By: Kane Barnett and Bernard Sia
ASIC has accepted a court enforceable undertaking (CEU) from Private Wealth Pty Ltd (Sanlam) after it admitted that it failed to discharge its general Australian financial services (AFS) licensing obligations in connection with its authorised representatives.
Read MoreBy: Claudine Salameh and Tamsyn Sharpe
ASIC has recently published its findings following an investigation into the insurance industry’s level of compliance with internal dispute resolution (IDR) obligations. Report 802 Cause for complaint: Complaints handling in general insurance revealed that general insurers are consistently falling short of their legal obligations thereby limiting customers’ ability to access fair, timely and effective IDR processes.
Read MoreBy: Claudine Salameh and Tamsyn Sharpe
Financial firms are required to maintain clear internal dispute resolution (IDR) processes to allow customers to seek redress where they are dissatisfied with the firm’s products or services. Access to fair, timely and effective IDR is an important tenet of consumer protection. Financial firms are required to acknowledge the receipt of a customer’s complaint within 24 hours and resolve standard complaints within 30 days.
Read MoreBy: Daniel Knight, Ben Kneebush and Madison Jeffreys
As Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be adopted and used by Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensees broadly, it has become increasingly evident that many licensees’ deployment of AI falls short of their existing regulatory obligations and emerging best practices.
Read MoreBy: Jim Bulling, Simon Kiburg and Alex Parker
When assessing how to comply with the new reporting obligations, reporting entities should recognise the differences in the enforcement approach that ASIC will take in relation to mandatory climate reporting compared with the approach adopted by it in relation to Greenwashing.
Read MoreBy: Kane Barnett and Daniel Nastasi
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has appealed certain findings in the recent decision in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v BPS Financial Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 457 (BPS Financial Decision) in relation to the scope of the authorised representative exemption. The authorised representative exemption is commonly relied upon and allows a person or entity to provide a financial service under the Corporations Act on behalf of the holder of an AFS licence without having to hold an AFS licence itself.
Read MoreBy: Daniel Knight and Simon Kiburg
On 3 July the Senate Economics References Committee handed down its report on ASIC. The Senate referred an inquiry into ASIC in October of 2022 to examine the capacity and capability of ASIC to undertake proportionate investigation and enforcement action arising from reports of alleged misconduct. The report is generally critical of ASIC’s performance as a corporate regulator. The report identifies several key issues. Chief among these is the broad remit of ASIC, ASICs approach to investigation and enforcement, and ASICs wider culture.
Read MoreBy: Lisa Lautier and Dhivya Kalyanakumar
On 28 March 2024, the Federal Court handed down its verdict on the greenwashing civil penalty action brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Read MoreBy: Matthew Watts, Lisa Lautier and Dhivya Kalyanakumar
Since 2017, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has provided guidance to licensed exchanges on exchange traded products (ETP) naming conventions under Information Sheet 230 (INFO 230). This policy is designed to help ensure that admission and monitoring standards for ETP’s support fair, orderly and transparent markets.
Read MoreBy: Claudine Salameh and Tamsyn Sharpe
On 15 March 2024 the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) came into effect for authorised-deposit taking institutions (ADIs). Application of the FAR will be extended to insurers and registrable superannuation entities from 15 March 2025.
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