ASIC has released a consultation paper on proposals to facilitate innovation in the financial services sector The proposals include details of the long-awaited regulatory sandbox It will be of interest to both emerging companies who may rely on the relief as well as investors in this space Senior ...

The Government has recently made changes to superannuation law that helps clear the way for trustees of regulated superannuation funds to charge fund assets in order to enter into a broad range of exchange-traded and Over-The-Counter derivative transactions The changes are intended to make it easier ...

Our class actions team recently published our Class Action Risk 2016 report The objective of the report is to look behind the headlines and hype that often surrounds class actions to provide a more holistic and objective assessment of class action risk for our clients This is particularly important ...

With the release of an ASFA Best Practice Paper on insourcing investment management we look at some of the challenges and opportunities for in-house legal teams that come with the seemingly inexorable move in the superannuation industry towards insourcing investment management functions ...

The new Life Insurance Code of Practice has much to recommend it The paragraphs concerning policy design are a case in point But is the Code indeed just a code or does it purport to go further ...

There has been a great deal of attention given to the meanings of financial product advice and personal advice in the Corporations Act and many of us are eagerly waiting to see what Justice Gleeson will say about the topic in the case ASIC has brought against the BT trustees. ...

The 2017 Budget included proposals intended to reduce pressure on housing affordability Two of them use the superannuation system to do so the First Home Super Saver Scheme and the Reducing Barriers to Downsizing proposal Partner Michelle Levy examines the schemes in more detail ...

As you read this the Melbourne-based makers of LazerBlade the affordable laser cutter engraver are probably exchanging high-fives Their Kickstarter project seeking 45000 has raised almost ten times that much Soon the projects backers hope to receive their LazerBlades ndash their pledges were ...

A recent Federal Court decision highlights the importance of managing the provision of information and documentation to third parties with caution in order to preserve legal professional privilege Partner Richard Harris and Senior Associate Elnaz Nikibin report on the case ...

If you have been following the Financial System Inquiry you will not have missed the idea of giving the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC additional product intervention powers These powers exist in the UK What do they look like This question is more relevant than ever right now ...