative design; ACMA powers, and UK crypto licensing matters. Plus my Chat GPT thoughts!
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 23 January 2023
21/01/2023
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This update covers: FAR, Crypto risks, deposit rate investigation, cancellations of AFSLs and Sean Hughes’ departure from ASIC.
Australian regulators weekly wrap — Monday, 16 January 2023
14/01/2023
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Covering Banking Code, IR Derivatives, FIRB Penalties, Greenwashing and the Financial advisers register.
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 19 December 2022
19/12/2022
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Finder (ASIC): ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Finder Wallet Pty Ltd, for allegedly providing unlicensed financial services, breaching product disclosure
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 12 December 2022
13/12/2022
1 Comment
American express (ASIC): ASIC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against Amex, in ASIC’s first civil penalty case alleging breaches of design and distribution obligations.
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 21 November 2022
19/11/2022
No Comments
Crypto custody (Treasury):Treasury has announced that there will be custody rules introduced for digital assets in 2023. The exclusive in this AFR article (linkhere), provides that Treasury will open consultations to safeguard crypto custody arrangements and regulate…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 14 November 2022
12/11/2022
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FTX (Regulation): The digital assets world has been rocked by the liquidity run on FTX the week, the world’s second largest exchange, and the near buyout by Binance, the world’s largest exchange. While there are various reasons being put forward for the issues facing FTX, in a febrile…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 7 November 2022
06/11/2022
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ASIC inquiry (Parliament):On 27 October 2022, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services began an inquiry into ASICs capacity and capability to respond to reports of alleged misconduct. The committee will call for written submissions in due course…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 31 October-2022
29/10/2022
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Financial Accountability Regime (Parliament): As expected, the Senate Committee examining the reintroduced FAR bill has give it the tick of approval, stating, “The committee is of the view that accountability measures, such as the existence of banning powers and deferred remuneration arrangements,…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 24 October 2022
22/10/2022
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Crypto Stop Orders (ASIC): ASIC has just issued an interim stop order on Holon (its tenth to date), which offers various crypto funds to retail investors, on the basis that it thinks that Holon has not appropriately considered the features and risks of the funds in determining their target markets…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 17 October 2022
15/10/2022
No Comments
FAR & Breach Reporting (ASIC): I attended the Credit Law Conference earlier in the week, where ASIC Commissioner Sean Hughes provided an update on the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) and breach reporting. My key notes are: – the Financial Accountability Regime Bill 2022…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 10 October 2022
09/10/2022
No Comments
Crypto Report (Parliament): I have now spent a bit of time on the new crypto bill. By way of reminder, on 19 September 2022, Senator Andrew Bragg released a draft private members bill, entitled the Digital Assets (Market Regulation) Bill 2022 (the Bill). Under the Bill, a licence is required to carry out the following activities in Australia…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 3 October 2022
02/10/2022
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Remediation Plan (ASIC): ASIC has released its new remediation guidance, RG 277. Mandatory reading for anyone who deals with breach reporting, and fixing the problems that arise up, RG 277: clarifies nine principles for conducting a remediation, which will help licensees comply with their obligations and conduct…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 26 September 2022
24/09/2022
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Licensing update (ASIC): I attended an ASIC licensing update earlier in the week, and it was fascinating! My notes are in my weekly newsletter, which you can access here (reach out to me if you wish to be on the emailing list). The resourcing, consistency and strategy of the division was discussed, together with other matters…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 19 September 2022
18/09/2022
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FAR (Parliament): The FAR bill is in Parliament, and is likely to pass in the Spring sitting which ends in December 2022. See here for details. The Government is now seeking stakeholder views on the Minister Rules. The Minister Rules prescribe…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 12 September 2022
10/09/2022
No Comments
FAR (Parliament): IT. IS. FINALLY. HERE. AND. I. AM. EXCITED! This week, the Federal Government introduced the Financial Accountability Regime Bill 2022 (Cth). The bill reintroduces the Financial Accountability Regime Bill 2021 (Cth), which was introduced by the previous Government but lapsed with the calling…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 5 September 2022
03/09/2022
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FAR (ASIC): Information from an ASIC session with the Chair and Commissioners this week in which I took the following notes. FAR will be passed in Spring sitting. It will come into effect for ADIs in March 2023. It will come into effect for Super / Insurers in March 2024. Finally, there is lots of work going on in the background…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 29 August 2022
28/08/2022
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Token Mapping (Treasury): The Government has announced that Treasury will prioritise token mapping work in 2022, which will help identify how crypto assets and related services should be regulated. The aim will be to identify notable gaps in the regulatory framework, and progress work on a licensing framework,…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 22 August 2022
