Commonwealth Parliament could resume in May

The Prime Minister has announced he is looking to have a trial week of Parliament in May which would be returning to the normal business of Parliament as well as any necessary COVID-19 related measures.

Austrac customer identification relief for early release of superannuation

AUSTRAC has introduced a new AML/CTF Rule that will help to streamline the customer verification process for superannuation funds to make payments to their members made under the COVID-19 early release of superannuation initiative.

The new Rule means that where the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has approved the payment, superannuation funds will not have to carry out their customer identification procedure before making these payments to their members.

UPDATE: Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Amendment Instrument 2020 (No. 4) amends Chapter 77 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules Instrument 2007 (No.1) to extend the period to 31 December 2020.

AFCA extends complaints response time

AFCA announced on 16 April that financial firms have an extra 9 days’ time to respond to complaints due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The nine-day extension came into effect immediately and applies to all complaints, including those relating to financial difficulty.

Financial firms previously had 21 days to respond when AFCA notified them of a complaint and they will now have 30 days.

The changes are a temporary measure which AFCA anticipates will be in place for up to six months and will be reviewed and adjusted as appropriate. All internal dispute resolution refer back timeframes remain unchanged.

AFCA pauses complaints against insolvent financial firms

AFCA has announced it has put a pause on processing complaints against insolvent firms, including existing and new complaints. AFCA will accept future complaints about insolvent financial firms, but it will hold them over until there is more clarity about the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort, and the parameters of the scheme. 

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Author: David Jacobson
Principal, Bright Corporate Law
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About David Jacobson
The information contained in this article is not legal advice. It is not to be relied upon as a full statement of the law. You should seek professional advice for your specific needs and circumstances before acting or relying on any of the content.