Welcome to Issue 67 of the FSC Policy Update.
The October 2022 Budget was released by the Treasurer on Tuesday 25 October. The FSC team had two places in the Parliament House Budget lock-up and developed a comprehensive brief that was issued to members shortly after the Budget was released.
Key announcements from the Budget included:
- The Housing Accord
- Proposed tax changes, including to off-market buybacks, multinational taxation, and foreign exchange hedging
- The announcement of a review of the regulatory framework for Managed Investment Schemes
- Funding for Treasury and the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) to develop climate reporting standards
- Confirmation of the extension of Paid Parental Leave (PPL) to 26 weeks. There was no announcement that the superannuation guarantee would be paid on PPL.
The Budget did not contain any announcements relating to superannuation non-arms’ length income (NALI), the replacement of the Offshore Banking Unit (OBU) regime, or the tax issues for life insurers with the implementation of AASB17.
At a macro level, the Government has previously flagged a significant improvement in the near-term Budget position, but a steady deterioration in Government finances as spending commitments in health, age care and the NDIS take effect. This forecast will place considerable pressure the Government to consider new revenue options in advance of the 2023 May Budget and whilst the Budget did not contain any new changes to superannuation contribution or taxation settings we expect this will become a focus over coming months.
Blake Briggs, CEO, Financial Services Council
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Click on the topic of interest below to read more
Financial Accountability Regime and Compensation Scheme of Last Resort
Design and Distribution Obligations
APRA consultation on operational risk resilience
Institutional investment, including superannuation, part of new Housing Accord
Choice Product Distribution – upcoming ASIC thematic review
FSC Standard for Claims Handling in Superannuation
Quarterly Superannuation Publication
Managed Investment Scheme Review
Funds management marketing of fund performance and risk surveillance by ASIC underway
Asia Region Funds Passport Survey for Fund Managers
Achieving Greater Gender Balance in Funds Management
Climate Risk Reporting Treasury Consultation
Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth)
Sustainability Product Labelling and Greenwashing
Australian Sustainable Finance Institute Taxonomy Project
Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle
Quality of Advice Review: Consultation on Conflicted Remuneration
Budget 2022 increases funding for Financial Adviser Exam and tax agent compliance
Life Insurance Framework Consultation
ASIC/FSC Roundtable on breach reporting
Australian Law Reform Commission Report
ASIC Industry Funding Model Review
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PARLIAMENT, LEGISLATION AND REGULATION
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Financial Accountability Regime and Compensation Scheme of Last Resort
The Senate Economics Legislation Committee finalised its report regarding the Financial Accountability Regime Bill 2022 (FAR); Financial Sector Reform Bill 2022 and Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) related Bills which were released on 24 October.
The Committee recommends that the bills be passed.
FAR
On the FAR Bill, the Greens have proposed a short amendment to the FAR Regime that would, broadly:
- Include individual civil penalties for executives who breach their FAR obligations
- Prevent accountable entities and their significant related entities from indemnifying or insuring an accountable person against the consequences of breaching an obligation under the FAR.
The FSC notes that neither Labor nor Coalition members of the senate committee inquiry into the FAR have proposed any amendments in this regard (or indeed with respect to any other provisions of the FAR Bill).
Timing of the passage of the FAR Bill is still uncertain, however given that the Senate is not due to sit until 21 November, and assuming the passage of the Bills through parliament before the end of the year, the earliest the FAR would apply (for the banking sector) would be May 2023 (six months after the FAR Bill receives Assent) and May 2024 for the insurance and superannuation sectors (18 months after the FAR Bill receives Assent).
Please contact Ashley Davies for more information.
CSLR
Additional comments from Coalition Senators made three recommendations in the report including:
- The Australian Financial Complaints Authority, along with the CSLR operator, should be required to face stronger Parliamentary scrutiny with the passage of these bills
- To ensure the CSLR is truly ‘last resort’, the Senate should inquire into the enforcement capacity and capability of ASIC, given the moral hazard that the CSLR poses for the financial regulator
- Consideration should be given to:
- Amending the bill to limit Ministerial discretion on further and special levies and to provide clarity to the market
- A statutory reporting obligation to capture any communication between ASIC and the CSLR operator and AFCA to reduce moral hazard and ensure law enforcement remains ASIC’s key focus
- Any unintended negative impacts of the Protected Earnings Amount within the Financial Sector Reform Bill 2022 on financial exclusion, quality of life and consumer outcomes and industry viability.
