Super Alert – 6 May 2022

Welcome to the latest issue of the KHQ Super Alert. Over the past fortnight, the Federal Court handed down a judgement in relation to the section 912A ‘efficiently, honestly and fairly’ duty, APRA published five additional FAQs on its data transformation project and AUSTRAC released new guidance on criminal abuse of digital currencies and ransomware payments.  

ASIC – Federal Court determination in relation to cybersecurity duties

On 5 May 2022, ASIC issued a media release advising that ‘in an Australian first’, the Federal Court had determined in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v RI Advice Group Pty Ltd [2022] FCA 496 that an AFS licensee ‘breached its license obligations to act efficiently and fairly when it failed to have adequate risk management systems to manage its cybersecurity risks’. An order was made for the AFS licensee to pay ASIC’s legal costs and take steps to address the shortcomings in its cybersecurity program.

As referred to in our Super Alert of 21 August 2020, the proceedings were commenced by ASIC because it alleged that the AFS licensee ‘failed to have implemented…adequate policies, systems and resources which were reasonably appropriate to manage risk in respect of cybersecurity and cyber resilience’.

Click here and here details.

APRA – Additional FAQs on the data transformation project

On 5 May 2022, APRA published the following five additional frequently asked questions to provide further guidance to trustees on matters relevant to the reporting standards for Phase 1 of the APRA’s Superannuation Data Transformation project:

  1. How should an RSE licensee report historical insurance data under SRF 251.2 – insurance payments?
  2. When should RSE licensees report tax rebates in SRF 251.3 table 2 column 11 ‘Insurance Premium Members Tax Rebate Amount’ (tax rebates from insurance premiums)?
  3. How should an RSE licensee classify an expense when considering APRA’s look-through requirements?
  4. What does APRA expect RSE licensees to report for the strategic sector related files under SRF 550.0 table 2?
  5. How should RSE licensees report SRF 70.51 table 1 column 8 ‘Investment Horizon Years Number’ where the investment time horizon in the relevant return objective is not specified?

Click here for details.

AUSTRAC – New guidance released

On 21 April 2022, AUSTRAC released new guidance on the following two topics:

  • Preventing the criminal abuse of digital currencies; and
  • Detecting and stopping digital currencies.

Click here and here for details.

KHQ Lawyers - Sanela Osmanovic

Sanela Osmanovic Senior Associate

Sanela is a Senior Associate in our Superannuation & Financial Services team, and has a broad range of experience working with a range of superannuation fund trustees... Read More

KHQ Lawyers - Natalie Cambrell

Natalie Cambrell Director

Natalie leads our Superannuation & Financial Services team. With more than 25 years’ experience, she has an enviable reputation for her in-depth knowledge in these highly regulated and complex... Read More

KHQ Lawyers - Charles Fisher

Charles Fisher Principal Solicitor

Since completing his Bachelor of Laws and Legal Practice and Bachelor of Arts in 2006, Charles has spent the entirety of his legal career staring at the Food Standards Code (among many other pieces... Read More