In what is sure to be welcome news, the Australian government has announced temporary relief for company directors from Australia’s notoriously tough insolvent trading laws. This is a sensible decision, which is good news for directors (and their insurers) in what is proving to be unprecedented times. Directors face personal liability if the company trades while insolvent. The speed with which the global economy is grinding to a halt is already making it incredibly difficult…

The month of February 2020 has seen the passing of a number of bills implementing recommendations from the financial services Royal Commission, including measures strengthening the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) licensing, search warrant and banning powers as well as reforms to protect consumers. February has also seen the welcoming of proposals from both ASIC and the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) as co-regulators of the superannuation industry as well as the passing of…

The months of December 2019 and January 2020 have proven to be a busy time for our Government and regulators, with significant changes and proposals for the funds and financial services sector. In particular, Treasury have released 17 bills in response to 22 recommendations made by Commissioner Hayne in the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (Royal Commission), as well as ASIC releasing draft guidance for industry consultation on…

Following the release of the Royal Commission final report earlier this year, the Treasury has now released draft legislation that will make insurance claims handling a financial service under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). This will give the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) greater supervisory responsibility over claims handling and require that these activities are provided in an efficient, honest and fair manner. The reforms are aimed at improving consumer outcomes in the claims…

Ransomware incidents continue to be the most common cyber-related attacks against businesses. Ransomware is a type of malware that blocks access to a computer system (or threatens to release data) until or unless a sum of money is paid (often in Bitcoin). When a ransomware attack strikes, it can have an immediate and debilitating effect on a business’s ability to operate.  Without the decryption key, it can sometimes take many days or weeks to try…

This week the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) released its quarterly statistics report of Notifiable Data Breach (NDB) Scheme (Report).  The Report shows trends and developments about notifications made under the NDB scheme in the period 1 April to 30 June 2019. Data breaches across sectors – Health still highest but finance catching up There were 245 disclosed breaches in the quarter – the second highest number of breaches in a quarter over…

Following a consultation period last year, the Treasury has released draft legislation to extend the unfair contract terms regime to insurance contracts. In releasing the draft legislation, the government has reaffirmed its commitment to implementing all 76 recommendations from Commissioner Hayne’s Royal Commission Final Report. Consultation is now open until 28 August 2019 following which the draft legislation will be considered by Parliament. The draft legislation comes during a time of significant regulatory change in…