About Chris Mee

Chris Mee is a leading lawyer in funds management and financial services in Australia.

Entries by Chris Mee

Update on the Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO) regime

Downloads Amendments to the Design and Distribution Obligations 175.73 KB Amendments to the Design and Distribution Obligations 177.56 KB The Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO) regime was initially scheduled to commence on 5 April 2021, after the Treasury Laws Amendment (Design and Distribution Obligations and Product Intervention Powers) Act 2019 was passed in April 2019. However, commencement of the regime […]

Financial Services Royal Commission recommends single disciplinary body for financial advisers

Date: 06 August 2021 – 20 August 2021 Consultation Type: Proposals Paper Email: SDBconsultation@treasury.gov.au Key Documents Policy Paper 460.13 KB Policy Paper 1.24 MB Attachment 1: Disciplinary Process – ASIC and the FSCP 125.64 KB Recommendation 2.10 of the Financial Services Royal Commission Final Report recommended the establishment of a single disciplinary body for financial advisers and the requirement that all financial advisers […]

ASIC consults on draft guidance for the hawking reforms

On Wednesday 21 July 2021, ASIC announced that it is consulting on proposed updates to its guidance on the prohibition on the hawking of financial products. ASIC’s updated regulatory guide reflects the reforms to the anti-hawking regime under the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response) Act 2020, which is due to commence on 5 October 2021. […]

ASIC releases reference checking and information sharing protocol for financial advisers and mortgage brokers

On 20 July 2021 ASIC made the ASIC reference checking and information sharing protocol (ASIC Protocol) that will give effect to the Financial Services Royal Commission’s recommendations to improve reference checking in the financial advice and mortgage broking industries. ASIC has also released guidance documents that will help Australian financial services (AFS) and credit licensees comply with […]

ASIC publishes Internal Dispute Resolution data dictionary and glossary ahead of pilot

On 19 July 2021, ASIC released internal dispute resolution (IDR) reporting documents, which will be tested in a pilot involving financial firms from across relevant industry subsectors in late 2021. This release represents the next step in preparedness for ASIC’s implementation of the Government’s mandatory IDR data reporting framework, which came out of the Ramsay […]

ASIC issues information sheet on activist short selling in Australia

On 1 June 2021, ASIC published Information Sheet 255 Activist short selling campaigns in Australia (INFO 255), considering the practice of ‘activist short selling’ in Australia and outlining ASIC’s expectations to promote market integrity during these campaigns. Activist short selling involves a person taking a short position in a financial product and then publicly disseminating information directly […]

Firms offering debt management services require credit licence to operate

ASIC has released an information sheet for providers of debt management services that explains their new regulatory obligations, including the requirement to be licensed. The National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Debt Management Services) Regulations 2021 (Regulations), made on 29 April 2021, prescribe certain debt management services as a ‘credit activity’ for the purposes of the National Consumer Credit […]