Welcome to the latest issue of the KHQ Super Alert. This week, two Bills were introduced to Parliament relating to previously announced superannuation-related changes. The Government also released its much-anticipated response to the Quality of Advice Review.
Parliament – Bill to implement minor ALRC recommendations
On 14 June 2023, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Law Improvement Package No. 1) Bill 2023 was introduced to the House of Representatives. According to the Explanatory Memorandum:
- Schedules 1 to 3 to the Bill propose to ‘implement recommendations identified by the ALRC in Interim Reports A and B from the ALRC Review to simplify and improve the navigability of the law’. These measures were previously released for consultation (see our Super Alert of 16 December 2022) and are set to commence after the Treasury Laws Amendment (Modernising Business Communications and Other Measures) Bill 2023 that is currently before the Senate is passed and commences (see our Super Alert from 25 November 2022);
- Schedule 5 to the Bill proposes to amend ‘the Corporations Act…to transfer longstanding and accepted matters currently contained in ASIC legislative instruments into the primary law’. This measure was also previously released for consultation (see our Super Alert of 17 February 2023); and
- Schedule 6 to this Bill proposes to make ‘a number of minor and technical amendments to Treasury portfolio legislation’. This includes the SIS Act and Corporations Act.
Schedule 4 relates to insurance matters not related to superannuation.
Click here for details.
Parliament – Bill to recognise the experience of financial advisers
On 14 June 2023, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 3) Bill 2023 was introduced to the House of Representatives. This Bill includes two amendments relevant to superannuation. First, it includes proposed amendments to the Corporations Act designed to ‘better recognise the experience of existing financial advisers as equivalent to tertiary study’ and address ‘technical limitations in the current framework’ (see our Super Alert from 21 April 2023). Second, it includes proposed amendments to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 and the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 ‘to make technical changes to the [First Home Super Saver] Scheme to improve the scheme’s flexibility’.
Click here for details.
Treasury – Response to Quality of Advice Review
On 13 June 2023, the Government released its response to the Quality of Advice Review’s final report (see our Super Alert from 10 February 2023). The Delivering Better Financial Outcomes response proposes to accept nine recommendations, with a further five recommendations being accepted in principle.
According to the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, the Hon Stephen Jones MP, the reforms will be implemented in three streams of work:
- ‘Stream one – removing onerous red tape that adds to the cost of advice with no benefit to consumers’;
- ‘Stream two – expanding access to retirement income advice’; and
- ‘Stream three – exploring new channels for advice’.
The Government will engage in industry consultation at various stages of the implementation.
Click here and here for details.
ASIC – Companies invited to participate in ASIC cyber survey
On 13 June 2023, ASIC issued a media release inviting all ASIC-regulated entities to ‘take part in a survey to measure cyber resilience in Australia’s corporate and financial markets’. Named the ‘ASIC cyber pulse survey’, it ‘will measure entities’ current cyber security and controls, governance arrangements, and incident preparedness’. According to ASIC, ‘[t]he Australian Cyber Security Centre estimated cybercrime cost Australia $42 billion in 2021’.
Participation in the survey is voluntary and responses will be anonymised.
Click here for details.
APRA – Notes from CEO roundtable on cyber resilience
On 9 June 2023, APRA released notes from the superannuation CEO roundtable jointly held by APRA and ASIC on 29 May 2023. The discussion focused on cyber resilience with APRA and ASIC providing ‘an overview of Government and regulatory initiatives of relevance, with a focus on cyber threats’ and presenting ‘[i]nsights from lessons learnt from recent cyber-attacks in Australia’.
APRA and ASIC note that they ‘will continue to engage with each other, the industry and other regulators, about cybersecurity best practices’.
Click here for details.
APRA – Notes from superannuation data transformation strategic forum
On 5 June 2023, APRA released the notes from the superannuation data transformation (SDT) strategic forum that was held on 16 May 2023. Among other things, ‘APRA provided an update on recent activities under the SDT project’ and ‘an update on APRA Connect’.
Click here for details.
This alert was written by Kiara Leslie (Lawyer), Sanela Osmanovic (Senior Associate), and Natalie Cambrell (Director).
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