The CSLR related bills have bipartisan support and have now been introduced into the Senate. The intent is to pass the CSLR legislation before the end of the year.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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Design and Distribution Obligations
The FSC has been working with members on a review of the Funds Management template Target Market Determination (TMD), considering in particular the definitions in the TMD relating to customer risk appetite, investment timeframes and portfolio distribution.
This TMD review incorporates feedback from ASIC and a member survey. The review also includes observations ASIC has made as part of a number of ASIC stop orders preventing issuers from offering or distributing funds to retail investors because of a non-compliant TMD.
These ASIC orders stop the issuer from issuing interests in, giving a product disclosure statement for, or providing general advice to retail clients recommending investment in the relevant fund. ASIC makes these stop orders to protect retail investors from potentially investing in a fund that may not be suitable for their financial objectives, situation or needs.
ASIC has publicly commented that it intends to take a more robust approach in enforcement of DDO and TMD standards and we can expect more of these stop orders to be issued in future.
ASIC has also made public comments about superannuation TMDs (which are also relevant to other products), and the FSC is considering these comments with members.
Please contact Michael Potter or Ashley Davies for more information.
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Following recent discussions between FSC and ASIC, ASIC released its new RG 277 (Remediation) on 27 September 2022, setting out new guidance on consumer remediation.
Key points to note:
- The RG does not provide for a transition period. The new RG will apply to remediations 'initiated' after the release of the RG
- The existing low-value compensation threshold has been reduced to $5 where a customer’s details are not held (for amounts above this threshold, ASIC expects businesses to apply ‘reasonable endeavours’ to find the customers and pay them remediation). ASIC reiterates that they expected remediation to be paid to a known customer regardless of the amount
- The RG does not require licensees to publish details of their remediations on their websites
- There is more guidance for superannuation trustees on receipt of remediation.
The FSC Policy Briefing with ASIC on Remediation scheduled for Thursday 20 October 2022 had to be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. Please keep an eye out for updates once a new date has been confirmed.
Please contact Michael Potter or Ashley Davies for more information.
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APRA consultation on operational risk resilience
The FSC has made a submission to APRA’s consultation on enhancements to operational risk management requirements as part of a new cross prudential industry standard CPS 230.
The FSC has received consistent feedback from a broad number of FSC members that APRA’s proposals represent a sizable uplift in industry practices. Given the very wide scope of service provider arrangements deemed ‘material’ by the new CPS 230, these arrangements would then become subject to heightened due diligence, risk management and business continuity requirements. Further, these requirements would apply from 1 January 2024 for both new and existing material service provider arrangements. This is out of step with the staggered four-year transitional period for implementing enhanced operational risk resilience requirements in the UK.
The FSC is therefore concerned that APRA’s proposals would have the unintended net effect of impeding industry efficiency and intends to engage further with APRA on revising the scope of its proposals and the timeframe for implementation.
Please contact Aidan Nguyen for more information.
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SUPERANNUATION
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Institutional investment, including superannuation, part of new Housing Accord
To address the supply and affordability challenges of housing, the Government announced in the October Budget a new Housing Accord that sets a target to build one million new, well-located homes over 5 years from mid-2024. The Housing Accord has been made with state and local Governments, the Australian Local Government Association, institutional investors, including superannuation funds and representatives from the construction sector.
The Treasurer’s Investor Roundtable, which includes representation from superannuation funds, major banks and asset managers, will meet later this month to explore further areas of work to promote investment in housing next month. The FSC will work constructively with Government to ensure that any capital deployed is consistent with the legal obligation on superannuation trustees to promote the best financial interests of members.
Please contact Aidan Nguyen for more information.
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Choice Product Distribution – upcoming ASIC thematic review
ASIC has announced a project in its Corporate Plan for 2022-26 to conduct surveillance of superannuation trustees’ distribution practices in relation to Choice superannuation products, and to examine the role of financial advisers and their licensees in the distribution of underperforming choice products.
This project will consider the application of the Design and Distribution Obligations Regime now in place for Choice products (MySuper products are excluded from the regime). Given APRA’s work on the Choice heatmaps to identify underperforming Choice products, it is also likely that ASIC would leverage these findings to explore the distribution arrangements of how consumers end up in these products.
