The Short-Form Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), promulgated into law in December 2005, is reflected in a technical update to Policy Statement 168 released yesterday by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
It is one of a number of technical updates contained in an ASIC guidance paper entitled “The Scope of the Licensing Regime: Financial Product Advice and Dealing”.
A key component of the PS 168 update is a brief explanation of the changes made to the product disclosure framework under the Corporations Amendment Regulations Act of December 15, 2005, which included the introduction of the Short-Form PDS.
This explanation is “intended to act as an upfront warning that changes have been made to the product disclosure framework”, according to an ASIC press release.
The release also announced technical updates to PS 175, which deals with the conduct and disclosure of financial product advisers, and to PS 182, which deals with dollar disclosure.
PS 175 has been updated “mainly to accommodate the new exemptions from the obligation to provide a FSG [Financial Services Guide] or SOA [Statement of Advice]”.
This “reflects … that the mere possession by an adviser of personal information about the client does not necessarily mean that any advice given will be personal advice”.
The amendments, which ASIC describes in general as of a “minor and technical nature and do not raise new policy issues”, also include a number of class orders relating to financial services providers.
