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Making sure foreign investors pay their fair share of tax - Morrison

FEDERAL Treasurer Scott Morrison said the Turnbull Government was  continuing to protect the integrity of Australia's corporate tax system by tightening the rules on stapled structures.

"These entities have been used by foreigners to reduce the tax paid on the income they earn from their Australian investments," Mr Morrison said.

"Today I released exposure draft legislation dealing with additional integrity rules that will apply to stapled entities that access the infrastructure concession and/or transitional arrangements. This will give effect to the policy announced on 28 June 2018."

The conditions include:

  • The extension of existing integrity rules that apply to Managed Investment Trusts (MITs) to ensure that all staples eligible for the transition rules or the infrastructure concession are required to comply with the existing non arm’s length income rule; and
  • The introduction of statutory caps on the amount of cross-staple rent that is able to access the concessional 15 per cent rate of withholding tax (available under the MIT regime) for economic infrastructure projects during the transition or concession period.

"The staples measures demonstrate the Turnbull Government’s continued action to protect the integrity of Australia’s corporate tax system and to ensure that foreign investors pay their fair share of tax," Mr Morrison said.

The exposure draft legislation and explanatory materials are available on the Treasury website.  The Treasurer said the Government encouraged all interested parties to make a submission. Submissions close on 14 August 2018. 

www.treasury.gov.au

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ASIC update on financial advice institutions' fees for no service refund programs

AMP, ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac have now paid or offered customers $222.3 million in refunds and interest for failing to provide advice to customers while charging them ongoing advice fees.

This represents a further $6.4m in payments and offers from these institutions since the last ASIC media release (17-438MR) on the fees for no service (FFNS) project, which provided compensation figures as at 31 October 2017.

In addition, ASIC is overseeing FFNS remediation programs by other Australian financial services (AFS) licensees that have identified potential FFNS failings, including Bendigo Financial Planning Ltd, Police Financial Services Ltd (trading as BankVic), State Super Financial Services Australia Limited (trading as StatePlus), and Yellow Brick Road Wealth Management Pty Ltd. The total amount now paid or offered to customers across both groups of licensees is $259.6m.

ASIC is also aware that five AFS licensees or institutions have provisioned for future remediation payments, with four of these to date providing to ASIC amounts for future remediation (see below in notes). If all of these provisions are paid in full, FFNS remediation may exceed $850m.

The table provides compensation payments and estimates reported to ASIC as at 30 June 2018. Some institutions' total estimates have changed since ASIC’s previous media release as they have further investigated the compensation required and, in some cases, identified additional failures needing remediation.

Group

Compensation paid or offered (1)

Estimated future compensation (2)

Total estimate

AMP

$5,010,637

$370,000 (3)

$5,380,637

ANZ

$50,793,257

$8,443,300 (4)

$59,236,557

CBA

$118,040,178

$25,274,717

$143,314,895

NAB

$5,690,797

$1,019,623 (5)

$6,710,420

Westpac

$6,896,237

Not yet available (6)

$6,896,237

Bendigo

$0

$2,500,000

$2,500,000

StatePlus

$37,223,999

Not yet available (7)

$37,223,999

Yellow Brick Road

$0

$101,477

$101,477

Total (personal advice failures)

$223,655,105

$37,709,117

$261,364,222

NULIS Nominees (Australia) Ltd

$35,900,408 (8)

67,000,000 (9)

$102,900,408

Total (personal and general advice failures)

$259,555,513

$104,709,117

$364,264,630

Source: Data reported by the AFS licensees to ASIC as at 30 June 2018.

Table notes

(1)  This includes amounts paid to customers as well as amounts paid to unclaimed monies and charities (for example, where the licensee was unable to contact the customer).

(2)  Some estimates exclude interest. Estimates may change, as each entity further investigates the failures. Some entities do not yet have estimates of future remediation, but have provisioned for (or are in the process of provisioning for) FFNS remediation in their financial statements. The provisions may include amounts already paid.

(3) In addition, on 27 July 2018, AMP announced that it has provisioned in relation to potential remediation in relation to ASIC report 499. AMP has advised ASIC that its pre-tax estimate for FFNS remediation is $240m, or $360m including interest. This estimate covers all the advice licensees within the AMP group (both the salaried advisers and the aligned dealer groups) and covers remediation for the period up to 31 December 2017.

