COMPENSATION (LAW) – AUSTRALIA

Remediation bill $10bn and counting

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 21 : 20-Nov-19

A parliamentary committee has been told that the total cost of customer remediation programs in the financial services sector has now topped $10bn. However, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s deputy chair Karen Chester said that customers have only been paid $660m in compensation to date. Meanwhile, ASIC chairman James Shipton has indicated that the corporate regulator will release updated guidance on responsible lending obligations before the end of 2019.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. JOINT STATUTORY COMMITTEE ON CORPORATIONS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Banks, super face new round of compo costs

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 21 : 7-Nov-19

Law firm Minter Ellison has warned that banks and wealth managers could face additional customer remediation costs if Westpac does not appeal against a recent judgment regarding the provision of financial advice. Minter Ellison partner Andrew Bradley says the Federal Court’s decision to overturn a judgment in favour of Westpac could also prompt more class actions in the financial services sector. The case centred on the distinction between general and personal advice.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MINTER ELLISON, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD

Miners braced for wave of cultural-loss claims

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Original article by Victoria Laurie
The Australian – Page: 2 : 4-Apr-19

Indigenous land owners in Western Australia’s Goldfields region will lodge a compensation claim following the High Court’s recent landmark ruling in the Timber Creek case. Malcolm O’Dell, the lawyer representing the Tjiwarl people, says the compensation claim for economic and cultural loss resulting from mining activity may include more than 100 mining companies. Indigenous people are also expected to pursue compensation claims for mining activity in WA’s Pilbara and Kimberley regions.

CORPORATES
HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THE CHAMBER OF MINERALS AND ENERGY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, TJIWARL CORPORATION, YAMATJI MARLPA ABORIGINAL CORPORATION

Land title ruling set to cost billions

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Original article by Amos Aikman
The Australian – Page: 5 : 14-Mar-19

The High Court has upheld a previous ruling of the Federal Court, which found that the Ngaliwurru and Nungali peoples are entitled to compensation for "cultural loss" caused by the construction of infrastructure such as roads and water pipelines on native title land. The court ruling is limited to 1.26sq km of land at Timber Creek in the Northern Territory, but lawyers says it is likely to prompt similar compensation claims by native title holders across Australia.

CORPORATES
HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, ASHURST AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, NORTHERN TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER

ANZ compo for millions of accounts

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Original article by Ben Butler, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 29-Nov-18

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott has conceded that it has taken far too long for the bank to compensate customers for losses incurred as a result of misconduct. Elliott has told the financial services royal commission that its remediation program is likely to embrace about two million accounts. However, he notes that some customers might have multiple account that qualify for compensation. Elliott also suggested that many of the governance issues at ANZ can be attributed to its business model under predecessor Mike Smith.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL

Facebook bill for 300,000 Aussies

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 3 : 11-Jul-18

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has received a formal complaint about Facebook regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The number of Australians who were affected by the data breach is estimated to exceed 300,000, and they may be entitled to compensation for breach of privacy. Nathan Landis of litigation funder IMF Bentham notes that the average compensation payout ranges from $1,000 to $10,000, which suggests that Facebook’s total liability could be between $3m and $3bn. The complaint was lodged by IMF Bentham and law firm Johnson Winter & Slattery.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA LLC, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN INFORMATION COMMISSIONER, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF, JOHNSON WINTER AND SLATTERY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PRIVACY COMMISSIONER, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Convert bank tax cuts into compo for victims: Hanson

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 2 : 23-Apr-18

Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has rejected a proposal by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson to shelve a proposed tax cut for banks and divert the revenue into a compensation fund for victims of misconduct in the financial services sector. Hanson says the fund should also be used to pay the costs of the banking royal commission and to bail out banks in the event of a financial crisis. Opposition leader Bill Shorten has also advocated a compensation fund for victims of misconduct in the banking sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

NBN compo for 60,000 homes

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari
The Australian – Page: 15 : 21-Dec-17

TPG Telecom has agreed to compensate nearly 8,000 customers whose NBN internet access speeds did not match those advertised by the telco. Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says the limitations of fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) technology means that many customers were unlikely to get the speeds that had been advertised. Telstra and Optus had previously agreed to compensate customers using FTTN, and the ACCC expects that other telcos will do so as well.

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, EXETEL PTY LTD

Historic native title ruling: Fortescue up for ‘astronomical’ sum

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Original article by Andrew Burrell
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 21-Jul-17

Fortescue Metals­ Group has advised that a native title ruling is unlikely to affect production at its Solomon iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The Federal Court has ruled that the Yindjibarndi people are entitled to exclusive native title rights over a large area of land in the state, including the site of the Solomon mine. The Yindjibarndi could potentially be entitled to compensation of around $A100m for royalties from the mine. Fortescue shares closed 3.5 per cent lower at $A5.19 in response to the judgment.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, YINDJIBARNDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, WIRLU-MURRA YINDJIBARNDI ABORIGINAL CORPORATION, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Banks charged customers $180m for no financial advice

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Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 28-Oct-16

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has released a report on the dubious practices of financial advisers aligned with the "big four" banks and AMP. ASIC found that many customers had been charged for financial advice between August 2013 and December 2015, but they did not receive any such advice. ASIC noted that most of these cases occurred prior to the implementation of the Future of Financial Advice reforms. It is estimated that about 200,000 customers will be entitled to total compensation of some $A178m.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION