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ASIC alleges that for almost ten years, AustralianSuper failed to have adequate policies and procedures to identify members who held multiple AustralianSuper accounts and to merge those accounts, where merger was in the member’s best interests.
Read More AustralianSuper Sued Over Multiple Superannuation Accounts
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Access to information, goods, and services are fundamental to consumer education, protection, advocacy, and rights. The importance of access and how some people are left out is something that is crucial to discussions about metropolitan areas as compared to rural and remote areas, where access to many goods and services can be limited and potentially…
Read More Accessibility Best Practice Guide
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Original media release from CHOICE (30/08/2023). “We gave several playpens a score of zero for performance simply because they had so many failures,” says Kim Gilmour, CHOICE’s team leader for household products. In fact, eight of the 25 models in our current review failed to pass CHOICE’s key safety requirements – that’s almost a third, a…
Read More Almost a Third of Playpens Fail CHOICE Safety Test
“The test for whether a contract term is unfair has not changed. However, businesses now could potentially face substantial penalties for contravening the law. This will better protect consumers and small businesses who have limited bargaining power, expertise, and ability to negotiate or assess standard form contracts,”
Read More ACCC Urges Businesses to Remove Unfair Contract Term
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The ACCC has issued a draft determination proposing to deny authorisation for Qantas Airways Ltd and China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited and their related entities (including Jetstar) to continue coordinating operations between Australia and mainland China.
Read More Proposed Denial of Qantas and China Eastern Airline Coordination
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Since March 2023, ASIC has taken regulatory action against five issuers of retail OTC derivative products for breaches of DDO. This has resulted in 10 interim stop orders relating to retail OTC derivatives, with further DDO-related investigations of high-risk product issuers underway. ASIC recently commenced its first design and distribution proceedings in the Federal Court against a CFD issuer (23-204MR) and will continue to take appropriate regulatory action where it sees DDO contraventions and risk of consumer harm.
Read More ASIC ‘takes aim’ at Over-the-Counter Derivate Distribution and Other High Risk Products
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On the 23rd of August, Treasury announced the creation of the Competition Taskforce as part of the 2 year long Competition Policy Review. The purpose of the Review and its Taskforce is to examine the current competition laws, policies and institutions, and determine reforms in those areas to further boost productivity.
Read More Competition Taskforce Established as Treasury Stresses Importance of Competition to the Economy
Consumer Protection
Almost a year after state and territory consumer ministers agreed to open consultation on options to address the gap in Australian Consumer Law (ACL) around unfair trading practices, Treasury has released a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (CRIS) and given stakeholders 91 days to respond starting 31st August and ending 29th November 2023.
Read More Consumer Groups Advocate for Change as Consultations Open on Unfair Trading Practices
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https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2023-releases/23-235mr-as-cost-of-living-pressures-persist-asic-calls-on-lenders-to-support-customers-in-financial-hardship/
Read More ASIC Open Letter to Lenders: “Ensuring that lenders support consumers experiencing financial hardship is a priority for ASIC”
ASIC will take further enforcement action to protect Australian consumers and small businesses in an environment where scams, digitally-enabled misconduct and predatory lending practices are increasingly prevalent.
‘We are responding to key trends and emerging issues in the regulatory landscape, where there are major shifts across sustainable finance, the digital and data economy, and an ageing population.’
‘We are also closely monitoring the development and use of artificial intelligence and what this means for the businesses and markets we regulate and exploring potential uses of this and other technologies within ASIC,’ Mr Longo said.
Read More ASIC’s Corporate Plan: Focus on Protecting Vulnerable Consumers and Small Businesses in 23-24
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The Treasurer has announced the appointment of Ms Katherine O’Rourke, currently a First Assistant Secretary at Treasury, as Commissioner from 11 September 2023. Mr Alan Kirkland, who is currently the CEO of leading consumer group CHOICE, and Ms Simone Constant, who is currently the Chief Risk Officer, Institutional Bank and Markets at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, will commence their terms on 20 November 2023.
Read More Three New Commissioners Welcomed to ASIC
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Deputy Chair Karen Chester said, ‘An insurance claim doesn’t have to be handled perfectly, but it must be handled well. Our claims handling review found good practices and poor practices across all six insurers. We identified five areas where insurers can and should make immediate claims handling improvements – consumer communications, project management, identifying vulnerable consumers and complaints, resourcing of claims and complaints handling’.
Read More ASIC: Insurers Can and Should Improve Claims Handling
