In the media
Portfolio Disclosure guideline released
02 August 2012 - A working group formed by the Financial Services
Council has put together draft guidelines for portfolio disclosure
in response to ASIC's call for super funds and managed funds to
disclose their investments last year. More...
Regulators aware of reform stress
02 August 2012 - ASIC and APRA are aware of the stress regulatory
change has placed on Australia's financial services sector
stating the longer it takes for the full release of regulations and
guidance, the greater our concern about the ability of the industry
to comply with FOFA and Stronger Super by 1 July 2013. A delay in
release of regulations and guidance in some areas until 2015 limits
the ability of our industry to comply. More...
No role for FWA in choosing default funds
CCSA – 01 August 2012 - The Corporate Super Specialist
Alliance has endorsed option 4 of the Productivity Commission's
default super fund inquiry, namely that an independent expert panel
and not Fair Work Australia should make default fund listing
decisions. More...
Super funds required to report
contributions
30 July 2012 - Treasury has released draft legislation that will
require super funds to report the level of received contributions
to members. Changes to the Superannuation Industry (Supervision)
Act 1993 (SIS Act) will also enable the Australian Prudential
Regulation Authority (APRA) to take action if funds or RSAs do not
comply with the new requirements. The proposed Bill requires super
funds and retirement savings account (RSA) providers to report to
their members on either a quarterly or six-monthly basis. More...
ASIC flags guidance on Stronger Super
27 July 2012 - Depending on the passage of legislation, ASIC will
release consultation papers and guidance on disclosure requirements
for MySuper aspects, governance reforms, SuperStream changes and
self-managed super fund (SMSF) reforms later this year. The
exposure draft includes provisions relating to superannuation fees,
intra-fund advice and collection and disclosure of fund
information. More...
Codes to achieve same outcomes as opt-in
26 July 2012 - Professional codes of conduct that meet approval in
terms of obviating the need for financial advisers to comply with
opt-in will need to achieve the same outcomes as opt-in, the
regulator has confirmed.
More...
Poor reference checks hamper industry
26 July 2012 - Ineffective reference checking was a key issue in
the financial services industry and an area ASIC intended to work
on improving in the next 12 months. The project aims to implement
measures to help remove 'bad apples' from the industry and
stop advisers, who commonly exhibit bad conduct, moving between
licensees. More...
Corporations Legislation Amendment (Derivative
Transactions) Bill
TREASURY - On the 25 July 2012 a draft of the Corporations
Legislation Amendment (Derivatives Transactions) Bill 2012 was
released. The legislation would amend the Corporations Act by
introducing a framework to allow the Minister for Financial
Services and Superannuation to decide that mandatory obligations
should apply to certain classes of over-the-counter (OTC)
derivatives, requiring those classes to be reported, centrally
cleared, or traded on suitable trading platforms.
More...
Aussies to Rely on Asset Sales or an Inheritance to Fund
Retirement
ING DIRECT - 24 July 0212 - With just 23% of households confident
their super will fund a decent retirement, Australians are pinning
their hopes on selling off assets, earning more, and receiving an
inheritance to make up the shortfall, according to the latest ING
DIRECT Financial Wellbeing Index (24 July 2012).
More...
Transfer of Certain State and Territory unclaimed
superannuation to the Commonwealth Regulations
TREASURY – 24 July 2012 - The exposure draft for the
transfer of State and Territory unclaimed superannuation to the
Commonwealth regulations and the accompanying explanatory materials
has been released for public consultation. The regulations
prescribe eight public sector schemes from the Commonwealth,
Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia. Only those schemes
nominated have been prescribed.
More...
Fraudsters target DIY super funds
SMH – 21 July 2012 - A financial planner and two
advisory groups operating in the self-managed superannuation market
have been shut down in the past two weeks, raising concerns about
the increasing level of risk trustees of do-it-yourself funds face.
More...
