Work ahead to transition to AFCA
The Fold Legal has warned that the transition from the Financial Ombudsman’s Service (FOS) to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) will involve “much work” for Australian Financial Services Licensees (AFSLs), cautioning that while licensees must have already joined AFCA the work required to transition across shouldn’t be underestimated.
Associate at the Fold Legal, Chris Deeble, advised that AFSLs and superannuation trustees would need to ensure that they had updated any documents or websites that referred to their previous external dispute bodies.
These could include disclosure documents, National Credit Code forms and notices, complaints information, and internal dispute resolution and final response letters, with timeframes for making any necessary changes varying depending on the document type.
AFSLs and trustees would also need to notify the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) by 30 November, this year, with the deadline for becoming a member already passing on 21 September. The regulator would be receiving notifications from 1 November.
Recommended for you
Government has introduced a bill to Parliament to legislate the first stream of the QAR reforms.
ASIC now has a 1:1 ratio when it comes to court success in the enforcement of crypto activities and more action is expected as Treasury seeks to introduce a regulatory framework.
A leading governance body has hit out at “specialist interest groups proposing ad hoc law reform” when it comes to reforms of financial services legislation and believes an independent body is needed.
The release of ALRC’s final report into financial services legislation has highlighted financial advice as a “significant” focus as it seeks to reduce costs and help advisers understand their obligations, alongside the Quality of Advice Review.