FSC understands ASIC plans to start gathering information from selected superannuation funds and advice licensees later this year.
Please contact Aidan Nguyen for more information.
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FSC Standard for Claims Handling in Superannuation
The Claims Handling in Superannuation Working Group has met to consider and agree the revisions required to accommodate, where appropriate, the feedback received from Financial Rights Legal Centre and Super Consumers Australia on the draft FSC Standard.
The working group has proposed for the Claims Handling Standard to commence operation on 1 January 2023 on a voluntary compliance basis and for full mandatory compliance for FSC superannuation members from 1 July 2023.
Please contact Aidan Nguyen for more information.
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Quarterly Superannuation Publication
APRA has recently issued a new Quarterly Superannuation Industry Publication containing new data on superannuation products and investment options, member demographics and investments as of 30 June 2022.
It is the first of five new publications that APRA plans to release over the coming months (until Q1 2023), which aggregates the data that superannuation funds are now required to report to APRA under Phase 1 of its Superannuation Data Transformation Project.
The future fund-level and product-level publications will contain fund and product level data for all accumulation superannuation products.
Please contact Aidan Nguyen for more information.
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INVESTMENTS
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Managed Investment Scheme Review
The FSC has been anticipating the Managed Investment Scheme (MIS) review on the basis of ongoing considerations regarding the final design of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort. The Government publicly confirmed this approach by allocating funding in the Budget for such a review.
Providing further context on the MIS Review, Stephen Jones noted that other financial services sectors have been subject to extensive review in recent years and there is interest in reviewing the MIS regulatory settings to see whether they are right, and the intersection between property and property like schemes, including the interface between State and Federal law (reference was made to the failed Sterling Income Trust as an example).
We understand that the next step is to finalise the Terms of Reference for the review, followed by a consultation, likely in Q1 2023.
The FSC is establishing a working group to support engagement and submission to the review. If you would like to participate in the working group please provide your details to Kristy Lawrence.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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Funds management marketing of fund performance and risk surveillance by ASIC underway
Following ASIC’s 2020 ‘True to Label’ initiative, the regulator has been undertaking surveillance of managed funds' marketing of fund performance and risk. Whilst the review is ongoing ASIC has recently provided an update on some of the findings from ASIC’s surveillance (more information available at: 22-249MR Managed funds amend their marketing following ASIC surveillance | ASIC).
As part of the surveillance of managed fund’s marketing material, ASIC identified a number of concerns which include inadequate warnings or disclaimers about past or future performance, comparing the product to lower-risk products, indices or benchmarks and downplaying of other risks when promoting fund benefits.
Thirteen responsible entities, or trustees of investment funds, have voluntarily amended or arranged their investment managers to amend, marketing materials or practices across 18 funds (which represent a broad cross-section of investment strategies and asset classes, including nine registered and nine unregistered funds). At the date of the ASIC media release ASIC noted that, neither ASIC nor a court has made any findings that the marketing by the 13 entities listed, or other persons associated with the products, are in breach of the law and the entities have not made any admissions of guilt or liability.
Responsible entities, trustees and investment managers are expected to be familiar with the principles and regulatory guidance in relation to marketing of managed funds and other financial products, including that:
- Marketing must give balanced messages about returns, features, benefits and significant risks
- Risk disclosure needs to be clear and prominent
- The safety, reliability or security of an investment should not be overstated
- Comparisons with other products or benchmarks must be appropriate and reasonable
- Any reliance on past performance must explain that it is not indicative of future performance
- Care must be taken with the use of images, graphs and tables to ensure they are not confusing.
For information on good practice and compliance related to marketing, ASIC has included links to relevant regulatory guidance in the 8 September media release.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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Asia Region Funds Passport Survey for Fund Managers
ASIC has issued a short survey seeking feedback from responsible entities and fund managers on the review of the Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP). The short survey focuses on the level of industry interest and/or preparedness to use the ARFP and potential barriers to adoption.
The FSC will be convening a webinar at 9:30am on Thursday 3 November 2022 to discuss the survey.
Further information is available here.
For more information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Achieving Greater Gender Balance in Funds Management
With recognition that women are underrepresented in asset management roles, there is a continued focus by the fund management industry and dedicated initiatives such as Future IM/Pact and F3 – Future Females in Finance, to increase awareness of and promote funds management, as well as financial services, as a career path.
So what are the changes or areas of focus that fund management businesses can implement to shift the dial and support greater gender balance in asset management?
And what helps females on their path to, or within their funds management career, from an employee perspective?
These are some of the themes that will be explored in a free policy briefing Accelerating the growth of women in investment management to be held on 22nd of November 2022.
Members and their guests are invited to register for the webinar. For more information and to view the speakers click here.
For more information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Climate Risk Reporting Treasury Consultation
The October Budget included an allocation of $6.2 million over 4 years for Treasury and the Australian Accounting Standards Board to develop and introduce reporting standards for large businesses and financial institutions, in line with international reporting requirements. This commitment is consistent with advocacy the FSC has been undertaking.
It is still anticipated that the formal consultation paper will be released before the end of the year. The Government has also been consulting informally with industry stakeholders prior to the release of the consultation paper.
Timing of the legislation is unclear at this stage and will be influenced by the nature of feedback received during consultation and the Government’s other priorities.
The FSC submission will be developed by the ESG Working Group.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
Home Affairs Minister Senator Clare O’Neil recently provided public comments suggesting that the Significant Investor Visa (SIV) program was not providing value to Australia. A Grattan Institute report from May 2021 entitled Rethinking Permanent Skilled Migration After The Pandemic has also been cited in media reports. The report proposes the abolition of the Business Investment and Innovation Program and argues that the program is a net drag on Australia’s fiscal position.
In response, the FSC CEO Blake Briggs recently published an opinion piece in The Australian, demonstrating the benefits that the SIV has for growing Australia’s financial services export capability and providing much needed venture capital for Australian start-ups.
The Government recently announced that the migration cap for this year’s budget will be increased to 195,000. We anticipate that changes will be announced to the allocation of visa numbers for the Business Investment and Innovation Program.
The FSC is engaging closely with the Government on the importance of a migration system that encourages skilled entrepreneurs and investment into Australia, as well as the importance of continuing to encourage Australia as a financial services hub. The SIV Working Group is providing feedback on a letter to be sent to the Government on the SIV, which responds in further detail to claims made in the media and in the Grattan report.
The Government will be reviewing Australia’s migration system via a consultation process that will be led by three eminent Australians. The review consultation is anticipated before the end of the year and will provide another opportunity for the FSC to advocate for the benefits of the SIV.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2018
The Federal Government has commenced its review of the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). This review was required under the legislation to be undertaken three years after the commencement of the Act.
The issues paper seeks responses to consultation questions around:
- The impact of the Modern Slavery Act
- Modern Slavery Act reporting requirements
- Enforcement of the Modern Slavery Act reporting obligations
- Public sector reporting requirements under the Modern Slavery Act
- Modern Slavery Statement Register
- Administration and compliance monitoring of the Modern Slavery Act
- Review of the modern slavery act
- Other issues.
The FSC Modern Slavery Working Group is currently preparing a submission. Members of the Working Group are also looking at a review of the FSC/Responsible Investment Association modern slavery operational due diligence template.
Next year, the FSC Modern Slavery Working Group will look to review the FSC Guidance Note 40: Responding to the Modern Slavery Reporting Requirements.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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Sustainability Product Labelling and Greenwashing
The FSC is committed to combatting greenwashing when promoting sustainability-related investment products. Following the release of ASIC Information Sheet 271, the FSC is now seeking to create greater certainty and consensus for fund managers around sustainability product labelling.
The FSC guidance or standard will seek to identify what is good practice in offering and promoting sustainability products that does not fall foul of misleading and deceptive conduct by drawing on existing domestic and global labelling regulations and guidance such as the ASIC INFO 271, the existing FSC Climate Risk Guidance note section on labelling, RIAA labelling guidelines and overseas sustainability taxonomies.
This work will be developed by an FSC standards and guidance sub-group of the ESG Working Group. If you would like to be involved, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
In addition, the FSC is hosting a free and member only policy briefing on ESG Governance Risks on Friday 11 November 2022. The webinar will tackle ESG regulatory developments, challenges and opportunities for the financial services sector. Visit the FSC website for more information and to register.
