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International Law

Australian Regulatory Compliance Review

information about Australian laws, regulations and legal compliance particulartly in the financial services industry

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Last Entry: June 15, 2014 at 16:41:06

Australia 2020 and regulation

Posted on April 20, 2008
The first priority from the Economy stream at the Australia 2020 summit was: This stream advocated a fundamental commitment to creating a seamless national economy and single national markets in major areas of economic activity (for example, labour, energy, water,...

Anti-money laundering software in action

Posted on April 20, 2008
This report from Canada's Globe and Mail recounts how the alleged relationship between Eliot Spitzer (the former governor of New York who resigned in disgrace last month) and a high-priced call girl was uncovered by Mr. Spitzer's bank. It reported...

ASIC Report on "equity stripping"

Posted on April 19, 2008
ASIC has issued a report on the practice of ?equity stripping? (pdf), where fringe brokers refinance vulnerable borrowers in financial stress into loans they cannot afford, in order to earn substantial fees. This report draws on a qualitative examination of...

Takeovers Panel Guidance Note on collateral benefits

Posted on April 19, 2008
The Takeovers Panel has issued Guidance Note 21 which sets out the Panel's approach to collateral benefits. The Panel starts from the idea that unacceptable circumstances will be likely to exist whenever a bidder provides a security holder something of...

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Instalment Contracts and the Uniform Consumer Credit Code

Posted on April 17, 2008
The Justice Legislation Amendment Bill 2008 (pdf) has been introduced into the Queensland Parliament to amend the Consumer Credit Code (the Code) to ensure particular contracts for the sale of land or goods by instalments (known as ?terms sale of...

Draft AML/CTF Rules relating to the definition of 'loan'

Posted on April 17, 2008
Austrac has released draft AML/CTF Rules (pdf) which carve out from the definition of 'loan' in paragraph (g) in section 5 of the AML/CTF Act, certain products such as money market instruments, government or corporate bonds, debenture stock, bonds and...

Consumer credit interest rate cap for Queensland

Posted on April 16, 2008
The Consumer Credit (Queensland) and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2008 (pdf) has been introduced into Queensland Parliament. The Biil, if passed, will introduce the concept of a maximum annual percentage rate for consumer credit contracts. In calculating the rate, fees...

Prudential supervision of general insurance groups

Posted on April 15, 2008
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released its draft prudential framework for supervision of general insurance groups. The package consists of three draft prudential standards and a discussion paper. The package also responds to recommendations 38 and 39 of...

The Reserve Bank as a lender of last resort

Posted on April 15, 2008
Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens has spoken about the role of central banks as providers of liquidity and as lenders of last resort in times of crisis in this speech. He defined "lender of last resort" as follows: the role...

Privacy Commissioner issues draft data breach notification guide

Posted on April 14, 2008
The Australian Privacy Commissioner has issued a draft Voluntary Information Security Breach Notification Guide for consultation. The Guide aims to assist agencies and organisations to minimise the possibility of an information security breach breach occurring and how to prepare for...

What boards should be doing in the credit crisis

Posted on April 13, 2008
I attended a timely presentation by Mark Phelps of Ernst and Young Brisbane last week on the risks that boards should be focussing on in the current period of uncertainty in the financial markets. There was anecdotal discussion about credit...

Disclosure of equity derivatives in takeovers

Posted on April 13, 2008
The Takeovers Panel has released a guidance note considering when non-disclosure of long equity derivative positions may give rise to unacceptable circumstances in a takeover. Where there is a control transaction, the Panel would expect that all long positions which...

Cadbury fails to stop Darrell Lea from using the colour purple

Posted on April 11, 2008
In a partial rehearing of its passing off action against Darrell Lea, Cadbury has failed to stop Darrell Lea from using the colour purple.[ Cadbury Schweppes Pty Ltd v Darrell Lea Chocolate Shops Pty Ltd (No 8) [2008] FCA 470]...

MBF demutualisation scheme

Posted on April 11, 2008
The Federal Court has authorised MBF Australia Limited to convene a meeting of its members to consider a scheme of arrangement which involves the company's demutualisation ( MBF Australia Limited, in the matter of MBF Australia Limited [2008] FCA 428)...

