Greg Medcraft

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has expanded the circumstances under which the operators of frozen mortgage funds can make payments to fund members suffering hardship.

The regulator announced this week that the cap on hardship withdrawals for each member had been raised from $20,000 to $100,000 a year, with investors able to make up to four hardship withdrawals a year instead of just one within the new $100,000 cap.

As well, the regulator announced an extension of the definition of hardship to cover beneficiaries of deceased estates and those unemployed for at least three months and who do not have other means of support.

Commenting on the changes, ASIC commissioner Greg Medcraft said the relief had been extended to pick up special situations where the industry considered that further discretion for relief was needed.