(4) ANZ has advised ASIC that it has provisioned for FFNS remediation, but has not yet provided details of that provision to ASIC.

(5) NAB has provisioned a further $65m across its financial advice licensees relating to FFNS remediation and project costs.

(6) Though Westpac has not provided ASIC with an estimate for future remediation, it informed ASIC that it has provisioned approximately $24m relating to FFNS remediation for the 2017-18 financial year for Westpac Banking Corporation, of which 3.24m had been paid as at 30 June 2018. This provision does not cover future periods, or other Westpac owned AFS licensees.

(7) StatePlus has not provided ASIC with an estimate of future FFNS remediation. However, it has provisioned a further $53m relating to FFNS remediation, which it expects will cover both further FFNS customer remediation and remediation project expenses.

(8) The table shows compensation paid by NAB's superannuation trustee, NULIS Nominees (Australia) Limited (NULIS), for two breaches involving failures in relation to the provision of general advice services to superannuation members who paid general advice fees. (Other fees referred to in this release relate to personal advice). This remediation was completed in 2017. As announced by ASIC on 2 February 2017 ASIC imposed additional licence conditions on NULIS following this and another breach: ASIC MR 17-022. The failure was by MLC Nominees Pty Ltd and MLC Limited. Whilst on 1 July 2016 the superannuation assets governed by MLC Nominees were transferred by successor fund transfer to NULIS, and on 3 October 2016 NAB divested 80% of its shareholding in the MLC Limited Life Insurance business, accountability for this remediation activity (including compensation) remains within the NAB Group.

(9) On 26 July 2018 NULIS announced a further remediation program relating to general advice fees. This amount excludes interest.

How to remediate FFNS failures

ASIC has published an Information Sheet 232 (INFO 232) that sets out ASIC’s expectations of AFS licensees remediating FFNS breaches. 

Next steps

ASIC will continue to monitor the above FFNS licensees compensation programs.

In addition, ASIC will continue to supervise the further reviews for those entities subject to the FFNS project, to determine whether any additional instances of fees being charged without advice being provided are identified. ASIC expects to publish a media release on their further reviews in the coming months.

Background

In October 2016, ASIC released Report 499 Financial advice: fees for no service (REP 499). The report described systemic failures of the advice divisions of the largest banks and AMP, as well as some of their product issuers, to ensure that ongoing advice services were provided to customers who paid fees to receive these services, the failure of advisers to provide such services, and the failure of product issuers to switch off advice fees of customers who did not have a financial adviser.

At the time of the publication of the report compensation arising from the fee-for-service failures reported to ASIC was approximately $23.7 million, which had been paid, or agreed to be paid, to more than 27,000 customers.

ASIC has published updates to the above remediation in May 2017 (17-145MR) and in December 2017 (17-438MR).

MoneySmart

Customers who are paying ongoing advice fees for services they do not need can ask for those fees to be switched off. Customers who have paid fees for services they did not receive may be entitled to refunds and compensation, and should lodge a complaint through the bank or AFS licensee's internal dispute resolution system or the Financial Ombudsman Service.

ASIC's MoneySmart website explains how customers can check they are getting the financial advice they paid for. It also has a financial advice toolkit to help customers navigate the financial advice process and understand what they should expect from an adviser, and useful information about how to make a complaint.

www.asic.gov.au

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CSIRO report confirms e-cigarettes assist users in quitting smoking

THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said the CSIRO report released yesterday indicates that the time has come to legalise nicotine e-cigarettes in Australia.

The e-cigarettes, smoking and health literature review indicates that e-cigarettes can assist some smokers in quitting traditional cigarettes, and provides evidence for a range of health improvements when conventional tobacco smokers make the switch.

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the ARA, said the access to less harmful alternatives is a no-brainer for Australians, and the Government should get on with regulating these products in Australia.

“The findings in this report show support for the ARA’s position - e-cigarettes and other vaping products can be used as a quitting aid for smokers,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“As e-cigarettes are less harmful, the CSIRO report showed health improvements in smokers who used e-cigarettes instead of conventional cigarettes.”

The ARA believe that without access to less-harmful alternatives, many smokers will continue to find it difficult to quit.

“According to the CSIRO’s findings, it is clear that e-cigarettes are preferred by some smokers as a cessation method as trials have found nicotine e-cigarettes are more effective at reducing conventional smoking than nicotine free e-cigarettes or no e-cigarettes,” Mr Zimmerman said.

