At a time of increasing shareholder activism a recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court has confirmed that activist shareholders have a very limited part to play in the exercise of a boards power in the management of a company Partners Kim Reid and Julian Donnan and Associate Manu ...

The Parliamentary Economics Committee released its report following its review into Australias four major banks yesterday Our Financial Services Regulation team has a look at the recommendations in this update ...

After a considerable gestation period the proposed new design and distribution obligations for financial products, and intervention powers for ASIC, took their first, tentative steps yesterday, with the release of exposure draft legislation. ...

A broadened definition of whistleblower reforms to establish greater protections for whistleblowers and increased sanctions for retaliatory conduct are some of the recommendations by a Senate committee looking into whistleblower protections in the corporate public and not-for-profit sector We expect ...

ASIC has released draft updates to four existing Regulatory Guides and drafts of two new Regulatory Guides for managed investment schemes corporate collective investment vehicles and passport funds and announced a consultation period which will run until 8 December Partners Marc Kemp and Penny ...

The recent Federal budget included measures to abolish some government bodies by 1 July 2015 One of those is the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee CAMAC This is a pity for those involved in the funds management industry because it means that CAMAC is no longer accepting submissions in ...

Further amendments to existing property legislation that aims to streamline the sale of property particularly in respect of the sale of off-the-plan lots have been introduced into the Queensland Parliament These amendments will be of substantial benefit to developers Partner Alister Fitzgerald ...

The Australian securitisation market was arguably more resilient than many during the GFC However certain regulatory and structural features of the Australian securitisation market have hampered its growth and the ability of Australian issuers to tap the full potential of investor demand ...

If you have investments in European listed companies you should be aware of the EUs new Market Abuse Regulation and how it may impact you wherever in the world you are based ...

In a recent judgment the English Court of Appeal reversed a controversial High Court decision that had severely limited the application of legal professional privilege in internal investigations under English law The decision has consequences for Australian corporates conducting cross-border ...