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2024 regulatory enforcement trends and what they mean for the year ahead
2024 regulatory enforcement trends and what they mean for the year ahead

Protection of consumers, super fund members and insureds

Key regulatory and enforcement developments in Australia in 2024

Regulators have focussed on protecting vulnerable consumers and cost of living concerns, focussing on essential services (supermarkets, energy and telecommunications).

APRA has shown a general increased willingness to exercise its enforcement powers,1 while the ACCC has firmly focussed on supermarket pricing practices.2 3

ASIC has focussed on:

  • Superannuation: announced a review of superannuation industry practices and legal compliance for member services, focusing initially on handling of death benefits claims,4 which are usually made by people under emotional or financial stress. Has since commenced proceedings focussed on this issue.5
  • Financial hardship: focus on how lenders support customers experiencing financial hardship.6
  • Insurers: issued a letter reminding general insurers of their claims-handling obligations, especially in relation to severe weather events.7 Released Report 802, which reviews eleven insurers' internal dispute resolution practices and highlights shortcomings.8

Predatory lending:9 particularly for unlicensed credit providers. Successfully prosecuted a case (currently on appeal10) against a money lender and its directors.11

What are the likely regulatory and enforcement developments in Australia in 2025?

  • ASIC's 2025 enforcement priorities will include, among other things, misconduct exploiting superannuation savings, failures by insurers to deal fairly and in good faith with customers, and member services failures in the superannuation sector.12 ASIC's enduring enforcement priorities (consistent with 2024) include misconduct involving a high risk of significant consumer harm, particularly conduct targeting financially vulnerable consumers.
  • The Financial Accountability Regime commences in March 2025 for insurance and superannuation entities and contains several prescribed responsibilities relevant to member services.13
  • Regulatory action against potential predatory lending practices will continue to be a priority.14
  • The Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) Bill 2024 was introduced in November 2024. It is not yet clear when the SPF may become law. It establishes a new legislative framework in which regulated entities (initially, banking, telecommunications and technology sectors) will be required to prevent, detect and respond to scams.15
  • The Government has announced $30 million additional funding over 3.5 years for the ACCC's investigation and enforcement activity in the supermarket and retail sector.
  • The Government has commenced a supplementary consultation on its proposal to amend the ACL to include general and specific prohibitions on unfair trading practices. If legislated, they would apply economy-wide and capture a broad range of conduct.16
  • The Government announced two consultations for proposed reforms in the digital economy:
    • introducing a new digital competition regime to address competition and consumer harms resulting from the market power of major digital platforms; and
    • updating the News Media Bargaining Code to incentivise major digital platforms to strike agreements with Australian news media businesses for the display of news content to consumers.17

Who are the key regulators in relation to this area?

ASIC, the ACCC, ACMA and APRA.

What are the key sectors of focus?

Superannuation funds, insurers, banks, supermarkets, energy, telecommunications and technology.

Footnotes

Footnotes

  1. In July APRA accepted an enforceable undertaking from a superannuation trustee to rectify compliance deficiencies and remediate members for failures to invest members' default contributions in MySuper products. A separate superannuation trustee OnePath Custodians also paid over $10 million in respect of infringement notices issued to it by APRA in relation to these failures.

  2. https://www.accc.gov.au/inquiries-and-consultations/supermarkets-inquiry-2024-25. The ACCC is due to provide its final report to the Federal Government in February 2025

  3. https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/accc-takes-woolworths-and-coles-to-court-over-alleged-misleading-prices-dropped-and-down-down-claims

  4. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/news-items/improving-superannuation-member-services-dealing-with-death-benefit-claims/

  5. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2024-releases/24-251mr-asic-sues-cbus-alleging-systemic-claims-handling-failures/

  6. See our June 2024 Insight article for more details, including in relation to ASIC's Report 783

  7. Letter to insurers - Insurance claims and severe weather events.

  8. Report REP 802 Cause for complaint: Complaints handling in general insurance.

  9. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/asic-investigations-and-enforcement/asic-enforcement-priorities/

  10. ASIC v BSF Solutions Pty Ltd (Liability) [2024] FCA 553 (currently on appeal)

  11. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2024-releases/24-111mr-asic-wins-federal-court-case-against-cigno-australia-and-bsf-solutions/

  12. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/asic-investigations-and-enforcement/asic-enforcement-priorities/

  13. https://download.asic.gov.au/media/umqjn5rl/letter-to-non-review-ceos-death-benefit-claims-november-2024.pdf

  14. ASIC enforcement priorities | ASIC

  15. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2425/25bd033

  16. https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-11/c2024-602157-cp.pdf

  17. https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/rowland/media-release/albanese-government-establish-news-bargaining-incentive