The ARA believe that allowing the regulated sale of nicotine e-cigarettes will also satisfy the CSIRO’s calls for further monitoring and research.

“When restrictions force consumers to import these products, rather than purchase them legally at home, consumers are exposed to the risk of unregulated and potentially unsafe products,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“The Government should listen to the CSIRO and alleviate concerns about unregulated usage by allowing retailers to sell nicotine e-cigarettes legally. This will provide regulators and authorities the opportunity to conduct further studies and address any fears.”

Along with the CSIRO’s report, a Crosby Textor poll conducted in June found almost 50 percent of Australians and more than two thirds of smokers support the legalisation of e-cigarettes and personal vaporisers in Australia.

“The Crosby Textor poll showed that 70% of Australians and 67% of smokers agreed that vaporisers were a way to completely phase out cigarette smoking in Australia,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“The CSIRO’s report provides further justification for the Government to show leadership in improving the health of smokers by lifting the restrictions on e-cigarettes.”

The CSIRO’s report follows the recent Inquiry into the Use of Electronic Cigarettes and Personal Vaporisers in Australia. The ARA made a submission to the Inquiry, calling for the legalisation of these harm-reduction alternatives, as current restrictions on the sale of nicotine-based vaping products may lead to consumers importing these products from overseas or turning to black markets.

“The number of people who are already importing nicotine-based e-cigarettes from overseas is growing, which translates into a significant loss of revenue to overseas retailers,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“Allowing retailers the opportunity to sell these harm reduction alternatives is a win-win, as it provides health benefits for the community, and economic benefits, including a reduced burden on the health system and crucial support for local retailers.”

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is Australia’s largest retail association, representing the country’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. As Australia’s leading retail peak industry body, the ARA is a strong pro-active advocate for Australian retail and works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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More maroon electricity exports a key to ‘NEG-plus’

HE State and Federal Governments should resolve their differences on the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) by taking action to upgrade the interstate electricity connector sending Queensland’s surplus power to the southern states, according to the Queensland Resources Council  (QRC).

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said Queensland was the ideal case study on how to deliver power affordability, reliability and emissions reductions under the NEG.

“The Federal Government wants to have a ‘NEG-plus’ plan, which is the National Energy Guarantee plus a range of other actions to bring down prices and increase supply,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“A big plus for the entire East Coast would be an upgrade to the electricity interconnector between Queensland and New South Wales.

“Queensland already keeps the lights on in New South Wales and Victoria through the export of our surplus coal-fired electricity. An upgraded interconnector would mean we can sell more electricity, guaranteeing those Australians with the misfortune of not living in Queensland - a more stable power supply.

“For Queensland, it would send the signal to keep developing electricity generation, which will be primarily renewables due to the cost of gas, as well as maintaining a young coal-fired power generation fleet. This could include a new coal-fired power station using HELE technologies.

“For Queenslanders, it will mean more revenue that the Palaszczuk Government can reinvest in services and infrastructure. Those using Maroon power will be paying us for it," Mr Macfarlane said.

“Queensland is also delivering on the other extras that go hand-in-hand with the NEG, including the sustainable development of our gas resources.

“Queensland has energy security. We have coal to provide baseload power. We supply gas to the domestic market, and more is coming online. And we have a massive expansion of renewables.

“While Queensland benefits from our full energy mix, the southern states are, quite frankly, energy mixed up. They’re closing coal-fired power stations. They’re not developing gas. It’s harder, not easier, to develop renewables.

“To deliver on ‘NEG-plus’ other states must follow Queensland’s lead. That means both the Federal and State Governments should resolve their differences and deliver on the NEG.”

www.qrc.org.au

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Business leaders call out COAG: If you ignore energy productivity you will lock in high energy costs

IN A LETTER to federal and state energy ministers ahead of their COAG Energy Council meeting on Friday, the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity (A2EP) demanded that energy productivity be put on the agenda.

“The cheapest and quickest way to reduce energy bills is to help businesses and householders use energy smarter – that means increasing energy efficiency and productivity,” said A2EP chair Jonathan Jutsen.

“High energy prices in Australia are for now an uncomfortable reality. If COAG ignores smarter energy use at this meeting, it will leaves householders and businesses to deal with higher energy costs.

