Australian boards and senior executives are expected to maintain oversight of risk and compliance issues including bribery sanctions human rights and anti-money laundering In-house counsel perform a central role in supporting this oversight and maintaining compliancenbspIn the first of a five-part ...

On 13 December 2016 Treasury released a paper seeking feedback on the proposed financial product design and distribution obligations and proposed product intervention powers for ASIC The proposals are intended to create new accountability obligations for product issuers and distributors On one view ...

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority AFCA the new one-stop-shop for resolving financial complaints has had a very busy first six months of operation ...

The Australian Government has announced that from 1 March 2015 acquisitions of agricultural land worth more than A15 million and any additional acquisitions over and above that amount will require government approval It will also establish a foreign ownership register of agricultural land ...

Today the Full Federal Court clarified the law of penalties as it applies to fees The key development is that in considering whether the amount of a fee is extravagant and exorbitant compared to the potential costs incurred in dealing with a failure to perform an obligation the court held that ...

After almost 10 years of negotiations between the nations on 17 November 2014 Prime Minister Abbott and President Xi announced the conclusion of negotiations on the China Australia Free Trade Agreement ChAFTA Once implemented the ChAFTA is expected to significantly reduce import barriers for ...

The recent Great Southern class action settlement included a term by which group members acknowledged and admitted that loans taken out with independent financiers to finance investments in Great Southern managed investment schemes were valid and enforceable Two separate Victorian Supreme Court ...

The Governments much anticipated FOFA regulations were registered today and provide significant relief for benefits provided to employees and representatives of product issuers who provide general advice They also expressly allow bonuses to be linked to successful product sales providing the bonus ...

Since the 1996 Wallis Inquiry disclosure has been at the heart of the regulatory philosophy for the retail financial services sector in Australia Under the Financial System Inquirys terms of reference the Inquiry will refresh the philosophy principles and objectives underpinning the development of a ...

The High Court has ruled that a liquidator has no obligation to retain monies on account of tax until a notice of assessment has been issued The decision will provide much needed clarity for liquidators and other statutorily deemed trustees and agents Partners Charles Armitage and Christopher ...