Issue 865, 23 August 2022
In this issue:
WA de facto superannuation splitting: Bill passed
The Western Australian (WA) Parliament has passed a Bill that is relevant to efforts to allow separating WA de facto couples to access the family law superannuation splitting regime.
In 2020 and 2021, amendments were made to Commonwealth legislation and regulations giving effect to a referral of power from WA to the Commonwealth in respect of superannuation matters in family law proceedings for separating de facto couples (see ASFA Action issues 838 and 786). The commencement date for the Commonwealth Family Law Amendment (Western Australia De Facto Superannuation Splitting and Bankruptcy) Act 2020 (“the Commonwealth Act”) has not yet been proclaimed, and therefore the related Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Western Australia De Facto Superannuation Splitting) Regulations 2021 have not come into effect.
The proclamation of the Commonwealth Act was delayed, awaiting the introduction and passage of WA legislation making amendments necessary to reflect the regime created for splitting of superannuation interests by WA de facto couples by the Commonwealth Act. The WA Government introduced the necessary amendments via the Family Court Amendment Bill 2022 which also contains some unrelated amendments in relation to bankruptcy (see ASFA Action issue 850).
The Bill has now been passed by both houses of the WA Parliament and is awaiting Royal Assent. Once Royal Assent has been given, the provisions of the WA Bill that relate to superannuation will commence on a date to be proclaimed. This will be aligned, as closely as possible, with the proclamation of the Commonwealth Act and the commencement of the related Commonwealth regulations.
ASIC corporate plan 2022-26
ASIC has released its updated corporate plan, outlining its strategic priorities for the next four years and its plan of action for the year ahead.
ASIC’s four external strategic priorities are:
- Retirement decision making: protect consumers, especially as they plan and make decisions for retirement, with a focus on superannuation products, managed investments and financial advice
- Product design and distribution: reduce the risk of harm to consumers of financial and credit products, caused by poor product design, distribution and marketing, especially by driving compliance with new requirements
- Sustainable finance: support market integrity through proactive supervision and enforcement of governance, transparency and disclosure standards in relation to sustainable finance
- Technology risks: focus on the impacts of technology in financial markets and services, drive good cyber-risk and operational resilience practices, and act to address digitally enabled misconduct, including scams.
These priorities will be supported by core strategic projects focused on sustainable finance practices, crypto-assets, scams, cyber and operational resilience, breach reporting, design and distribution obligations and (subject to the passage of legislation) the Financial Accountability Regime.
ASFA REGULATORY WATCHLIST
ASFA’s Regulatory Watchlist (ARW) tracks developments in Legislation, inquiries, consultations
and other regulatory announcements relevant to superannuation.
