The FoFA duties that apply to personal advice given to retail clients have been operating for over four years now. ASIC has enjoyed some recent success in the courts in cases brought on the basis of those duties. ...

In this issue we look at an unsuccessful challenge to the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in the Federal Court of Australia recent changes to the arbitration rules of the Institute of Arbitrators and Mediators Australia the International Centre for Dispute Resolution and the London Court of ...

At the recent APEC conference in Bali the finance ministers of Australia New Zealand Singapore and South Korea signed a formal Statement of Intent on the establishment of the Asia Region Funds Passport which will allow fund managers based in participating countries to market and sell certain managed ...

A recent decision of the New South Wales Supreme Court serves as a timely reminder that a construction contract under security of payment legislation can include an arrangement to carry out construction work that is not legally enforceable Managing Associate Nicholas Ng Associate Matt Thomas and ...

The Queensland Government has introduced amending legislation that will result in new flexibility new obligations and higher penalties in relation to environmental regulation in Queensland Partner Bill McCredie and Senior Associate Gobind Kalsi report ...

The vast pool of capital held in Australian superannuation funds now approximately A18 trillion has long been touted as a natural solution to Australias infrastructure funding deficit With the stable long-term cash flows characteristic of infrastructure assets providing a natural fit to the ...

The Federal Court has recently ruled that there is no requirement for a public benevolent institution to provide direct relief to people in need Its interpretation of the expression public benevolent institution theoretically has the potential to expand eligibility well beyond traditionally accepted ...

The Financial System Inquirys interim report has identified the retirement phase of superannuation as a priority issue that requires change If the Federal Government decides to implement various policy options to encourage the development of more suitable products it could result in significant ...

In its submission to the Financial System Inquiry the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has proposed the addition of a statutory objective to enable ASIC to consider the impact of its decision making on competition when exercising its statutory powers and functions This paper explores ...

The Senate Economics Committees Report into ASICs performance is an interesting read It opens by calling ASIC a timid hesitant regulator too ready and willing to accept uncritically the assurances of a large institution And continues in a similar vein for almost 500 pages ASIC says it does the best ...