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It’s back to school this week signalling that the holiday period is well and truly over. Back to the grind with the addition of rapid antigen testing this year! Over the break, we have been reflecting on the year that was in 2021 and what is to come in 2022. Without doubt, the past year was almost unprecedented in the amount of regulatory change. This year offers some much-needed reprieve with few changes announced for the year thus far. Government and Regulatory bodies are actively consulting with industry and other stakeholders to shape the next round of changes. And industry is using this time to take a breath, review and iterate what has been done in 2021. Given the confluence of change in October last year, we see a number of deliverables which were deferred to ‘day 2’ rightfully getting attention now. To help out with your planning, we’ve compiled a short list of things consider for the year ahead.

Data is in abundance these days. Companies are hungry for even the most mundane data points in a quest to glean insights to transform customer experience and product offerings. While many organisations are challenged with how to turn this data into usable insights, it’s clear that ASIC remains ready to welcome data with open arms. True to their 2017-2020 data strategy, ASIC is preparing to receive large quantities of standardised, searchable data sets from regulated entities thanks to prescriptive requirements in impending legislation (e.g. RG 271’s complaints data pilot, reportable situation form supporting RG 78). Recent notices have also shifted away from ‘Please explain’ language to targeted data requests, further feeding ASIC’s ravenous data repository. In recent years there have been numerous examples of ASIC’s data-driven approach to information gathering leading to ASIC gleaning insights that may have taken some in the industry by surprise. Reverse mortgages, add on insurance sales, breach reporting and the labelling of cash funds to name a few.

We are surrounded by talking forests. Within them, trees are involved in dramatic fights for survival as they rescue one another from danger, share vital nutrients and communicate.  If you’ve seen our website and LinkedIn page, you may have noticed our heavy use of tree imagery. Today, we’d like to explain why. 

In the aftermath of Covid-19, what are the main conduct considerations in financial services, and how do we need to evolve as compliance professionals to meet these new challenges? Listen to this webinar hosted by the International Compliance Association to hear Tanushree Dabral and other with leading industry professionals discuss the ever-changing landscape for conduct.

Hear Jon O'Keeffe of PX Partners speak to ausbiz about conduct and regulatory themes as our economies reopen and we embrace innovation. We're slowly but surely moving out of the pandemic, but the changes that came with it are permanent, particularly for industry and workplace environments.

Distributor selection and monitoring is a vital part of achieving meaningful compliance with the Design and Distribution Obligations. In this post we shine a light on what this means for firms.   We all know how we got here. And why. The 2014 Financial System Inquiry found that the current regime for financial products was inadequate for consumer protection because it relied too heavily on disclosure, general advice and financial literacy. In response, the government introduced the Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO) and Product Intervention Powers (PIP) in 2017. More than ‘a few’ banking and financial advice scandals and a Royal Commission later, DDO and PIP legislation were passed in April 2019 with PIP coming into effect immediately. The extended deadline for DDO is looming with the industry working frantically to achieve compliance by 5 October 2021. ASIC has publicly stated that it expects meaningful compliance from day one.