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Australian Sustainable Finance Institute Taxonomy Project
The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute has released a paper drawing out key features and issues from international taxonomies and considering whether these features are appropriate for Australia.
This paper compares taxonomy frameworks used in 13 jurisdictions internationally and considers the purpose of a taxonomy, principles that should underpin a taxonomy, sustainability objectives of a taxonomy, sectoral coverage, taxonomy eligibility and governance of a taxonomy.
The project is currently in its early design stage, and responses to the preliminary questions raised in this paper will inform the next step of the project.
FSC members are strongly encouraged to respond to the questions raised in the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute paper.
For more information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
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Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle
Work is progressing on preparing a template Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle (CCIV) Constitution for the industry. The FSC working group has met and is preparing a 'term sheet' of key issues to include in the template. Once the term sheet is agreed among the relevant working group members, work can proceed on drafting a template.
ASIC released revised guidance on the requirements in the Corporations Act for the constitutions of registered schemes, CCIVs and Australian passport funds on 6 October. ASIC has noted that updates to the following instruments for CCIVs will be released in the coming weeks:
- Class Order [CO 13/656] Equality of treatment impacting on the acquisition of interests
- ASIC Corporations (Registered Schemes: Differential Fees) Instrument 2017/40
- ASIC Corporations (Share and Interest Purchase Plans) Instrument 2019/547
- ASIC Corporations (Changing Scheme Constitutions) Instrument 2019/700
- ASIC Corporations (Chapter 5C—Miscellaneous Provisions) Instrument 2017/125
- ASIC Corporations (Externally-Administered Bodies) Instrument 2015/251.
ASIC has also confirmed that there have been a small and growing number of applications for AFSLs to act as a corporate director of a CCIV and the FSC is aware of a small number of licensees being announced in the market.
Please contact Michael Potter or Ashley Davies for more information.
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ADVICE
Quality of Advice Review: Consultation on Conflicted Remuneration
Inclusive of the Life Insurance Framework (LIF), the Quality of Advice Review will also be consulting on existing conflicted remuneration provisions including the applicability of the where the ban on conflicted remuneration applies and its exemptions.
A consultation paper is expected to be released the week of 31 October with a two week timeframe for public consultation consisting of roundtables.
The FSC’s submission will be developed through the Quality of Advice Working Group with final comment sought from board committees.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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Budget 2022 increases funding for Financial Adviser Exam and tax agent compliance
The October Budget announced increased funding for ASIC to administer the financial adviser exam, to be ‘partially cost recovered’ from examination fees. The Budget does not disclose the amounts due to commercial sensitivities.
Around $30 million will also be invested over four years to ensure better compliance by tax agents.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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LIFE INSURANCE
Life Insurance Framework Consultation
The Life Insurance Framework (LIF) consultation begins the week of 31 October 2022. The LIF will be on Treasury’s website and open for submissions for a two-week period from the date of the Consultation Paper’s release. Roundtables will run the week commencing 7 November 2022.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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The FSC has now completed its review of the genetics moratorium and has written to stakeholders with the outcome and issued a media release. The sunset clause has been removed and immunity given to any test taken while the moratorium is in place. The FSC believes this will provide people confidence to take a genetic test without fear that it will stop them taking out life insurance. The moratorium will be included in the new Life Code to provide independent oversight with links to Government. The new Life Code comes into effect on 1 July 2023. You can find the moratorium in Appendix A of the Code.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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The new Life Code requires all subscribers to develop and publish a policy on Domestic & Family Violence. To help life insurers do this in support of the new Life Code, the FSC has published guidelines suggesting 11 areas that the policies might cover. The guidelines are available here.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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TAX
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- The FSC released research on potential tax changes relating to superannuation. The research demonstrates that piecemeal increases to superannuation taxes will not deliver a sustainable Federal Budget position. Instead, the superannuation tax debate should focus on system equity measures, such as paying superannuation contributions on government paid parental leave and broadening the coverage of the Superannuation Guarantee. For more information please see the FSC media release and full report.
- The Government released a consultation paper on discussing how Australia could implement the OECD’s framework for addressing Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). FSC members are discussing how to respond to this paper.
- The FSC provided feedback on an ATO proposals paper outlining how managed funds and super funds should treat foreign capital gains and foreign income tax offsets (FITOs) after the Burton decision.