“High costs are within COAG’s responsibility to address. It has a National Energy Productivity Plan (NEPP) gathering dust on a shelf. At their meeting on Friday, energy ministers could deliver meaningful reductions to bills if they fund and implement the NEPP, and commit to expanding the program and setting firm deliverables and timetable.

“Using energy better is the smart, first move to reduce costs. Current approaches to energy policy fail to consider smarter energy use. This leads to increasing costs, and ever greater demand for energy.

“COAG has failed to progress the NEPP and therefore has failed to address energy costs for households and business.

“A2EP is calling on the COAG Energy Council to reduce costs immediately through smarter use of energy, not solely focussing on long-term and costly insfrastructure investments," said Mr Jutsen.

 

About A2EP

The Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity is a not for profit coalition of business, government and environmental leaders promoting a more energy productive economy.

www.a2ep.org.au

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QRC welcomes Shell and Santos contributions to Drought Appeal

THE Queensland Resources Council has welcomed a $100,000 contribution by Shell Australia and a $75,000 contribution by Santos to the Queensland Drought Appeal to help support regional communities affected by the drought. 

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the drought was causing extreme hardship on farmers which flows right through the community. 

“As a former farmer I know how devasting a drought is to people’s livelihoods and the pain has a direct impact on the local shops and suppliers. If the farms aren’t doing well everyone suffers in town,” Mr Macfarlane said.

"As two primary industries, resources and agriculture have a long and proud history of working together. In particular, the CSG industry has formed co-existence agreements with landholders delivering around $400 million in payments. 

“Today we saw another example of that longstanding relationship with the sales proceeds from a Santos cattle auction at the Ekka paid into the fund.” 

The Queensland Drought Appeal was launched by the Queensland Government at the Ekka and will provide all money raised to the Queensland Country Womens Association (QCWA). 

“I congratulate Shell, Santos and also Premier Palaszczuk for contributing a total of $277,000 into the fund in the last 24 hours and I strongly encourage everyone if they can to dig deep and donate what they can,” Mr Macfarlane said. 

“It’s importance for the resources sector to help out regional communities with many of our own projects operating nearby.” 

Yesterday, Arrow Energy provided lunch for 550 farmers for Beef Week, along with $10,000 towards feed for livestock during the Ekka.

The appeal will remain open for at least three months with all donations of $2 or more to the appeal tax deductible - online donations can be made at www.qlddroughtappeal.com.au.

www.qrc.org.au

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Last chance to exceed expectations at the Retail Realm

THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) are calling for retailers who truly master customer experience within the Retail Realm at this year’s ARA Retail Awards.

The 2018 eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards are the nation’s longest running and most prestigious retail event, showcasing the most influential retail leaders and employees within the Australian retail industry.

Russell Zimmerman, executive director of the ARA, said this industry leading event is a crucial platform where the industry can not only recognise Australia’s retail pioneers, but also showcase those retail leaders who exceed customer expectations.

“Customer fulfillment is a crucial aspect of any retail business, and this year’s Awards will pay special tribute to those retailers creating the right process, model and atmosphere to enhance the consumer experience at every step of the customer’s shopping journey,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“With this year’s Awards encompassing three retail categories, the Excellence in Customer Experience category will search for exceptional retailers offering innovative marketing strategies, fit-outs and customer experiences.”

The 2018 eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards themed, The Retail Realm: thinking outside the shop, will touch on every element in the retail sphere including customer experience, technology, payments, sustainability, supply chain, growth, employee development and corporate social responsibility.

Naomi Simson, founding director of online experience retailer RedBalloon, will be this year’s Awards keynote speaker, addressing 500 Australian retailers at the iconic Mural Hall in Melbourne on the 18 October.

“It will be great to see so many retailers in one room thinking beyond their shopfront and discussing how we, as an industry, can turn our market challenges into triumphs,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“It is retail forums like our annual Awards breakfast, that retailers across the country can learn from, and gain insights into, how they can grow their business and build further opportunities for the retail industry as a whole.”

As the submission deadline is just around the corner, the ARA encourage retailers of all sizes to submit an entry before Friday 10 August.

“With 13 awards up for grabs across three retail categories, there may be more than one category your business can submit an entry to,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“It’s just about identifying the key strengths and attributes of your retail business and then sharing your success stories with us.”

The ARA believe knowledge is power and the more stories shared across the industry will only provide further opportunities to the retail sector and the Australian economy as a whole.