Cross border data flows: Data Privacy Pathfinder projects

Posted on April 10, 2008
Special Minister of State, Senator The Hon John Faulkner has outlined in a speech the steps Australia is taking to ensure organisations provide protections to personal information sent off-shore. As part of its work on the APEC Data Privacy Sub-Group...

Account Switching Facilitation Package

Posted on April 10, 2008
The Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA) has released its First Progress Report (pdf) on the development of an Account Switching Facilitation Package which will include a central registry facility to collect details of customers? direct debit and credit arrangements to...

Foreign insurers in Australia

Posted on April 08, 2008
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) are jointly reminding direct offshore foreign insurers (DOFIs) and local insurance brokers about the new authorisation requirements for foreign insurers that come into effect on 1...

Regulation of private equity in Australia

Posted on April 08, 2008
The Minister for Superannuation & Corporate Law has given a speech outlining the Government?s views on balancing the key objectives of investor protection, prudential integrity and high quality domestic markets, while maintaining and promoting Australia as an attractive investment destination...

Hedge funds and derivatives

Posted on April 08, 2008
The Minister for Superannuation & Corporate Law's recent speech discussed why Treasury will conduct a review of the current disclosure requirements of equity derivatives: Australian regulation of hedge funds is directed at disclosure requirements, along with their licensing and registration...

Borrowing by SMSF's: ATO Alert on instalment warrants

Posted on April 07, 2008
The ATO's Taxpayer Alert TA 2008/05 "Certain borrowings by self managed superannuation funds ", discusses arrangements under which the trustee of a self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) enters into certain limited-recourse borrowings, which may not meet the conditions in subsection...

Merger of Financial Services External Dispute Resolution Schemes update

Posted on April 07, 2008
From 1 July 2008 the dispute resolution function currently conducted by the Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman (?BFSO?) will be conducted by a new company, Financial Ombudsman Service Limited (?FOS?), which will merge BFSO?s operations with those of the Insurance...

The rules on credit listings

Posted on April 07, 2008
Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman's Bulletin 57 (pdf) discusses the requirements of the Privacy Act in relation to the listing of overdue payments and the inter-relationship of credit listing with the requirements of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code ...

Austrac issues replacement declaration on managed investment schemes

Posted on April 07, 2008
The Austrac declaration relating to managed investment schemes has been updated. This declaration instrument deals with section 28 of the AML/CTF Act applying to certain managed investment schemes' customers before 31 January 2008. The declaration instrument replaces the draft AML/CTF...

ASX Short Selling Consultation Paper

Posted on April 06, 2008
Following the Government's decision to remove the ambiguity in section 1020B of the Corporations Act around the disclosure of ???covered??? short sales, the ASX has released a public consultation paper (pdf) inviting comments on a range of initiatives the ASX...

Register of Lobbyists

Posted on April 06, 2008
Cabinet Secretary, Senator John Faulkner, has released an exposure draft of the Lobbying Code of Conduct. The Code will underpin the operation of the Register of Lobbyists. The proposed Register will allow Ministers and other Government representatives who are approached...

ASIC?s review of mortgage entry and exit fees

Posted on April 05, 2008
The Government has released the Australian Securities and Investments Commission?s review of mortgage entry and exit fees (pdf). The review examines Australian mortgage fee data for 298 home loan products (standard, basic and introductory rate), from a cross section of...

Demutualisation of Health Insurers and Capital Gains Tax

Posted on April 05, 2008
Treasury has issued a discussion paper on implementation of the Government's announcement to provide capital gains (CGT) relief for policyholders of health insurers who receive shares when their health insurer demutualises.

ASIC???s review of mortgage entry and exit fees

Posted on April 05, 2008
The Government has released the Australian Securities and Investments Commission???s review of mortgage entry and exit fees (pdf). The review examines Australian mortgage fee data for 298 home loan products (standard, basic and introductory rate), from a cross section of...

The Rudd Government's Plans for Financial Services and Super

Posted on April 03, 2008
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...

ACCC update

Posted on April 03, 2008
As the ACCC's grocery price hearings started, the ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel gave a wide-ranging speech in Brisbane on 3 April. Rather than a formal presentation on regulation (see this speech by ACCC Commissioner King), Samuel gave a forthright view...

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