The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released Consultation Paper 311 seeking input from interested parties on 15 proposals that will change the way Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) holders conduct and report on internal dispute resolution (IDR)  processes. Submissions close on 9 August 2019, with the final revisions to Regulatory Guide 165: Internal Dispute Resolution to be published in December 2019. The measures are proposed to be progressively implemented between December 2019 and…

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Design and Distribution Obligations and Product Intervention Powers) Act 2019 passed Parliament last week and received royal assent shortly after. It introduces design and distribution obligations into the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), requiring financial services entities to consider the design of their retail financial products and the way they are distributed.  The amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) also give the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) power to intervene…

Welcome to Part 5 of Insurance After Hayne, a six part series on our Insurance Law Tomorrow blog focusing on the implications for insurers following the release of the final report of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services industry. In this week’s article, we explore Commissioner Hayne’s recommendations on claims handling, industry codes and cooperation with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which replaced the Financial Ombudsman Service on…

Welcome to Part 4 of Insurance After Hayne, a six part series on our Insurance Law Tomorrow blog focusing on the implications for insurers following the release of the final report of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services industry. In this week’s article, we explore Commissioner Hayne’s recommendations on governance, culture and remuneration, and particular his focus on the people in control: “There can be no doubt that the…

Welcome to Part 1 of “Insurance after Hayne”, a special series on our Insurance Law Tomorrow blog focusing on the implications for general and life insurers following the release of the Royal Commission’s final report. Each week, we will be sharing our thoughts on Commissioner Hayne’s recommendations through the lens of our insurance regulatory team. To make sure you receive the latest updates in our series, subscribe to our blog on the right hand side.…

Ahead of the release of the Financial Services Royal Commission’s final report, the Treasury has released a discussion paper seeking input in relation to disclosure in general insurance. The focus of the paper is to explore ways to improve current disclosure requirements to ensure positive consumer outcomes. The consultation process is open until 28 February 2019, and is in response to the recommendations made in the Senate Committee’s inquiry into the general insurance industry in…