You may be forgiven for thinking the Productivity Commission is fixated on superannuation at the moment Its latest review centres on developing alternate models of allocating default members to products ...

Commercial trusts could not operate without limitation of liability clauses however getting a limitation of liability clause just right is very challenging ...

The new Life Insurance Code of Practice has much to recommend it The paragraphs concerning policy design are a case in point But is the Code indeed just a code or does it purport to go further ...

Class action settlement negotiations are often hindered by uncertainty about the number and identity of potential claimants A recent decision of the Supreme Court of NSW has paved the way for defendants to achieve greater certainty in respect of unregistered class members at an earlier stage than ...

As pressure from prosecution authorities increases it is becoming ever more important for international companies to be aware of the potential impact of criminal conduct committed by their executives and employees and the risks and liability the company may face as a result - not least in order to ...

A recent New South Wales Court of Appeal decision concerned a guarantee purportedly signed by e-signature without the guarantors knowledge It is an interesting case-study though the decision is really about ostensible authority and ratification Senior Finance Counsel Diccon Loxton considers its ...

Foreign financial services providers relying on passporting a foreign licence to provide their services in Australia will find their regulatory relief could be expiring in 2 years - and has become subject to a new condition - following ASICs actions to repeal the ASIC Class Orders which give effect ...

ASIC issued Regulatory Guide 256 Client review and remediation conducted by advice licensees late last week In short RG 256 says an Australian financial services licensees duty to provide financial services efficiently honestly and fairly means they have to take responsibility for the consequences ...

At first glance the recent Productivity Commission Draft Report on How to Assess the Competitiveness and Efficiency of the Superannuation System August 2016 could be dismissed as nothing more than a procedural step along the road to the ultimate goal as recommended by the FSI of developing an ...

For a long time now superannuation lawyers have tried to work out the meaning of the following words a beneficiarys right or claim to accrued benefits and the amount of those accrued benefits must not be altered adversely to the beneficiary by amendment of the governing rules or by any other act ...