Allens

19 February 2013

Proposals for regulation of small business credit have been deferred. Partner John Gallimore and Lawyer Andrew Shetliffe report on a recent Treasury announcement affecting the national consumer credit reform.

06 February 2013

In recent years, questions relating to the regulation of litigation funding have been the subject of a series of appeal court decisions. Are funding arrangements managed investment schemes? Do funders require an Australian Financial Services Licence? Are funders providers of credit? At various times, each of those questions has been answered in the affirmative. The Federal Government has, however, recently implemented new legislation that reverses that position. Partners Ross Drinnan and Jenny Campbell, and Senior Associate Georgia Steele comment on the latest development in the regulation of litigation funding.

24 January 2013

As part of its ongoing reform of consumer credit protection, the Federal Government has released for consultation draft amendments to national consumer credit legislation. Partner John Gallimore and Lawyer Andrew Shetliffe report on the changes that, if implemented, will have significant consequences for providers of credit to investors and small business as well as other participants in the credit industry.

28 November 2012

On 16 November 2012, the US Treasury issued a final determination with respect to FX swaps and FX forwards under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act. The Final Determination will become effective as soon as it is published in the Federal Register.

18 October 2012

The expert panel reviewing the merits review regime for electricity and gas regulatory decisions has recommended major changes that will, if implemented, have significant implications for regulated businesses. Partner Paul Kenny and Lawyer Ben Strate report.

15 October 2012

The Appeal Court of the Supreme Court of Victoria has handed down a decision with implications for the unilateral amendment of scheme constitutions by responsible entities. Partners Penny Nikoloudis and Marc Kemp of Allens' investment funds team spoke to BRR Media about the decision, as well as a recent ASIC consultation paper on the constitutions of managed investment schemes.

26 July 2012

ASIC has proposed changes to the financial requirements for companies trading in the electricity markets. Partner Grant Anderson spoke to BRR Media about the implications for companies if the changes were introduced

17 July 2012

The Future of Financial Advice reforms are finally upon us and their impact beyond the personal advice sector may well be more significant than anticipated. Partner Marc Kemp and Senior Associates Frances Dunn, Larissa Macpherson and Simon Lewis discuss some aspects of the reform package that trustees of superannuation funds and responsible entities of retail managed investment schemes may need to consider.

10 May 2012

To help carbon market participants transition to the Australian financial services licensing regime, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has established an early registration system, and has also released updated information on adviser training and financial requirements for those providing financial services in relation to carbon units and other kinds of regulated emissions units. Partner Grant Anderson and Senior Associate Justine Woodford report on these developments

07 May 2012

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has issued a warning to all financial services licensees, after a surveillance operation identified a number of insurance brokers and financial planners who were unlawfully using certain terms. Partner Dean Carrigan, Senior Associate Rhiannon Eagles and Lawyers Tanvir Ahmed and Stephen Lloyd report.

12 April 2012

Recent amendments to the Corporations Regulations and guidance from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission establish the financial services licensing regime that will apply to carbon permits and derivatives over them from the commencement of the carbon pricing scheme. Partner Grant Anderson and Senior Associates Penelope Barclay and Simon Lewis report

16 March 2012

As anticipated, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has released a further consultation paper in response to submissions on the new disclosure rules for retail hedge funds and funds of hedge funds, and has released a draft regulatory guide. Partner Susan Burns, Senior Associate Marc Kemp and Lawyer Dora Chan look at the proposed benchmarks and disclosure requirements, and the difficulties that some of them may pose

02 March 2012

In an effort to combat tax evasion by United States taxpayers, new provisions have been incorporated into the US Internal Revenue Service Code that will require foreign financial institutions, and some non-financial foreign entities, to report information on their US investors or their substantial US owners to the US Internal Revenue Service, or face 30 per cent withholding tax on most US sourced income. Consultant Derek Heath and Senior Associate Amy Hoban report

02 March 2012

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has released the results of its review of remuneration reports for the last financial year. Partner Vijay Cugati and Senior Associate Kate Towey outline ASIC's views and discuss the key issues that companies that have received a first strike need to consider in anticipation of the 2012 annual general meeting

27 February 2012

ASIC has released guidance to assist promoters of financial products and services, as well as publishers of advertising for such promotions, in complying with their legal obligations to avoid making false or misleading statements or engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct. Partner Dean Carrigan, Senior Associate Simon Lewis and Lawyer Andrew Murn report

02 February 2012

In response to some highly publicised retail investor losses, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has introduced new disclosure benchmarks and principles applying to listed and unlisted infrastructure entities. Partner Susan Burns and Senior Associate Marc Kemp examine the changes

05 September 2011

Promoters of financial products and services will be required to produce accurate and balanced advertisements for their products under new guidelines proposed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Publishers will be required to refuse to run advertisements that do not meet these requirements. Partner Julian Donnan and Lawyer Mike Forster explain

