The Australian Labor Government has been re-elected with an increased House of Representatives majority and increased number of Senators, but not a Senate majority.
What does this mean for regulation?
No date has been fixed for Parliament sittings to resume but we know that there is an unfinished legislative agenda from the previous term.
The…
AFCA has published an article explaining how it calculates loss when it upholds a consumer’s financial advice complaint.
AFCA is required to determine the direct financial loss from a breach.
It says the process involves calculating loss in a ‘counterfactual’ manner: a counterfactual is when you consider what should have happened, but for the breach.…
Although financial institution customers such as lawyers, accountants and real estate agents are already well known to their financial institutions, the new requirement for Tranche 2 gateway service providers to be reporting entities in their own right will result in financial institutions themselves needing to consider their obligations arising from their new reporting entity customers.…
In Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Web3 Ventures Pty Ltd [2025] FCAFC 58 the Full Federal Court decided that a digital asset product was not a financial product and that the issuer did not require an Australian financial service licence. Background.
The dispute centred on whether the Block Earner product was a “financial…
ASIC has published Regulatory Guide 280 Sustainability Reporting, which provides guidance on ASIC’s role in administering the requirements for climate-related financial disclosures under the Corporations Act.
The guide discusses who must prepare sustainability reports, the content required, the interaction between sustainability reporting requirements and other reporting obligations and disclosures and ASIC’s administration of the…
Treasury has published the draft Competition and Consumer (Notification of Acquisitions) Determination 2025 outlining the proposed notification thresholds that trigger a requirement to notify the ACCC of a proposed acquisition under the new merger regime established by the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Act 2024. Background.
The regime commences on a voluntary…
The ACCC has issued a draft determination proposing to authorise, with conditions, the Australian Banking Association’s member banks to make agreements relating to basic accounts and default interest charges on agricultural loans under the Banking Code of Practice.
The proposed conditions of authorisation broadly require:
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ASIC has published REP 806 Taking ownership of death benefits: How trustees can deliver outcomes Australians deserve.
The report provides detailed observations from ASIC’s review of the death benefit claims handling practices of 10 superannuation trustees. It identifies better practices, as well as systemic failures by some trustees, resulting in emotional and financial distress…
The 2025 federal election will be held on 3 May.
As the 47th Parliament will not sit again, the Bills currently before Parliament have lapsed and will not proceed unless reintroduced in the next Parliament.
These include the Treasury Laws Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2024 containing the proposed exemptions for foreign financial service providers (FFSPs)…
ASIC has published further guidance on virtual meetings for companies by updating some frequently asked questions on its website.
The guidance sets out ASIC’s expectation that entities using virtual meeting technology will ensure members have equivalent opportunities to participate in meetings using virtual technology as occurs for in-person meetings, and includes guidance on:
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