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[…]
An allegation of unconscionable conduct in business dealings arises when a party to a contract says or does something that is so unreasonable that it defies good conscience. The Courts will intervene and potentially set aside a contract if at the time the contract was entered into there ought to have been matters “preying on[…]
On 28 October 2019, the full Federal Court, in the matter of ASIC v Westpac Securities (2019) FCAFC 187 handed down an important decision regarding the distinction between personal and general advice. Background In 2014 and 2015, Westpac engaged in a telephone campaign to encourage existing customers to roll-over their existing external superannuation into accounts[…]
The successful management of conflict of interests is a crucial part of any organisation. Conflicts of interest can arise between employees and their employers and representatives, and between an organisation and its customers. Conflicts of interest can arise even though there is no financial loss and regardless of the motivations of the people and companies[…]