In the media

FOFA amendments will lead to poor agribusiness advice
MEDIA – 9 January 2015 – Potential miss-selling and poor advice are likely to once again occur in the forestry managed investment scheme (FMIS) sector if amendments to the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) legislation are allowed to proceed, according to Industry Super Australia (ISA). More...

Fund heads say MySuper implementation expensive, dysfunctional
MEDIA – 8 January 2015 – A large portion of fund executives found the implementation of MySuper "costly, difficult and disruptive", according to a report by the Centre for International Finance and Regulation. More... More...

AIST welcomes increased eCommerce in super
AIST – 8 January 2015 – AIST has welcomed a joint announcement from the Honourable Bruce Billson MP and the Honourable Josh Frydenberg MP that will see an increase in the use of eCommerce in tax and superannuation reporting. More...

SCT clarifies jurisdiction
MEDIA – 8 January 2015 – The Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) has sought to clarify the matters it is empowered to deal with via the publication of a brochure. More...

Merger sees cancellation of fund licence
MEDIA – 7 January 2015 – The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has cancelled the Australian financial services licence of Coal Industry Superannuation Fund (CISF) after its merger with AUSCOAL Super last year. More...

ASIC sheds light on vertical integration probe
MEDIA – 7 January 2015 – The Investment Managers and Superannuation team will be assessing conflicts of interest in these businesses and "how those conflicts are managed", while the Financial Advice team will be examining cases of breach reporting, financial product "mis-selling" and quality of advice provided within these organisations. More...

ASIC consults on disclosure consistency
MEDIA – 6 January 2015 – ASIC calls for consistency when comparing information about super products, particularly around the treatment of investment goals and return targets, and asset allocation information. More...

Super funds post 7.5% growth in 2014
MEDIA – 5 January 2014 – Superannuation funds posted a typical return of around 7.5% in 2014, down from 16.3% in 2013. The report observed that median 10 year returns of 6.3% per annum are in line with general super industry aims of returning inflation plus 3.5 percentage points. More...

Updated FOS Operational Guidelines
FOS – 29 December 2014 – FOS's Operational Guidelines have been updated in line with our Terms of Reference effective 1 January 2015. More...

Revised version of SuperStream Benchmarking Measures and accompanying letter
APRA – 22 December 2014 – APRA has released a revised version of SRS 711.0 SuperStream Benchmarking Measures and an accompanying letter. See Final reporting standards, forms and instructions. More...

FPA welcomes PJC Inquiry report to raise adviser education and professional standards
FPA – 19 December 2014 – The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) has announced its support of the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) Inquiry report, released today, which aims to raise adviser education and professional standards. More...

More evidence of industry fund outperformance
ISA – 19 December 2014 – Commission-free industry super funds again outperformed bank-owned super funds and other retail super funds over the 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 year time periods, according to monthly data from SuperRatings, based on balanced fund median rolling returns. More...

ASIC consults on disclosure and APRA reporting requirements for superannuation trustees
ASIC – 19 December 2014 – The ASIC has released Consultation Paper 227 Disclosure and reporting requirements for superannuation trustees (CP 227) aimed at improving the comparability of information about superannuation products for consumers. More...

Government committed to implementing the Investment Manager Regime
MINISTER FOR FINANCE – 18 December 2014 – The Government is committed to implementing a practical Investment Manager Regime with the release of updated exposure draft legislation in early 2015. The purpose of Element 3 of the Investment Manager Regime is to provide tax certainty to foreign investors investing in Australia. More...

Super fund returns modest in 2014
MEDIA – 18 December 2014 – Superannuation funds are expected to have delivered moderate results this year, compared to the much higher returns of 17.2% in 2013 and 12.8% in 2012, according to Chant West. Following a 0.8% gain in November, the median growth fund had notched up a total return of 7.1% for the first 11 months of the year. More...

2014 AML/CTF compliance reports
AUSTRAC – 18 December 2014 – Reporting entities with obligations under the AML/CTF Act are required to submit a compliance report between 2 January 2015 and 31 March 2015, if you are a reporting entity who offered designated services during any part of the reporting period of 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014. More...

Murray Report: Consultation process
GOVERNMENT – 7 December 2014 – The Government is consulting on the Inquiry's recommendations before making any decisions, and is calling for written submissions from all stakeholders. The deadline for submissions is 31 March 2015. More...

MySuper: A stage in an evolutionary process

CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCE AND REGULATION – December 2014 – The report interviewed super fund executives and found they were vocal about their displeasure on the costs of MySuper, and labelled it dysfunctional. More...

Inquiry into proposals to lift professional, ethical and education standards in financial services
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – December 2014 – Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services Inquiry into proposals to lift the professional, ethical and education standards in the financial services industry Report. More...

ASIC: Papers currently open for public comment

CP 277 Disclosure and reporting requirements for superannuation trustees: s29QC
Released 19 December 2014. Comments close 13 March 2015. More...

CP 224 Facilitating electronic financial services disclosures
Released 14 November 2014. Comments close 16 January 2015. More... More... More...

CIO: Increase of monetary compensation limit
The monetary compensation limit (MCL) applying to each claim for complaints received from 1 January 2015 will be $309,000. For disputes lodged with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) on or after 1 January 2015 the compensation cap is also $309,000. The CIO is approved by ASIC under Regulatory Guide 139. More...

The Conference of Major Super Funds (CMSF) 2015
CMSF 2015 will be held from 18 – 20 March 2015 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Gold Coast, QLD. Full program coming soon, check out the confirmed speakers and current program highlights.

Legislation

Commonwealth

Legislative Instruments

ASIC Class Order [CO 14-1270]
F2015L00018 CO 14/1270 as made 7 January 2015 – This class order amends the ASIC Class Order [CO 04/194], ASIC Class Order [CO 13/1410] and ASIC Class Order [CO 13/763] to include interests in a managed investment scheme. More...

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Amendment
23 December 2014 357R1007 – This instrument amends the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Instrument 2007 (No. 1) to insert a new Chapter 11. More...

Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Amendment Instrument 2014 (No. 6)
23 December 2014 357R1008 – This instrument amends the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Instrument 2007 (No. 1) to insert a new Chapter 71. More...

Acts

Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2014 Measures No. 6) Act 2014
C2014A00133 Act No. 133 of 2014 as made 17 December 2014. More...

Commonwealth Legislation commencing 1 January 2015

Corporations Amendment (Statements of Advice) Regulation 2014 (No. 134 of 2014)
This regulation amends the Corporations Regulations 2001 to make a number of amendments to the financial disclosure requirements. This regulation commenced on 1 January 2015. More...

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