IN THE MEDIA
FOS blames PI for increasing unpaid compo
MEDIA – 6 February 2015 – The Financial Ombudsman
Service (FOS) has again pointed to the inadequacy
of professional indemnity insurance, as unpaid compensation from
its rulings approaches $15 million.
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Superannuation fees not so super
ATO – 5 February 2015 – The Australian Taxation Office
(ATO) has warned employees with multiple
superannuation accounts that they could be paying thousands of
dollars in unnecessary fees every year. According to new figures
released by the ATO, 45% of working Australians have more than one
super account. More...
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Competitive super system better off with consumer
protection
ISA – 5 February 2015 – Complexity, choice overload,
low levels of financial literacy, lack of planning, procrastination
and high search costs, among other behavioural factors, are
influencing Australians' approach to their superannuation
savings, says Industry Super Australia.
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Rash consumer behaviour demands super safety
net
MEDIA – 5 February 2015 – Industry Super Australia
(ISA) is urging bank-owned super funds to realise
that three independent reviews ordered by two governments have
concurred that the default fund super safety net is a must.
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Which financial planning organisations will
survive?
MEDIA – 5 February 2015 – Some financial planning
bodies will struggle to survive in the financial planning regime
evolving out of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Joint
Committee entailing the adviser register and the requirement for
planners to be members of an appropriate professional association.
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Future Fund smashes its performance target in
2014
MEDIA – 5 February 2015 – According to the Future
Fund's latest portfolio update, the Australian de facto
sovereign wealth fund earned 13.2% for the 12 months to end
December compared to the 8.3% delivered by the SelectingSuper
Workplace default super fund index. More...
ASIC to face legal action over Storm
Financial
MEDIA – 5 February 2015 – ASIC is facing a class
action for its alleged delay in taking action against Storm
Financial and for allegedly acting to protect the interests of
major banks, particularly the Commonwealth Bank, rather than
customers. More...
Consumers need super default safety net
MEDIA – 5 February 2015 – Consumers need the
protection of a default superannuation fund safety net despite
calls for deregulation to increase competition, according to
Industry Super Australia (ISA). More...
Blow-out warning on super tax concessions
MEDIA – 4 February 2015 – The Federal Government has
been warned that the cost of its concessional tax treatment of
superannuation is likely to blow out significantly from $13.4
billion in the current financial year to $25.8 billion in 2017-18.
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Over $12.5m in claims unpaid, says FOS
MEDIA – 2 February 2015 – 30% of determinations made
against wealth management firms since 2010 remain unpaid, the
Financial Ombudsman Service has revealed. 26 financial service
providers have been "unwilling or unable" to comply with
120 FOS determinations made in favour of consumers between 1
January 2010 and 31 December 2014.
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FOS reduces backlog but unpaid determinations
climb
MEDIA – 2 February 2015 – The Financial Ombudsman
Service has reduced its backlog of cases but has struggled to
reduce the number of unpaid determinations with that number
climbing for the third reporting period in a row to a record high.
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Government mulls giving ASIC power to change financial
planning products
MEDIA – 2 February 2015 – The New Assistant Treasurer
wants to restore confidence in the scandal-ridden financial advice
industry, lift the number of Australians seeking financial advice
and launch a public financial adviser register by March, and is
considering a controversial proposal to give product intervention
powers to ASIC.
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ASIC flexes muscles against fraud in financial
services
MEDIA – 2 February 2015 – The amount of white collar
crime committed in financial services almost doubled in the second
half of 2014, according to ASIC's latest six-monthly
enforcement report. ASIC took enforcement action against 48 cases
of white collar crime related to financial services.
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ASIC enforcement report – July to December 2014
released
ASIC – 30 January 2015 – ASIC achieved 345 enforcement
outcomes. This included criminal as well as civil and
administrative (e.g. banning or disqualification) actions, and
negotiated outcomes, including enforceable undertakings.
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Accountants "feeding ground" for financial
advice
MEDIA – 29 January 2015 – Accounting graduates may
prove the "feeding ground" for the evolving financial
advice space, according to the head of the Association of Financial
Advisers (AFA).
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ASIC reports on decisions to cut red tape – June
to September 2014
ASIC – 28 January 2015 – ASIC has released its latest
report outlining decisions on relief applications covering the
period 1 June to 30 September 2014, approving 474 relief
applications.
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ABS Consultation with Industry on Superannuation Date
Collection by APRA
GOVERNMENT – 27 January 2015 – The purpose of this ABS
information paper is to provide information on the industry
consultation process for new superannuation data reporting
standards for registrable superannuation entity
(RSE) licensees in relation to data collected by
the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
(APRA) for use by the ABS.
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Superannuation data collection for the Australian Bureau
of Statistics
APRA – 27 January 2015 –
Letter to RSE licensees on proposed data collection for the Australian Bureau of Statistics
Draft Reporting Standard SRS 720.0 ABS Statement of Financial Position
Draft Reporting Standard SRS 721.0 ABS Securities Subject to Repurchase and Resale and Stock Lending and Borrowing
Draft Reporting Standard SRS 722.0 ABS Derivatives Schedule
Draft Reporting Standard SRS 730.0 ABS Income and Expenditure. More...
ASIC demands more data access
MEDIA – 25 January 2015 – ASIC has called on the
government to expand the controversial data retention scheme to the
corporate regulator, warning that without access to troves of
customer metadata it will not be able to track down insider traders
and white-collar criminals.
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[Draft] Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2015
Measures No. 2) Bill 2015: Instalment Warrants
Amends Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 and Income
Tax Assessment Act 1997
The exposure draft legislation amends the income tax law to
provide look-through treatment for instalment warrants and
instalment receipts. Accompanying this draft is an explanatory
memorandum explaining the operation of the proposed law. 19 January
2015 – Opened for submissions / 13 February 2015 –
Submissions close.
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CP 227 Disclosure and reporting requirements for
superannuation trustees: s29QC
Released – 19 December 2014 / Comments close – 13
March 2015.
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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...
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