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.
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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.
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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...
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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...
This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.