Issue 662, 6 March 2018
In this issue:
- ASIC consultation: oversight of Australian Financial Complaints Authority
- APRA consultation: replacement of D2A
- Approved audit report form updated
ASIC consultation: oversight of Australian Financial Complaints Authority
ASIC has released a consultation package in relation to its oversight of the new external dispute resolution (EDR) scheme for the financial services industry, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
As noted in ASFA Action issue 660, the bill to establish AFCA was passed by Parliament on 14 February, and the Minister for Financial Services, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer, has announced that AFCA will begin to hear complaints no later than 1 November 2018. The Superannuation Complaints Tribunal will continue to operate for a period to clear its existing caseload. Last week the Minister announced that, following the authorisation of AFCA, the government will appoint the Hon Helen Coonan as its inaugural Chair. Ms Coonan was Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer between 2001 and 2004.
Transitional steps that need to take place before AFCA commences include formal authorisation of AFCA by the Minister, and consultation by the AFCA board on the scheme’s terms of reference.
As part of the transition work, ASIC has now released a consultation paper focused on some specific issues to support the transition to AFCA, including:
- the timing of reports to be made by AFCA to ASIC
- the role of AFCA’s independent assessor
- whether the transition period for the commencement of AFCA allows sufficient time for financial firms—including trustees of APRA-regulated superannuation funds—to comply with their EDR disclosure obligations.
ASIC has also released a draft updated version of Regulatory Guide RG 139: Oversight of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. ASIC intends to finalise its update to RG 139 to coincide with AFCA’s commencement – that is, no later than 1 November 2018.
If you have any comments you would like ASFA to consider including in our response to ASIC, please forward them to Julia Stannard by close of business, Wednesday 21 March.
ASIC will also consult on new internal dispute resolution (IDR) standards and mandatory IDR reporting requirements; however this will not occur until after the commencement of AFCA.
APRA consultation: replacement of D2A
APRA has written to all APRA reporting entities seeking industry input on its project to replace its current data collection tool, Direct to APRA (D2A), with a new data collection solution.
Further information about APRA’s proposals and consultation program can be found here.
APRA intends that the new data collection solution will align with Standard Business Reporting (SBR) reporting taxonomies. APRA has been progressively adopting SBR since 2011and intends to develop the new system fully based on SBR.
APRA is particularly seeking comments from industry on the following questions:
- What design features and functions in the new system would benefit your organisation?
- What is involved in your organisation’s processes for compiling data to submit to APRA?
- How challenging will your organisation find it to switch from D2A attribute codes to SBR?
- How can APRA work with industry to lessen the burden of moving to the new system?
APRA is offering a range of consultation options including a survey, the opportunity to make a submission either directly or through ASFA, and participation in industry round tables and technical working sessions.
APRA is seeking comments or submissions on the new data collection solution by 20 April. If you have comments you would like ASFA to consider including in our response to APRA, please forward them to Byron Addison by close of business, Monday 9 April.
Approved audit report form updated
APRA has updated its approved audit report form for superannuation funds with reporting periods ending on or after 31 December 2017.
The form has been updated to:
- reflect the completed transition from Accounting Standard AAS 25 Financial Reporting by Superannuation Plans to AASB 1056 Superannuation Entities
- remove references to redundant license conditions following introduction of SPS 114 Operational Risk Financial Requirement.
ASFA REGULATORY WATCHLIST
ASFA’s Regulatory Watchlist (ARW) tracks developments in Legislation, inquiries, consultations
and other regulatory announcements relevant to superannuation.