29 June 2011

This week's Federal Court decision in relation to ASIC's case against Centro's directors demonstrates how demanding a director's duties in approving financial statements are. In order to meet those demands, Boards may seek to change the ways in which financial information is presented to them and how they review it. Partners Matthew McLennan, John Morgan and Jeremy Low and Senior Associate Simon Lewis report

06 May 2011

The Australian Government has granted Chi-X Australia Pty Ltd a licence for the operation of a financial market for the trading of securities and certain financial products, in competition with the Australian Securities Exchange. Exchange market competition is aimed at promoting Australia as a financial services hub within the Asia region. Partner Robert Pick, Senior Associate Marc Kemp and Lawyer Scott Day discuss the introduction of Chi-X as an alternative market operator, the new Market Integrity Rules and the transition towards commencement of the Chi-X market

19 April 2011

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission has released an additional consultation paper and a draft regulatory guide on disclosure obligations of infrastructure entities to retail investors, and is now seeking further submissions. Partners Andrew Mansour and Campbell Davidson and Lawyer Michael Tollman report

24 March 2011

The Federal Government today released its exposure draft legislation relating to the issue by authorised deposit-taking institutions of covered bonds. Partners Matthew Allchurch and David Clifford outline the proposed legislative regime and comment on its implications

03 March 2011

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has released a consultation paper that outlines proposals to require detailed additional disclosures to be made by Australian retail hedge fund (and fund of hedge fund) product issuers. In this Focus, Partner Susan Burns and Senior Associates Marc Kemp and Geoff Sanders look at the scope of the proposals and the impact they may have on an industry already facing increased world-wide regulatory scrutiny in the wake of the global financial crisis

04 February 2011

In 2010, there were a number of changes to the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) as the Australian Consumer Law reforms were progressively implemented. With the final tranche coming into force on 1 January 2011, Partner Wendy Peter and Lawyer Rosannah Healy provide a summary of the key changes

22 September 2010

Issuers and sellers of financial products should be aware of changes to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission's regulatory guide on product disclosure obligations. Partner Susan Burns and Senior Associates Marc Kemp and Janna Vynokur take a look at Regulatory Guide 168, which was revised following a review of a number of product disclosure statements

03 September 2010

The role of supervising financial markets has been transferred from ASX Limited to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and, as a result, ASX Limited has undertaken a re-branding of the operating rules and various entities associated with it. Partner Warwick Painter, Lawyer Jonathan Lee and Law Graduate Rola Lin report

01 September 2010

This morning, the High Court unanimously rejected the appeal from the decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal and thus quashed the first instance decision in Octaviar which had thrown long-accepted practices into doubt. On a first reading, affected parties can now relax. Partners Diccon Loxton and Andrew Boxall and Lawyer Michael Wells report

31 August 2010

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission hopes that excessive jargon and unnecessary information that hampers investors making informed investment decisions will be limited under new corporations regulations on certain product disclosure statements. Partner Anna Lenahan and Senior Associate Marc Kemp look at the changes that mean some superannuation products and margin loans, as well as interests in simple managed investment schemes, may only be issued under a product disclosure statement limited to a certain number of pages

30 August 2010

The far-reaching personal property securities reform is due to come into force in May 2011 and companies with significant intellectual property assets will be affected by the sweeping changes the new legislation will bring to Australia's commercial law. Partners Diccon Loxton and Tim Golder, Special Counsel Rebecca Sadleir and Senior Associate Robyn Chatwood report on how the changes will affect IP owners

21 July 2010

Recently, Allens Arthur Robinson obtained for a client an ASIC exemption from the need to hold an Australian financial services licence for management rights schemes at an apartment complex. Partner Tony Davies and Senior Associate Bill Burton report on the exemption, which is thought to be the first of its kind

16 June 2010

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority recently released a discussion paper on updating capital standards for general insurers and life insurers. This followed another on proposals to extend the current prudential supervision framework to Level 3 conglomerate groups to protect individual entities from contagion risks associated with conglomerate group membership. These reflect two of the items on APRA's substantial policy agenda for the next few years. Partner Dean Carrigan, Senior Associate Claire Machin and Lawyer Andrew Lazzaro report

10 June 2010

The Court of Appeal of Victoria has upheld a superannuation fund trustee's decision rejecting a member's claim for total and permanent invalidity benefit, and considered the principles the courts apply when reviewing a trustee's decision. Partner Michael Quinlan and Lawyer Catherine Zahra report.

14 May 2010

The State Council of the People's Republic of China has released Opinions on Further Improving the Utilization of Foreign Investment (No 9, 2010) which will have a significant impact on foreign investors. Partner Stuart Mengler and Senior Associate Frank Fan consider this release and its implications

13 May 2010

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has announced a range of regulatory reforms designed to re-invigorate the retail corporate bond market in Australia and to increase the ease and efficiency with which ASX-listed issuers are able to issue corporate bonds to retail investors. Partners Robert Pick and Tom Story outline the changes and consider their likely impact

05 May 2010

In response to a recent Federal Court decision that funded class actions were managed investment schemes as defined in the Corporations Act 2001, the Minister for Corporate Law, Chris Bowen MP, announced yesterday that the Federal Government is drafting regulations to clarify that funded class actions and similar arrangements are not managed investment schemes. Partner Alex Cuthbertson and Senior Associate Kylie Virtue report

30 April 2010

The Federal Government has released its response to the Productivity Commission's inquiry into executive remuneration in Australia. Partner Paul Quinn reports

30 March 2010

The Hong Kong Financial Services and Treasury Bureau last year launched a public consultation on the review of the Trustee Ordinance. Partner Matthew Barnard and Lawyer Angeline Wong examine the implications of the consultation's conclusions for the review's proposals, and report on the changes to be made to the Trustee Ordinance.

