When making disclaimers in information, marketing or promotional material about financial services products that will be circulated to the general public, be aware that regulatory policies and specific legal requirements apply. Regulatory Guide 234: Advertising financial products and services (including credit): Good practice guidance, issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, is essential reading[…]
Until recently, AUSTRAC presented as a low profile regulator which, possibly, led to the perception that AML/CTF requirements presented a low regulatory risk. In recent times, however, AUSTRAC has wielded a big stick against 2 of the major banks. In 2018, the CBA was fined $702 million for breaches. (The fines could have been many[…]
During this time, all Know Compliance staff and management are working from their individual homes to comply with the social distancing measures. Each home workplace is equipped with a telephone, computer (PC and/or laptop), appropriate seating and is isolated from other home activities. Each home computer is password protected All have access to the[…]
Significant increase penalties for misleading statements in licence applications. Pursuant to Section 1308(8) of the Corporations Act a person must not, in connection with an application for an Australian financial services licence: make a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular knowing it to be false or misleading; omit to state any[…]
Australian Financial Services Licensees must comply with Section 912A(1)(d) Corporations Act – Financial Resources Requirements Holders of Australian financial services (AFS) licences must have sufficient financial resources at all times to provide their licensed financial services and to be able to carry out operational and regulatory compliance checking, monitoring and reporting. Section 912A(1)(d) states that[…]
Effective Minute Taking Effective and accurate minute taking is an important part of any Compliance Meeting. The regulator is likely request copies of compliance committee minutes when auditing a company or investigating a particular breach. Therefore the minutes should be prepared not as a personal record but as an accurate description of the issues discussed[…]
If there is a change in controlling entity of the AFS, the licensee is obliged to inform ASIC. The term controlling entity applies to both natural persons and companies. Control means: having voting power of more than 50% of voting shares, or directly or indirectly holding more than 50% of the issued share capital (this excludes[…]
New national Whistleblower laws came into effect from 1 July 2019. All public companies and large proprietary companies have until 1 January 2020 to put into place a written policy with respect to the protection of whistleblowers. A penalty of up to $12,600 may be applied for non-compliance. A large proprietary company is characterised by[…]