Penalty units under Commonwealth laws increased on 1 July 2020 from $210 each to $222 each as notified in the Notice of Indexation of the Penalty Unit Amount. The new penalty unit value will only apply to offences committed on or after 1 July 2020. Under the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) there is an automatic CPI adjustment of the penalty unit amount every three years. If you found this article helpful, then subscribe to …

The Consumer Data Right commenced on 1 July 2020. Initially, customers of the four major banks are able to request that their data from deposit and transaction accounts and credit and debit cards be shared with accredited third parties. From 1 November 2020 data from home, investment and personal loans, and joint accounts will be capable of being shared. Other authorised deposit-taking institutions will join the Consumer Data Right over the next year. It is…

In Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Westpac Banking Corporation [2020] FCAFC 111 the Federal Court of Australia Full Court dismissed ASIC’s appeal against Justice Perram’s rejection of ASIC’s original case. Background. The decision endorsed Westpac’s approach to conducting loan unsuitability assessments as a legitimate choice. Initial period interest only loans All 3 appeal court judges rejected ASIC’s appeal against the original decision relating to initial period interest only loans. They confirmed that in…

ASIC has announced that it has approved a variation of the Banking Code of Practice (Code). The ASIC Corporations (Approval of Variation of March 2020 Banking Code of Practice) Instrument 2020/602 variation involves the insertion of a ‘Special Note’ into the Code to allow for special application of specified Code provisions from 1 July 2020 until 1 March 2021. The COVID-19 Special Note applies to banking services and guarantees during that period and…

ASIC has published Regulatory Guide 273 Mortgage brokers: Best interests duty providing its views and worked examples on how mortgage brokers can comply with the best interests obligations in the new Part 3-5A of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 which was inserted by the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response—Protecting Consumers (2019 Measures) Act 2020. Background. Overview The new best interests duty in relation to the provision of credit assistance to…

The Co-operatives National Law Act 2020 has been passed by the Queensland Parliament and given Royal Assent. The objective of the Act is to modernise and improve the regulatory framework for the formation, registration, and management of co-operatives in Queensland, principally through nationally-harmonised co-operatives legislation. Background. The Act repeals the Queensland Cooperatives Act 1997, and in its place, applies the Co-operatives National Law (CNL) as a law of Queensland. The CNL is template legislation,…

ASIC has announced that it has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and CBA’s subsidiary, Colonial First State Investments Limited (CFSIL) in relation to alleged conflicted remuneration paid by CFSIL to CBA between 1 July 2013 and 30 June 2019. ASIC alleges that the arrangements between CBA and CFSIL breached the ban on accepting and giving conflicted remuneration under sections 963E and 963K of the…