About Chris Mee

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

Entries by Chris Mee

ASIC releases updated information about the distribution of superannuation products

On Friday 15 October 2021, ASIC released an updated information for employers and trustees about changes affecting the distribution of superannuation products as a result of recent law reforms (refer Background). Employers have an obligation to ensure that superannuation guarantee contributions are paid on time to their employees’ superannuation fund of choice. ASIC’s Information Sheet 89, Communicating […]

ASIC publishes guidance on hawking reforms

ASIC has published updated regulatory guidance on the prohibition of hawking financial products. ASIC’s updated regulatory guide (RG 38) reflects the reforms to the anti-hawking regime under the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response) Act 2020, which commence on 5 October 2021. These reforms flow from recommendations of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the […]

Licensing and professional registration activities: 2021 update

On Wednesday 15 September 2021, ASIC released the following statement: ASIC’s Licensing and professional registration activities: 2021 update (Report 700) outlines key issues, new and proposed changes to our licensing processes, and other work we have undertaken that affects licensees. Between July 2020 and June 2021, ASIC received 1,883 Australian financial services licence (AFSL) and Australian […]

Corporate Collective Investment Vehicles – Regulatory and Tax Frameworks

The Government has released for public consultation legislation that implements the tax and regulatory components of the CCIV (corporate collective investment vehicle) regime and related explanatory materials. A CCIV is an investment vehicle with a corporate structure similar to comparable vehicles overseas. A single CCIV can offer multiple products and investment strategies within the same vehicle. […]

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 […]