Finance in Focus Portal
New Statement of Expectations for the Payment Times Reporting Regulator
Minister for Small Business Julie Collins has announced the release of a new Statement of Expectations for the Payment Times Reporting Regulator, which sets expectations for the Regulator to foster a culture of prompt payment times by increasing the visibility and accessibility of payment times data.
AUSTRAC: FATF updates on global ML/TF risk – February 2025
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has announced the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published two recent updates relating to international money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing (ML/TF/PF) risk.
Inquiry into Infrastructure for electric and alternative energy source vehicles in NSW
The NSW Legislative Assembly Committee on Transport and Infrastructure has commenced an inquiry which will look at the existing and future infrastructure needed to support electric and alternative energy source vehicles across NSW.
CreditorWatch monthly Business Risk Index
CreditorWatch has published its latest monthly Business Risk Index (BRI) for February, with data on invoice payment defaults, a key measure of business stress, showing a 47 per cent increase for the 12 months to February 2025 as higher costs of inputs and softer demand over much of last year meant more businesses struggled to pay their trading partners.
OECD Economic Outlook, Interim Report March 2025
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has published its Economic Outlook, Interim Report March 2025 which finds the global economy remained resilient in 2024, expanding at an annualised pace of 3.2 per cent.
Developing an Innovative Australian Digital Asset Industry
Treasury has released a statement announcing the Government’s intention to work with ASIC and industry in developing legislative reforms which will extend existing financial services laws to key digital asset
Deloitte: The Current – Issue 06
AFIA Associate Member, Deloitte has published its latest issue of The Current, a platform for news and expert views on cybersecurity, with this particular issue encompassing a joint survey with SailPoint which reveals the latest identity security insights from over 400 executives.
Allens: Class Action Risk 2025
AFIA Associate Member Allens has published its latest Class Action Risk 2025 which provides an update on the current indicators and drivers of class action risk, with a particular focus on how that risk was spread across a wide range of sectors in 2024.
Gadens: Legal insight | Introduction of the Scams Prevention Framework
AFIA Associate Member, Gadens has published an online article which provides a helpful introduction to the Scams Prevention Framework, setting out the principles of the Framework, the regulatory structure that underlies the Framework, and what it means for regulated entities captured by the Framework.
Government finalises Consumer Data Right rules for non-bank lenders (Copy)
Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones has announced the final Rules for the Consumer Data Right (CDR) extension to the non-bank lending sector, commencing from mid‑2026. The sector was formally designated in 2022.
FCA: Statement on motor finance review next steps
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has announced that pending the Supreme Court hearing an appeal on 1 to 3 April against the Court of Appeal’s judgment regarding firms failing to comply with requirements relating to motor finance discretionary commission arrangements, it will confirm within 6 weeks of the Supreme Court's decision if it will propose a redress scheme and if so, how it will take it forward.
Quarterly Statement by Council of Financial Regulators
The Council of Financial Regulators has published its latest quarterly statement, which discussed the highly uncertain international environment, with geopolitical tensions and policy uncertainty magnified, and the intensity of cyber risks increased.
OAIC: Access seekers and credit reporting information
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has published a blog post elaborating on its approach to the Access Seeker provisions under section 6L of the Privacy Act 1988.
Extension of unfair trading practice protections to small businesses
Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones has announced Treasury will consult this year on the design of protections for businesses, including on whether a principles-based prohibition should apply and whether specific unfair trading practices should be targeted to protect small businesses.
ASIC warns payday lenders may be breaching consumer protection laws
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has released Report 805 Falling short: Compliance with the small amount credit contract obligations (REP 805) which sets out ASIC’s observations from its recent review into lenders, following changes to laws governing small amount credit contracts in 2022 and 2023 under the Financial Service Reform Act 2022 (FSR Act).
New Franchising Code of Conduct: Table of key changes
Treasury has published a table which explains changes to the Franchising Code of Conduct that start from 1 April 2025. This follows the Code being recently remade.
Change to conditions of AFCA’s authorisation as ombudsman service
Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones has announced a new ministerial direction which will enable the Australian Financial Complaints Authority to investigate culpability of the receiving bank on behalf of a scam victim.
RBA Risk Assessment: Proposed Decommissioning of the Bulk Electronic Clearing System
The Reserve Bank of Australia has released its risk assessment into the payments industry’s proposed decommissioning of the Bulk Electronic Clearing System.
Westpac–Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index
Westpac has released its latest Westpac–Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index which has reported a 4 per cent rise in March, rising to 95.9 from 92.2 in February.
NASC: Targeting Scams Report
The National Anti-Scam Centre’s latest Targeting Scams Report– which combines data from Scamwatch, ReportCyber, the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange, IDCARE and Australian Securities and Investments Commission – has found scam losses reported to key organisations fell by 25.9 per cent to $2b in 2024.