INDEPENDENT REGULATORY COMMISSIONS – AUSTRALIA

Warning over integrity watchdog

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-Nov-18

The federal government agreed to support a Labor motion to establish a national integrity commission on 26 November, following a backdown by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The Coalition did not oppose the motion after MP Llew O’Brien signalled that he may be prepared to cross the floor. Meanwhile, Attorney-General Christian Porter has warned that as drafted, a crossbench bill to establish an anti-corruption commission could apply to federal public servants, including ABC and SBS journalists.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

APRA names panel, deadline for review

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 21 : 13-Nov-18

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has advised that deputy chairman John Lonsdale will head an advisory panel that will review its enforcement strategy. The members of the advisory panel are former judge Robert Austin, the ACCC’s Sarah Court and University of New South Wales professor Dimity Kingsford Smith. The review has been commissioned in response to criticism of APRA in the financial services royal commission’s interim report, which noted the regulator’s reluctance to prosecute banks and insurers for misconduct.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

APRA examines enforcement failures after Hayne mauling

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 26-Oct-18

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has launched an internal review of its enforcement policies, following criticism from the banking royal commission. One issue that the review will look at is the use of court-imposed sanctions; the royal commission was very critical of APRA’s unwillingness to use this strategy as a tactic against financial institutions. APRA is also working with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission on the delineation of responsibilities between the two bodies, as well as increasing its scrutiny of the remuneration and incentive policies of financial institutions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

$19b in property loans breach new rules

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 25-Oct-18

Analysis by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that mortgage lenders approved $19bn worth of loans in the year to September that do not meet their revised lending criteria. This is $9b higher than the previous year, with major lenders recording the biggest growth in such loans. Martin North of Digital Finance Analytics says it is a concern that banks are not complying with their own rules regarding the ability of customers to service their loans. APRA notes that the new rules allow lenders to take into account exceptional circumstances when assessing a home loan application.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS, SUNCORP BANK, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Big banks’ systems not ready for open banking: APRA

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 25-Sep-18

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byres has called on banks to spend more on their IT systems. He says a lack of expenditure on IT has left banks under-prepared for new open banking and credit reporting requirements, while consumer trust in banks will be eroded if their systems continue to suffer from outages. Byres also says it is hard to forecast what impact changes to technology will have on the banking sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FINTECH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Employer wins costs after baseless dismissal claim

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Original article by Adam Zuchetti
mybusiness.com.au – Page: Online : 11-Sep-18

A woman who lost an unfair dismissal case against her former employer has subsequently been directed by the Fair Work Commission to pay their costs. Joan Obuchowski lost her claim against RNTT in May, with RNTT applying two weeks later for costs to be awarded in defending the case. In agreeing with RNTT’s application in the week beginning 10 September, FWC senior deputy president Jonathan Hamberger said Obuchowski must have known her case had "no reasonable grounds for success". Business groups note it is almost unheard of for employers to be awarded costs in such cases.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, RNTT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS

NBN Co to pay telcos $25 for every missed appointment

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 13-Sep-18

NBN Co has provided a court-enforceable undertaking to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission regarding missed or late appointments by its technicians. It will pay a rebate of $25 to retail service providers (RSPs) such as Telstra, TPG Telecom and Vodafone Hutchison Australia every time an appointment is missed or a technician is late. Under the terms of the undertaking, the RSPs are expected to take "reasonable steps" to ensure their customers receive some form of benefit as a result of the improved rebates.

CORPORATES
NBN CO LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VOCUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX VOC, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD

ASIC accuses NAB of $100m super rip-off

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Original article by Ben Butler, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: Online : 7-Sep-18

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has launched legal action against National Australia Bank over the fee-for-no-service scandal. ASIC claimed in a suit filed with the Federal Court on 6 September that NAB had breached the law on 77 occasions, and that it had "ripped off" over 500,000 unwitting superannuation fund members to the tune of more than $100 million. ASIC claimed NAB’s actions had undermined confidence in the superannuation system, while NAB faces fines of up to $37.5 million.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Independent contractors a major issue for Fair Work Ombudsman

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Original article by Cara Waters
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 5-Sep-18

Sandra Parker supports comments by Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan that there are two grey areas regarding the distinction between employee and contractor that need clarification. One area that Jordan has identified is whether workers are paid to deliver a result or are paid for services provided; the other is if a worker gets 80 per cent of their income from one source, it is deemed to be income, even if they are a contractor. Parker, who was recently appointed as the new Fair Work Ombudsman, was speaking at a recent business summit. She also told the summit that she intended to continue the focus of her predecessor Natalie James on small business.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, FOODORA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Westpac hit with record fine on loans

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Age – Page: 25 : 5-Sep-18

Westpac has been hit with a fine of $35 million after having admitted to breaching consumer credit protection laws. The breaches occurred between 2011 and 2015, when Westpac used an automated system to approve 10,500 home loans. In settling its case with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, which had been due to go before the Federal Court, Westpac agreed on 4 September that the loans should have been approved by a credit offer. ASIC had launched its case against Westpac over the loans in 2017.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY