The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released its consultation on a new cross-industry prudential standard for operational risk management, CPS 230, which proposes to introduce a range of new requirements on APRA-regulated entities for managing operational risk and enhance existing requirements for business continuity and service provider management. Operational resilience is critical to the … Read more

Today the Australian corporate regulator, ASIC, announced an extension of 12 months for the transitional arrangements for the passporting exemptions and limited connection exemption, which will now expire on 31 March 2024. BACKGROUND The passporting exemptions and limited connection exemption from the need to hold an Australian financial services licence (AFSL) that have been used … Read more

For some time now, the issue of whether a sales representative can cross-position different insurance policies or financial products through the mechanism of a multi-policy or multi-product discount has been somewhat of a vexed issue – to say the least. In this context, we are referring to a scenario where a client makes an enquiry … Read more

The Australian federal election was held on 21 May 2022 and has resulted in a change of government. The previous government had introduced a bill into Parliament to implement the foreign financial service provider (FFSP) exemptions to the requirement to hold an Australian financial services licence (AFSL) and that bill had lapsed on the dissolution … Read more

Public attention on the ways Australian superannuation funds are engaging with the challenges of climate change has never been greater. Media reporting of Australia’s position at COP26, together with concerted advertising by some funds of their sustainability credentials, means that members are more interested than ever about how their monies are being deployed. This interest … Read more

The bill to implement the foreign financial service provider (FFSP) exemptions to the requirement to hold an Australian financial services licence (AFSL) has lapsed on the dissolution of Parliament following the calling of the federal election yesterday. For more information on the final form of the bill (the Treasury Laws Amendment (Streamlining and Improving Economic Outcomes … Read more

By Scott Donald PhD CFA (External Consultant and Associate Professor – UNSW) Rob Kardashian, Emilio Estevez, Luke Hemsworth, Dannii Minogue, Trevor Chappell.  Sometimes it is hard to avoid being overshadowed by more famous, more glamorous siblings. The covenant in section 52(12) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) (SIS Act) must be feeling that … Read more

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a record number of first-time traders flocked to the market, which propelled financial influencers (‘finfluencers’) into ASIC’s spotlight and squarely placed them within ASIC’s enforcement remit. The rise of finfluencers is unsurprising in the social media and digital age. As financial services and financial product distribution become more challenging and complex … Read more