International Law

The Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law's speech to IFSA highlighted the following:

• The Government plans to ensure that mortgages and investment loans will be regulated under uniform national legislation and that mortgage brokers, non-ADI and ADI lenders will be subject to nationally consistent licensing, conduct and advice provisions.
• the Government is still considering submissions on the introduction of a product rationalisation mechanism. This would help move customers out of outdated managed investment products and into modern ones.
• The Financial Services  Working Group  is charged with cutting lengthy and unreadable documents in the financial  services sector. It will examine disclosure documentation in a staged process. As a first step, it is exploring the development of a concise Product Disclosure Statement for our newly announced First Home Saver Accounts. The Working Group is also examining the issue of 'within product' or 'intra-product' advice in regard to superannuation products. The group will identify current obstacles to this advice.
• the Government will pursue a legislative change to the Corporations Act to address an ambiguity around covered short selling and disclosure to ensure that the current disclosure requirements apply  to such covered short sales.
• the exploration of the possibility of a mutual recognition of securities regulation  arrangement between USA and Australia
• the growing number of people on the superannuation lost members register
• some SMSF trustees are not  as aware of their legal obligations as they should be
• superannuation lump sum payments are tax free when paid to persons suffering from a terminal medical condition from 1 July 2007.
• the development of the new First Home Saver Account