On 11 September 2020, Attorney-General Christian Porter MP announced that a review of the legislative framework for corporations and financial services regulation had been referred to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC). This review follows recommendations of the Banking Royal Commission, which noted that the complexity of the current regulatory regime is preventing the intent … Read more

This article was originally posted on the HSF Tech Hub, available here.   The Australian Senate’s Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology (the Committee), established in September 2019 to inquire into financial technology and regulatory technology (the Inquiry), released its Interim Report on 2 September 2020. The Inquiry’s remit, already broad in its focus on … Read more

Background of the loan repayment deferrals On 20 March 2020, the Australian Banking Association (ABA) announced that banks were allowing the deferral of repayments for small business loans and mortgages for up to six months in order to assist Australians who were suffering financial hardship due to the effects of COVID-19.[1] APRA reported that, as … Read more

The unfair terms regime – a recap In Australia, the unfair terms regime has existed in various forms since the 1970s. In the present day, it exists in multiple federal legislative regimes, such as the Australian Consumer Law, the ASIC Act and the Corporations Act. These regimes are designed to ensure the protection of small … Read more

Background This edition of HSF FSR Australia Notes is the first in our series dealing with legal remediation issues arising from exercises undertaken post Royal Commission. In this edition, as the title indicates, we examine the topical issue of where compensation payments should be made in a situation where multiple parties have been involved in … Read more

THE STARTING POINT This edition of HSF FSR Australia Notes delves into a phenomenon which we see as increasingly prevalent in the Australian financial services market; namely, the over-reporting or under-reporting of significant breaches under section 912D of the Corporations Act. In this sense, the burning question becomes just what is the right compass setting … Read more

CONTEXT This is an area where it is probably fair to say that close enough is not good enough. There is a central regulatory pre-condition that regulates the ability to claim retail regulatory treatment in relation to cash. This is set out in APRA Prudential Standard APS 210 Liquidity. The requirement is expressed is APS … Read more

This edition of our FSR Australia Notes focuses on the concept and dimensions of regulatory risk. We see this as an increasingly important area of financial services regulation, as following the Financial Services Royal Commission, a financial institution’s relationship with the regulators is particularly paramount. There are many factors underpinning this observation, including the more … Read more