Financial Institutions + Services

Articles

The new Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth): What do “responsible persons” and their insurers need to know?

By: Yen Seah and Samantha Younane At a glance The Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth) comes into effect on 1 November 2025. The Act imposes a new statutory duty on directors and other persons responsible for the executive decisions of aged care providers. This includes those who have authority or responsibility for (or significant influence […]

By : Joshua Weiler May 1, 2025 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

Davis v Wilson: The bar for successful shareholder class actions gets higher and higher

By: Amanda Beattie and Zoe Jones At a glance Following its decisions in other shareholder class actions late 2023 and 2024, the Federal Court has handed down yet another unfavourable decision for shareholders (Davis v Wilson [2025] FCA 108). The claim alleged that Quintis’ CEO, Frank Wilson, and its auditor, Ernst & Young, engaged in […]

By : Joshua Weiler Feb 26, 2025 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

Full Federal Court backs privilege protections in voluntary disclosures to ASIC

By: Amanda Beattie and Gavin Davies. At a glance The Full Federal Court has determined that disclosure of a privileged expert report to ASIC in accordance with a voluntary disclosure agreement (VDA) did not amount to a waiver of privilege. This decision restores confidence in VDAs as a valuable tool for companies cooperating with ASIC […]

By : Joshua Weiler Feb 11, 2025 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

ASIC v Union Standard International Group Pty Ltd – the extra-territorial reach of an Australian Financial Service Licensee’s obligation to act efficiently, honestly and fairly

By: Cain Jackson and Samantha Younane ASIC v Union Standard International Group Pty Ltd (No 4) [2024] FCA 1481 At a glance The Federal Court has determined that the obligation to act efficiently, honestly and fairly extends to services provided to clients outside Australia. The decision highlights risks for AFSLs providing products like CFDs to […]

By : Joshua Weiler Jan 20, 2025 Comments Off

Thought Leadership, Video

Trend Watch: Employment law class actions – what do employers need to know?

Employment law class actions have been on the rise in the last few years, particularly around underpayment and the failure to provide entitlements. In the fourth instalment of our Trend Watch video series, Head of Class Actions Amanda Beattie and Workplace + Safety partner Laura Gavan discuss growing trends for employers, impacts of new ‘Closing […]

By : Joshua Weiler Oct 24, 2024 Comments Off

Thought Leadership, Video

Trend Watch: What’s next for shareholder class actions?

2024 has been an interesting year for the class action space, particularly with fewer cases and a more cautious approach taken by both funders and plaintiffs. In the third instalment of our Trend Watch video series, Head of Class Actions Amanda Beattie and Head of Financial Lines Andrew Moore discuss emerging trends in shareholder class […]

By : Joshua Weiler Oct 21, 2024 Comments Off

Thought Leadership, Video

Trend Watch: Reforms to Australia’s AML regime – what you need to know

The Commonwealth Attorney-General has recently introduced the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2024, aimed at amending the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 and repealing the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1998. The proposed changes signal Australia’s strengthened commitment to combatting money laundering and terrorism financing, targeting criminal activity more effectively. For more […]

By : Joshua Weiler Sep 26, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

New guidance on application of financial services law to cryptocurrency products

By: Stephen Morrissey, Ryan Loney and Jorge Nicholas At a glance In Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Web3 Ventures Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 64 (Block Earner), the Federal Court of Australia handed down one of the first decisions applying existing financial services law to cryptocurrency-based products. The Federal Court held in Block Earner that […]

By : Anja Vogel Feb 23, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

Get to know Thomas Cavanagh, new partner and financial services specialist

What made you decide to become a lawyer? Other than the usual desire to argue a point with everyone and shows like Boston Legal (aged very poorly, I know), I like the fact that the law is not actually made up of rigid principles but rather can be moulded to suit particular circumstances, and that’s […]

By : Anja Vogel Nov 3, 2023 Comments Off

Articles

Are CFDs ever a good idea for insurers (or investors)?

The short answer to both questions is no – most of the time. In the words of Beach J of the Federal Court, CFDs are “little more than gambling”. ASIC has also identified that more than 70% of retail clients who trade CFDs lose money. For insurers of financial institutions and professional advisors, CFDs create […]

By : Anja Vogel Jul 17, 2023 Comments Off

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