Issue 564, 21 April 2015 

In this issue: 

 

Important deferrals to portfolio holdings, product dashboard and systemic transparency disclosure 

ASIC has advised ASFA that it will soon be amending a number of Class Orders to defer important commencement dates in relation to portfolio holdings disclosure, the product dashboard, and systemic transparency disclosure requirements, until 1 July 2016. The changes will be given effect through the publishing of two ASIC legislative instruments. 

  1. Portfolio holdings disclosure

ASIC Class Order [CO 14/443] deferred a number of obligations under sections 1017BB to 1017BE of the Corporations Act 2001, which deal with requirements for trustees of registrable superannuation entities (RSEs) to publish portfolio holding information on a ‘look- through’ basis twice annually on the entity’s website. 

Under the relief provided by [CO 14/443], the first reporting day for trustees was deferred until 31 December 2015, and certain look-through rules imposing obligations on intermediaries to provide information to trustees were deferred until 1 July 2015. 

ASIC has now indicated that the look- through provisions for portfolio holdings will be deferred to 1 July 2016, to facilitate a first reporting date of 31 December 2016. 

This will allow further time for the regulations to be made and will provide superannuation trustees with additional time to prepare for the requirements once the regulations are made. 

  1. Choice product dashboard

ASIC Class Order [CO 14/443] deferred until 1 July 2015 the obligation in section 1017BA of the Corporations Act 2001 that a trustee make a product dashboard publicly available on the fund’s website for each choice product. 

ASIC has now advised that this obligation will be deferred to 1 July 2016. 

  1. Inclusion of product dashboard with periodic statements

The Superannuation Legislation Amendment (MySuper Measures) Regulation 2013 introduced paragraph 7.9.20(1)(o) of the Corporations Regulations 2001. This provision requires that superannuation product dashboards must be included as part of a periodic statement provided to members if the trustee is required to make publicly available a product dashboard for the investment option under section 1017BA of the Corporations Act 2001. 

ASIC Class Order [CO 13/1534] provided interim relief from that requirement for reporting periods ending before 1 July 2015, where the trustee includes in the periodic statement a website address for the latest product dashboard for the investment option. 

ASIC has now indicated that it will extend this relief for a further 12 months, so that it now applies to periodic statements for reporting periods ending before 1 July 2016. 

  1. Systemic transparency requirements: amendment to Class Order 14/509

Class Order [CO 14/509] provided relief from aspects of the ‘systemic transparency’ disclosure obligations in section 29QB of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act) and regulations 2.37 and 2.38 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (SIS Regulations). Those obligations require the licensee of an RSE to make publicly available, and to keep up to date at all times, on the RSE’s website: 

  1. details of executive officers and individual trustees, including their remuneration 
  1. various information relating to the relevant superannuation fund, such as trust deeds and summaries of significant event notices given to members of the fund. 

ASIC has advised that it will extend the start date for application of certain disclosures required by subsection 29QB for standard employer-sponsored sub-plans until 1 July 2016. This will provide further time for consideration of the commercial sensitivity issues that arise in the context of these types of sub-plans. 

The amendments to the Class Orders will be made via two legislative instruments: 

The instruments are expected to be registered soon, and will then be available on the ASIC website. 

 

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