20/08/2022
No Comments
AG Priorities (Government): The meeting of the Federal and State Attorney-Generals has occurred with them setting out their common reform priorities. Not much from a financial services regulatory perspective. They continue to focus on defamation, access to digital records upon death/incapacitation and national register for enduring POAs…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 15 August 2022
14/08/2022
No Comments
Corporate Plan (APRA): APRA’s new Corporate Plan for 2022/2023 is based around the twin themes of protecting the community today, as well as ensuring the Australian financial system is prepared for tomorrow. The plan is designed to respond to rapid changes in APRA’s operating environment,…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 8 August 2022
06/08/2022
No Comments
CSLR (ASIC): Such an interesting time for updates from the corporate regulator, who has advised that “Former clients of Dixon Advisory and Superannuation Services Pty Limited (in administration, Dixon Advisory) may be eligible for compensation under a potential future Compensation Scheme of Last Resort but they…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 1 August 2022
30/07/2022
No Comments
DDO (ASIC): MASSIVE news this week on the AISC enforcement front. It has placed interim stop orders on three financial firms in response to deficiencies in the target market determination for their products. These actions are ASIC’s first use of the stop order powers under the design and distribution obligations,…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 25 July 2022
24/07/2022
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FATCA/CRS (ATO): The ATO has issued a self-review guide and toolkit on the internal processes and systems that reporting financial institutions should maintain to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the Common Reporting Standard, which has been something of a focus for it in preceding years…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 18 July 2022
17/07/2022
No Comments
Conflicted Remuneration (ASIC): In Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Select AFSL Pty Ltd (No 2) [2022] FCA 786, the Federal Court of Australia held that conflicted remunerations contraventions took place for the Respondent, Select AFSL. Select AFSL was part of a corporate group structure which retailed…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 11 July 2022
10/07/2022
No Comments
Lanterne (ASIC): ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings against Lanterne Fund Services, alleging multiple failures to meet the obligations of its AFSL, including a failure to meet organisational competence requirements. It alleges Lanterne, under a licensee for hire business model e.g. under Corporate Authorised Representative…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 4 July 2022
02/07/2022
No Comments
Threshold Transaction Reports (AUSTRAC): AUSTRAC has released updated guidance on reporting threshold transaction reports when a customer conducts multiple cash transactions, following industry consultation on the draft guidance released in November 2021. A reporting entity providing…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 27 June 2022
25/06/2022
No Comments
Litigation Funders (Treasury): Well, that did not take long! Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has put himself on record, stating that the process of funder backed class action will be removed from ASIC and remitted to the Federal Court and state supreme courts. It follows Attorney-General Mark…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 20 June 2022
18/06/2022
No Comments
Cyber Safety (ASIC): ASIC has urged listed firms to pay attention to cyber risks, noting World Economic Forum released its annual Global Risks Report 2022 and failure of cyber security measures was the number one risk for Australian executives. ASIC’s December 2021 resilience…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 13 June 2022
12/06/2022
No Comments
Crypto Legislation (US): I am not sure what is happening in the US with leaked documents recently, but the WSJ has leaked the draft crypto legislation which you can readhere. A dense document it is US legislation after all some of the key points are: the bill is centered around the terms digital asset…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 6 June 2022
05/06/2022
No Comments
AFSL Auditing (ASIC): ASIC has announced new financial reporting requirements for AFSL holders, following changes to the accounting standards. AFSL holders financial reports must now contain disclosures consistent with the financial reports of other for-profit entities, prepared under standards set by the AASB…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 30 May 2022
29/05/2022
No Comments
Federal ICAC (Election): the election is over, and the red team has formed a majority Government. Importantly, the main election promise Labor has made on integrity is to establish what it says will be a “powerful, transparent and independent National Anti-Corruption Commission.”…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 23 May 2022
21/05/2022
No Comments
Prudential Perspectives (APRA): Chair Wayne Byres has identified digital disruption, and the emergence of higher inflation and rising interest rates as key impacts affecting the banking industry in a speech to FINSIA. He also identified that common theme that increasingly pervades all three sectors of the industry…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 2 May 2022
01/05/2022
No Comments
Breach Reporting (Research): Independent research commissioned by Gadens and Lawcadia on the enhanced AFSL/ACL breach reporting regime has been released this week. In summary, this research reveals: a marked increased in breach reporting for AFSL and ACL holders; a suggestion…
Australian Regulators Weekly Wrap – 25 April 2022
24/04/2022
No Comments
Litigation Funding Schemes (ASIC): ASIC has extended the relief from certain dollar disclosures in PDS’s for litigation funding schemes in ASIC Corporations (Disclosure in Dollars) Instrument 2016/767 until 1 October 2026. Relief has been extended by ASIC Corporations (Amendment) Instrument 2022/264…
