ASIC begins enforcing Royal Commission reforms
ASIC’s grace period for the suite of regulatory reforms implemented in October 2021 seems to be over – and it’s now ‘on patrol’.
ASIC’s approach to breach reporting: implementation of reportable situations regime
ASIC has warned that as part of its 2022-23 priorities, it will focus on improving the operation of the reportable situations regime.
ASIC Commissioner Sean Hughes said: ‘ASIC remains committed to the successful implementation of this regime and we have developed a comprehensive plan of work to ensure that it meets its objectives for ASIC, industry and consumers.’
Reports by licensees under the reportable situations regime, which replaced former breach reporting requirements, provide a critical source of intelligence to enable ASIC to identify emerging trends of non-compliance in the industry. It also allows detection of significant non-compliant behaviours early, facilitating prompt regulatory action where appropriate.
ASIC’s surveillance of internal dispute resolution in superannuation identifies concerns
All ASIC-supervised licensees may wish to review their internal dispute resolution (IDR) arrangements, after the first stage of an ASIC surveillance found indicators of significant compliance issues among superannuation trustees.
ASIC believes a trustee’s approach to dispute resolution is a meaningful measure of whether they are focused on the interests of their members. It also indicates the maturity of the trustee’s approach to risk.
ASIC Commissioner Danielle Press said: ‘We expect all trustees to have in place effective arrangements that support expressions of dissatisfaction from their members and deliver fair, transparent and timely member outcomes. Trustees should continually monitor and update their processes to ensure these remain fit-for-purpose’.
In the next stage of the surveillance ASIC will check how concerns identified so far are being addressed, and it hasn’t ruled out taking regulatory action where appropriate.
ASIC’s first DDO stop orders to prevent offer of financial products to consumers
ASIC has placed interim stop orders on three financial firms in response to deficiencies in the target market determination (TMD) for their products. These actions are ASIC’s first use of the stop order powers under the design and distribution obligations (DDOs), which took effect on 5 October 2021.
ASIC Deputy Chair Karen Chester emphasised that the regulator’s focus had now shifted to compliance. “Industry has had sufficient time to bed down its implementation of the DDO regime. We have targeted surveillances underway to check whether product issuers and distributors are complying with their design and distribution obligations”.
For the complete list of what ASIC, AUSTRAC, Treasury and APRA have been up to lately, head to our Regulatory News page.
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