Speech to 2012 Citi Pension Executive
Summit
Author: David Bushby, Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury
Discusses Strength of the Australian economy; Engagement with Asia; Foreign investment; Superannuation reforms; Increase in the SG rate from 9 per cent to 12 per cent; MySuper; SuperStream; Superannuation Roundtable (11 July 2012). More...
Stronger Super draft bills
Treasury has released
Superannuation Legislation Amendment 2 (Stronger Super and Other
Measures) 3 Bill (No. 2) 2012:expanded superannuation reporting
and
Superannuation Legislation Amendment 2 (Stronger Super and Other
Measures) 3 Bill (No. 2) 2012: Reporting to members for
consultation. The legislation will amend the Income Tax
Administration Act 1953 to expand the information required to be
reported by superannuation providers in respect of their members.
Under the revised reporting obligations, superannuation providers
will be required to provide statements for all members who held an
interest in the fund at any time during the reporting period, not
just those for whom contributions are received (30 July 2012)
Consultation: AFA Code of Conduct
The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has released
Consultation Paper: AFA Principles of Practice (July 2012) for
public comment. According to the AFA, preparation for the
introduction of a Code of Conduct is motivated by the provisions of
the
Corporations Amendment (Future of Financial Advice) Act 2012 No. 67
(Cth), which allows financial advisers to be exempt from opt-in
obligations if they sign on to an appropriate industry code.
Comments on the consultation paper should be sent to the AFA by 31
August 2012
Further information from the AFA
Minister Acknowledges Timeshare Exemption
Financial Services Minister Bill Shorten and Parliamentary
Secretary to the Treasurer Bernie Ripoll have announced that the
enactment of recent legislation will exempt the timeshare industry
from the application of the ban on conflicted remuneration under
the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms. Referring to the
Corporations Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 4) 2012 No. 170
(Cth), Mr Shorten said that sales-based commissions will still
be permitted on timeshare products, and as such were "never
the intended focus of FOFA".
Joint media release (20 July 2012)
Exposure draft for the transfer of State and Territory
unclaimed superannuation to the Commonwealth:
Consultation
The regulations and the accompanying explanatory materials has
been released for public consultation. These regulations will amend
the Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost Members) Regulations
1999. They will allow prescribed public sector superannuation
schemes to pay unclaimed superannuation money to the Australian
Taxation Office (ATO) (24 July 2012).
More...
Helping industry implement Stronger Super
ASIC have announced initiatives to help industry understand their
regulatory obligations under the Stronger Super reforms (26 July
2012)
Helping industry implement Stronger Super
Cases
NGS Super Pty Ltd [2012] FWA 6250
Fair Work Act 2009
Applications to vary modern awards - lack of standing as NGS Super
is not within the classes of statutorily defined eligible
applicants - applications dismissed. More...
Wilson and Commissioner of Taxation [2012] AATA
452|
TAXATION - Superannuation contributions surcharge - executive
officer of South Australian public service - implied constitutional
limitation on Commonwealth legislative power - held that
Commonwealth legislation validly applied to applicant - decisions
under review affirmed.
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - Jurisdiction of tribunal to determine
issues of constitutional validity - consideration of power to refer
question of law to Federal court.
Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth), s 45
Commonwealth of Australia Constitution 1900 (Imp) 63 and 64 Vic, c
12
Superannuation Contributions Tax (Members of Constitutionally
Protected Superannuation Funds) Assessment and Collection Act 1997
(Cth)
Superannuation Contributions Tax (Members of Constitutionally
Protected Superannuation Funds) Imposition Act 1997. More...
Legislation
Commonwealth
[Draft] Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost
Members) Amendment Regulation 2012
Commencement - This regulation commences on the day after it is
registered and amends Superannuation (Unclaimed Money and Lost
Members) Regulations 1999. The exposure draft for the transfer of
State and Territory unclaimed superannuation to the Commonwealth
regulations and the accompanying explanatory materials has been
released for public consultation. Open for consultation and
comments on 24/07/2012; Submissions close on 22/08/2012
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
