Allen & Overy LLP (JD Supra Australia)

New breach reporting obligations for Australian financial services and credit licensees come into effect on 1 October 2021. This post considers ASIC’s draft guidance on some of the key features of these reporting obligations.

Australia is considered a creditor friendly jurisdiction, and has developed an effective legal framework for lenders to recover debts owed to them by distressed borrowers. There are a wide range of out-of-court and ‘self-help’ options available to lenders, especially so for secured lenders. The purpose of this note is to provide a high-level overview of these enforcement options together with...

Australia has implemented “Phase 1.5” in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism reforms. However, Australia’s long-awaited and much-debated “second tranche” of reforms remains out of grasp. Please see full Publication below for more information.

Australia has introduced significant temporary changes to the notification requirements under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act (FATA) administered by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has released its final policy in respect of its revised proposal for Foreign Financial Service Providers (FFSPs).

On Monday 2 December, the Australian Government introduced into the Senate the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2019 (Cth) (“Foreign Bribery Bill”). This Bill proposes to fundamentally shift the criminal liability landscape for corporations with respect to foreign bribery. The Bill follows on from the Australian Government’s introduction of the Crimes Legislation...

On 17 October 2019, the Australian Government introduced a bill into Parliament to implement the next phase of reforms to the country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (“AML/CTF”) laws. If enacted, businesses will have the opportunity to save time and money when performing customer due diligence, though will also need to update their AML/CTF programs to ensure continued...

On 3 July 2019, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) released a further consultation paper in respect of its revised proposal for Foreign Financial Service Providers (FFSPs). Please see full article below for more information.

The final report (the Report) of the Australian Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (the Royal Commission) was released on 4 February 2019. The Report provides 76 specific recommendations to the Government, the financial sector, and financial regulators to redress the misconduct revealed by the inquiry. These recommendations reflect the...

The Australian Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking Superannuation and Financial Services Industry published its interim report on 28 September 2018 (Initial Report). It provides no formal recommendations but highlights key issues identified during the Commission’s 11 months of public hearings and evidence gathering. Such issues include the prevalence of conflicts of interest in the

As the fallout from the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (Royal Commission) continues, key Australian regulators are increasingly focused on more robust enforcement as a primary tool to address misconduct by financial services institutions. At the same time, their ability to do so effectively is being substantially augmented by the...

Australia has become the latest jurisdiction to target modern slavery, with the Modern Slavery Bill 2018 (Cth) (Bill) being introduced into Federal Parliament on 28 June 2018. Modelled on the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, if passed, the Bill would introduce significant reporting obligations on entities carrying out business in Australia regarding the presence of slavery, human trafficking and child

Broken Hill City Council v Unique Urban Built Pty Ltd [2018] NSWSC 825 - Introduction / summary - Parties who incorporate arbitration agreements into their contracts would expect that agreement to be complied with in the event of a dispute, particularly when they are using a Standards Australia contract.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has released a consultation paper in respect of potential reforms of the law applying to Foreign Financial Service Providers (FFSP), broadly foreign licensees who deal with Australian institutional clients. The proposals represent a significant change to the existing regime, including a new licensing regime, which will replace the existing “p

The Australian government agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting foreign bribery have released joint best practice guidelines that indicate how they will approach self-reporting by companies voluntarily seeking to disclose suspected foreign bribery and related offences. The guidelines provide greater clarity on the expectations of the Australian Federal Police and the...

Introduction - On 10 November 2017, Justice Perram released his reasoning for approving the A$45 million total penalty that had been agreed between AUSTRAC and Tabcorp (available here). As it is the first judgment handed down in respect of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (AML/CTF Act), all reporting entities will need to carefully review the Court’s...

The Australian Government is currently considering amendments to its foreign bribery laws. The proposed amendments include a new corporate offence of failing to prevent foreign bribery and a model for a deferred prosecution agreement scheme. In the wake of these proposed changes and the likely increase in the enforcement of foreign bribery laws in Australia, companies should carefully assess...

Introduction - After years of uncertainty, Australia’s renewable energy sector is taking off. A number of previously planned wind and solar projects have been revived recently and the sector must grow rapidly for the next two to five years, in order to achieve Australia’s nowconfirmed Renewable Energy Target (RET) by 2020. This document summarises some of the key characteristics of the

On 5 September 2016, the Commonwealth Government announced the establishment of a Perth-based specialised fraud and anti-corruption team that will focus on foreign bribery investigations. Justice Minister Michael Keenan has confirmed that similar teams will be set up in Melbourne and Sydney. These developments put into action AUD15 million Government strategy announced in April to “tackle”...

On 25 February 2016, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) published a discussion paper and a draft prudential standard setting out APRA’s proposals for implementing margin requirements and other risk mitigation standards for non-cleared OTC derivatives in Australia (the APRA Proposals). The new requirements are proposed to take effect from 1 September 2016, subject to a phase-in...

New criminal offences concerning false dealing with accounting documents have been introduced into Australia’s Commonwealth Criminal Code (Criminal Code). The changes address Australia’s obligations under the OECD Foreign Bribery Convention and reflect the fact that corporate bribery is often concealed by the falsification of corporate books and records. The offence creates for the first time in...

With effect from 1 December 2015, the Australian Government has re-written its foreign investment laws and policy. The overall policy position on foreign investment in Australia has not changed materially although there have been a range of changes to modernise, harmonise and strengthen the regime.

Welcome to this edition of Allen & Overy’s Recent Developments –‘What you need to know’. The purpose of this alert is to keep you updated on the recent legal developments relevant to your industry, and let you know what it means for you and your business. A review of the recent cases suggests that it is the simple things, often overlooked, which are the focus of an increasing amount...

Effective 1 July 2015, the new “investment manager regime” provides a much simplified tax system for inbound foreign investors, and should be a welcome change for foreign investors who struggle with the complexities of the Australian system.

In it, ASIC provides its view on the importance of benchmarks, identifies which Australian and international benchmarks it considers systemically important, summarises the various different regulatory responses and reforms (including its own) that have taken place since recent concerns about benchmarks were raised, and indicates what existing and forthcoming recommendations and codes of conduct...

The Senate will commence an inquiry into foreign bribery, with a view to toughening Australia’s anti-bribery regime. The chair of the relevant Senate committee has indicated that various high profile business figures and companies will be called to appear before the committee in public session.

The final report of Australia’s Financial System Inquiry (Inquiry) was released on 7 December 2014 (Final Report). According to the Treasurer, The Hon Joe Hockey MP, it lays out a blueprint for Australia’s financial system over the next decade. In this note we explore the recommendations around increased capital requirements for banks.

The final report of Australia’s Financial System Inquiry (Inquiry) was released on 7 December 2014 (Final Report). According to the Treasurer, The Hon Joe Hockey MP, it lays out a blueprint for Australia’s financial system over the next decade.

The ACCC argues the current wording of section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) (which regulates misuse of market power) does not sufficiently capture exclusionary anti-competitive conduct that can damage the competitive process. Consequently, the ACCC has suggested amending the test to capture conduct that has either the purpose or likely effect of substantially lessening...