Government to abolish Administrative Appeals Tribunal

The Labor government will replace the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with a new administrative review body after claims it has been stuffed with Liberal staffers appointed with no merit. Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said the public standing of the tribunal has been “irreversibly damaged” due to the actions of the former government, citing the appointment of … Read more

FSC updates super fund claims handling guidance

The Financial Services Council has released an enforceable standard for handling group life insurance claims in superannuation which will replace the previously voluntary guidance. In a media release, the FSC stated the new standard sets out the minimum level of service consumers should expect to receive from their superannuation fund when making a claim on … Read more

ASIC takes civil penalty action against Firstmac for DDO breach

ASIC has commenced civil penalty action in the Federal Court against non-bank mortgage lender Firstmac for alleged breaches of the Design and Distribution Obligations. The regulator’s proceeding against Firstmac is the first DDO civil penalty action taken against a distributor of financial products, which is the first DDO court action filed earlier this month against a … Read more