The 2018 eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards will be held on Thursday 18 October at the Myer Mural Hall in Melbourne. Submit your entry today via the 2018 eftpos ARA Retail Awards platform.

To secure your seat for the 2018 eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards head to The Retail Realm to purchase your tickets today.

About the eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards:

First held in the 1970s, the eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards are the nation’s longest running and most prestigious retail event, recognising and rewarding outstanding retail businesses, innovations, and individuals across all sectors of retail. Relaunched in 2008, the annual 2018 eftpos ARA Australian Retail Awards breakfast will commence on Thursday 18 October at the Myer Mural Hall in Melbourne. 

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is Australia’s largest retail association, representing the country’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. As Australia’s leading retail peak industry body, the ARA is a strong pro-active advocate for Australian retail and works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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Canberra hearing for inquiry into impediments to business investment

THE HOUSE of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hold a public hearing in Canberra for its inquiry into impediments to business investment in Australia.

The Chair of the committee, Sarah Henderson MP, said, "The committee is examining how government at all levels can encourage more businesses to invest in Australia."

"At the recent hearings in Sydney and Melbourne, the committee heard that the combination of multiple layers of regulation and high corporate tax rates makes it difficult for Australian companies to compete in the global marketplace. Similarly, these factors can deter foreign investment in Australia. As a net importer of capital, Australia needs to be more competitive."

Ms Henderson said the committee looks forward to hearing from a range of stakeholders and interested parties in Canberra to gain a deeper understanding of impediments to business investment.

Public hearing details: Tuesday, 7 August 2018, Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

9.15am: Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman

10am: Department of Industry, Innovation and Science 

10.45am: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Australian Trade and Investment Commission

11.30am: Break

11.45am: Clean Energy Council (via teleconference) 

12.30pm: Master Builders Australia

1pm: Lunch break

1.30pm: Red Meat Advisory Council

2pm: Australian Trucking Association

2.30pm: Finish

The hearing will be broadcast live at www.aph.gov.au/live

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Resurgent resources boosting jobs in Queensland

QUEENSLAND'S resources sector is powering jobs growth across the State with mines re-opening, exploration surging and exports rising said the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the state’s most valuable export is delivering more than 3500 jobs across Queensland in 2018 after a sustained uplift in the global economy.

“Resources account for about 80 percent of Queensland’s exports and over the last two years the sector has benefitted from elevated prices and a strong tailwind from larger volumes,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“With confidence returning, new projects are emerging, old mines are being extended and mothballed mines are coming back online. We’re seeing strong investment in new gas fields and all this activity is leading to highly skilled and highly paid jobs.

"Seek has more than 1,400 vacancies in mining, resources and energy in Queensland with more than half paying $100,000 or more," Mr Macfarlane said.

“For every direct job in the resources sector across Queensland another six full time jobs are supported indirectly.

“Santos and its GLNG partners will invest $400 million into its Arcadia gas project near Injune establishing up to 300 construction jobs, and a further $900 million in gas developments in the Maranoa, Western Downs, Central Highlands and Banana regions. While Senex will produce gas for the domestic market from the company’s Project Atlas in the Surat Basin creating 150 jobs.

“In this year alone, we’ve had two new entrants to the state’s coal sector with South32 scooping up a 50 percent stake in the greenfield Eagle Downs and Bengal Coal’s new coking coal mine near Dysart attaining State Government approval. Meanwhile, Japan’s Sojitz has acquired BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance’s (BMA) Gregory Crinum mine leading to 300 jobs.

“Stanmore expects first coal in August from its new Isaac Plains East, Bounty Mining’s recommissioned Cook Colliery mine exported coal in June, Metro Mining’s Bauxite Hills project commenced in April with contracts to China, MMG is producing zinc at its Dugald River mine and Peabody secured over 230 jobs by extending its North Goonyella mine," he said.

“Underpinning this growth is exploration with the Palaszczuk Government releasing more than 44,000 square kilometres of land following a 39 percent increase in greenfield exploration.”

