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 ...

Key cyber risks faced by ASICs regulated population as well as the legal and compliance obligations to manage those risks are highlighted in a new ASIC report ASIC also identifies steps entities can take to address the risks The report marks a growing focus on cyber security issues by ASIC which is ...

The Federal Government has announced that it will press ahead with changes to the future of financial advice provisions, initially by regulation and then by legislation ...

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 ...

Perhaps the most important unanswered question in Australian class action law is how causation may be established in the context of a shareholder class action In the United States this issue has been addressed by the fraud on the market theory This week the US Supreme Court rejected a challenge to ...

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 of Australia has decided that a third party claimant can join an insolvent or potentially insolvent defendants insurer to proceedings to seek a declaration that the insurer is liable to indemnify the defendant Partner Andrew Maher and Lawyer Shelley Drenth discuss the decision and its ...

The Board of Taxations report on tax arrangements applying to collective investment vehicles considers that offshore investors are dissuaded from investing in Australian funds because they do not understand unit trusts and that access to a broader range of collective investment vehicles would help ...

The FSI report recommended that the Government facilitate rationalisation of legacy products in the life insurance and managed investment scheme industries The need for ways to close legacy products has been kicking around for at least a decade and in 2007 Treasury released a very thorough options ...