25 March 2010

Significant amendments to a proposed European Union Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers will have a major impact on Australian- and Asian-based funds and fund managers. Partner Robert Clarke, Senior Associate Marc Kemp and Lawyer Elizabeth Lee report

23 March 2010

On 18 March 2010 we reported that the Federal Government had introduced the Insurance Contracts Amendment Bill 2010 to Parliament. In addition to enhanced consumer protection, (which we discussed in our recent Client Update) the legislation sets out a number of significant changes to the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) that are intended to correct perceived deficiencies and ambiguities in the Act. Partner Dean Carrigan, Senior Associate Abby Gill and Lawyer Jaime McKenzie report on the key reforms in the Bill

23 March 2010

The Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Bill 2009 was passed by both Houses of Parliament last week. The Bill, which is the first phase of the Australian Consumer Law, introduces an unfair contracts regime and additional enforcement remedies. The regime will commence on 1 July 2010 if it receives royal assent by that date; otherwise it will commence on a date to be fixed by proclamation or six months from royal assent. Partner Jacqueline Downes and Senior Associate Caterina Cavallaro report

18 March 2010

The Federal Government has released an options paper inviting comments to assist it in addressing the Senate Economics and Legislation Committee's recommendation on the Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Bill concerning existing laws' ability to protect consumers from unfair terms in insurance contracts. The Insurance Contracts Amendment Bill 2010, which introduces significant amendments intended to enhance consumer protection, has also been introduced into Parliament. Partner Dean Carrigan and Senior Associate Abby Gill report.

18 March 2010

The circumstances in which a responsible entity may amend a scheme constitution without member approval have been considered further in a recent decision of the Victorian Supreme Court. Partner Susan Burns and Senior Associate Penny Nikoloudis report on this decision

16 March 2010

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has expanded custodian entities' ability to apply for shares under a share purchase plan on behalf of their beneficiaries, ensuring that all shareholders who hold through a custodial structure are treated equally. Partner Robert Pick and Senior Associate Charlie Harrison report

05 March 2010

The Federal Government has released the report of the expert panel appointed to examine proposals for regulation of the unconscionable conduct provisions in the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), and agreed to clarify the provisions, and consider amending the Franchising Code of Conduct to require greater disclosure about franchise agreements and their risks. Partners Carolyn Oddie and Tim Golder and Senior Associates Robyn Chatwood and Alexander Gelis report

02 March 2010

On Friday, 26 February, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission released a Consultation Paper outlining its proposed Market Integrity Rules, as part of the transfer of market supervisory functions from market operators to ASIC. Partner Richard Spurio and Lawyer Jaime McKenzie report on what ASIC's proposed regime will mean for the future supervision and regulation of Australian financial markets

26 February 2010

In City of Swan v Lehman Brothers Australia Ltd, the Full Court of the Federal Court unanimously held that section 444D of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Corporations Act) does not authorise a deed of company arrangement that releases or compromises creditors' claims against third parties

12 February 2010

The Takeovers Panel has released the final revised versions of its guidance notes on lock-up devices, frustrating action, funding arrangements and rights issues. While most of the changes involve simplification and updating, there are more substantive changes to the Panel's guidance on certain issues. Partner Cameron Price and Senior Associate Emin Altiparmak identify those changes

04 February 2010

The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth) has been amended so that transactions that result in foreign investors gaining, whether now or in the future, influence or control over an Australian company are now subject to Australia's foreign investment rules. In addition, there have been several other developments in foreign investment regulation, as Partners Alex Ding and Phillip Cornwell and Lawyer Tim Cardiff report

03 February 2010

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has published a prudential practice guide, Management of security risk in information and information technology, to assist APRA-regulated institutions manage security risk for their information and information technology. Partner Michael Pattison and Lawyer Oliver Evans report

25 January 2010

Draft legislation has been released for public consultation that, if passed, will substantially enhance the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's power in respect of regulated entities, with the intention of strengthening the authority's ability to manage a financial sector crisis. Partner Dean Carrigan and Senior Associate Amanda Taylor report.

20 January 2010

The Federal Government's package of reforms to Australia's corporate insolvency laws, announced yesterday, proposes the adoption of additional mechanisms to encourage the reorganisation of companies in financial distress outside of external administration. The paper invites interested parties to make written submissions to the Treasury, which must be lodged by 2 March 2010. Partner Michael Quinlan and Lawyer Catherine Zahra report