- The FSC and the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA) had a joint meeting with the ATO to discuss the tax data standard which will be jointly managed/owned by ACSA and FSC. The purpose of the meeting was to ensure the ATO is up to date with the development of the data standard.
- The FSC and ACSA are discussing a potential joint letter to the ATO raising concerns about difficulties for fund managers in obtaining Certificates of Residency.
- The FSC made a submission on the tax treatment of digital assets (including crypto assets) to the Board of Taxation. The discussion paper argued there was uncertainty about whether digital assets can be capital in nature, and whether Managed Investment Trusts can hold digital assets as eligible investments. The FSC recommended these uncertainties be clarified. The final submission was circulated to members.
- The FSC made a submission to draft legislation that would the franking of dividends to the extent the dividends are funded by new capital raisings. The FSC raised concerns with the retrospectivity of the measure, and the broad scope of the measure. The final submission was circulated to members.
- The FSC made comments to the ATO on draft requests for information (RFIs) relating to upcoming justified trust reviews for superannuation funds. The RFIs related to income tax and GST.
- The ATO released a report on the recent Top 1000 justified trust reviews for GST and income tax.
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
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LEGAL
ASIC/FSC Roundtable on breach reporting
ASIC recently agreed to participate in a meeting with the FSC and members to discuss breach reporting concerns. The successful Roundtable involving ASIC, the FSC, Treasury and some of our members was held on 10 October. The Roundtable focussed on potential solutions to some of the priority issues which have emerged within the breach reporting/reportable situations regime, which might be achieved in a shorter timeframe.
The FSC subsequently submitted further written comments to ASIC and Treasury expanding on the concerns raised by FSC Member representatives at the Roundtable as well as previous member input, including examples of scenarios illustrating areas of concern, as requested by ASIC.
The FSC has also reiterated it would welcome the opportunity for further engagement, including on other issues not covered in the meeting, notably ASIC portal related issues.
Please contact David McGlynn or Ashley Davies for more information.
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On 27 October ASIC released its first publication (Report 740) of information lodged under the breach reporting/reportable situations regime. As expected, Report 740 does not name specific licensees.
Noting that over 8000 reports were made to ASIC by financial services and credit licensees under the regime between 1 October 2021 and 30 June 2022, ASIC noted in its press release the numbers show, among other things:
- A much smaller proportion of licensees have reported under the regime than anticipated
- Licensees are still taking too long to identify and investigate some breaches
- More work needs to be done to appropriately identify and report the root cause of breaches
- Further improvements are needed to licensees’ practices towards remediating impacted customers.
ASIC have stated they will continue to work with stakeholders to address issues that have arisen from implementation of the regime, including by providing additional guidance where needed.
Please contact David McGlynn or Ashley Davies for more information.
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Australian Law Reform Commission Report
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) Report, Financial Services Legislation: Interim Report B (Report 139, 2022), was tabled in Parliament on 30 September 2022.
Interim Report B contains recommendations, proposals, and questions in relation to the reform of corporations and financial services legislation. The recommendations in Interim Report B relate to improvements that would simplify corporations and financial services legislation. The recommendations are in a form that may be implemented prior to the conclusion of the ALRC Inquiry, if accepted by the Australian Government.
In respect of the proposals and questions, the ALRC is seeking written submissions from stakeholders. Submissions close 30 November 2022.
The FSC is working with the Legal and Compliance Expert Group to prepare a submission.
Please contact Ashley Davies for more information.
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ASIC Industry Funding Model Review
The Government released a Discussion Paper on 28 September to seek stakeholder views on options, examples of potential changes and questions that are designed to examine and address a range of issues set out in the Review’s Terms of Reference on the ASIC Industry Funding Model.
The FSC submission on the Review was prepared through the Legal and Compliance Expert Group and submitted on 28 October 2022.
The FSC submission made a number of points relating to how changes to the IFM should aim to:
- Improve cost estimates, monitoring and control
- Improve equity
- Enhance ASIC’s transparency and accountability.
This followed a Treasury roundtable session on the ASIC IFM Review (attended by the FSC, unfortunately FSC members were not eligible to join). The purpose of the meeting was to gather stakeholder feedback and further test the options and examples of potential changes raised in the Discussion Paper as well as alternative options or changes the review should consider.
Please contact Ashley Davies for more information.
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