Ensuring strong and effective financial system regulators
It is critical that our regulators have the resources and powers they need to strengthen and intensify their approach to enforcement and supervision, and take on expanded responsibilities to address and deter misconduct in our financial sector. Co–operation between ASIC and APRA will be required, including in improving how they share information, and the regulators have already begun the necessary work.
A key measure is to improve the regulation of the superannuation sector by expanding ASIC’s role to make it the primary conduct regulator for superannuation.
To ensure that our regulators can identify and take appropriate action in relation to misconduct, the Government is reforming breach reporting arrangements as recommended by the ASIC Enforcement Review. These changes will be done together with the Royal Commission recommendations to require financial services and credit licensees to increase information-sharing and reporting obligations and take action to detect misconduct and, where appropriate, remediate customers for misconduct by financial advisers and mortgage brokers. The Government will also implement the other recommendations of the Enforcement Review relating to banning, licensing, search warrants, access to telecommunications intercepts and providing ASIC with a directions power.
The Government will establish a financial regulator oversight authority to ensure that ASIC’s and APRA’s effectiveness in delivering on their mandates is subject to consistent and ongoing independent assessment. The authority will undertake an assessment in three years’ time of the effectiveness of the changes made by the regulators following the Royal Commission.
The Government will also provide ASIC and APRA with updated Statements of Expectations, reflecting the Royal Commission’s findings and recommendations and the Government’s response.