The resources sector now provides one in every six dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 16,400 businesses across the State - all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass, according to the QRC.

www.qrc.org.au

Where 3,506 resources jobs came from in 2018:

  • Bounty Mining Cook Colliery 260 jobs
  • Metro Mining Bauxite Hills 200 jobs
  • Stanmore’s Isaac Plains East 210 jobs
  • Peabody North Goonyella 230 jobs
  • Sojitz acquires BMA’s Gregory Crinum $100m 300 jobs
  • Senex & Jemena $140m Wallumbilla pipeline 200 jobs
  • Santos GLNG $400m Arcadia project 300 jobs
  • Senex Project Atlas 150 jobs
  • Bengal Coal Dysart East Underground 200 jobs
  • New Century Resources and Santos gas supply deal 240 jobs
  • BMA apprentices start work in central Queensland 40 jobs
  • Hastings Deering apprentices 50 jobs
  • Batchfire Callide 450 jobs
  • Metallica Minerals Bauxite Project 26 jobs
  • MMG Dugald River Zinc 400 jobs
  • Glencore’s Lady Loretta 250 jobs
  • Santos GLNG $900m in gas developments across Maranoa, Western Downs, Central Highlands and Banana
  • South32 buys 50 percent of Eagle Downs $100m

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A call to action for Australia's cyber experts

DEFENCE is seeking applications from the cyber community across Australia to develop cyber solutions of high relevance to the country's national security.

Applications close August 15.

Cyber is a priority theme of the Next Generation Technologies Fund, aimed at realising the potential game changing cyber capabilities afforded by research and development in Australia. Defence recognises the need to respond to this technology opportunity, and that technological advances in the cyber domain are likely to lead to the introduction of new capabilities in our region.

Defence is seeking to leverage the vibrant cyber science, technology and innovation capability across Australia to develop technology solutions of high relevance to the country's national security.

Through partnerships with Data61, academia and industry, Defence aims to understand the potential of cyber technologies, create prototype systems, and demonstrate the practical application of systems to Defence problems.

One of the goals of cyber technologies research is to inform Defence of the potential benefits and practical limitations of cyber technologies through studies and demonstrator systems within a three to five-year timeframe.

DST is seeking submissions from academia, and other research agencies, detailing how they propose to contribute to research in the following areas:

  • Trustworthy Machine Learning
  • Symbolic Execution for Rapid Threat Analysis
  • Formal verification of Network Control Protocols
  • Data Security and Privacy of Inference Models
  • Detecting and Analysing Vulnerabilities in Concurrent Software
  • Resilient Cyber Systems
  • Depicting human vulnerabilities towards cyber threats via trust analytics
  • Privacy-Preserving distributed Edge Computing
  • Policy-Defined Networking
  • SDN Data Plane Security and extensions to Software Defined Clouds
  • Formal Mathematical Modelling Environment
  • FPGA Security
  • Assisted System Decomposition for Vulnerability Assessment
  • Cyber-Enabled Information Warfare

Proposals will be assessed against the following criteria:

  • Alignment to Defence strategy and the project priorities articulated in this document
  • Future science criticality
  • Collaboration depth (e.g. Collaboration with DST staff, Data61 staff, other universities, an industry partner, etc.)
  • Delivery of outcomes (e.g. the ability of the proposal to deliver the agreed outcomes and milestones).
  • Game changing potential to Defence

For more informaiton visit the Next Generation Technologies Fund - Cyber page.

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ASIC approves the Banking Code of Practice

ASIC has approved the Australian Banking Association’s (ABA’s) new Banking Code of Practice (the Code).

ASIC’s approval of the Code follows extensive engagement with the ABA, following a comprehensive independent review and extensive stakeholder consultation. The ABA made additional significant changes to the Code in order to satisfy ASIC that it met our criteria for approval.

This is the first comprehensive broad-based industry code ASIC has approved under its relevant powers.

The Code will commence operation from 1 July 2019.

SIGNIFICANT NEW PROTECTIONS FOR SMALL BUSINESS

The new Code provides for improved protections for small business borrowers and expands the reach and impact of legal protections against unfair contract terms.

For small businesses who borrow up to $3 million, the Code provides that lending contracts should not contain a range of potentially unfair and one-sided terms. Unfair contract terms protections in the law apply to businesses who borrow up to $1 million.

At its current setting of applying to small businesses who borrow up to $3 million, the Code will cover the considerable majority – between 92-97 percent – of businesses in Australia. 

To ensure the settings in the Code provide a high level of coverage of the small business sector, ASIC’s approval is conditional on an independent review of the definition of small business within 18 months of the Code’s commencement. This targeted review will test the adequacy and application of the Code’s small business coverage in practice, and will occur well before the Code’s comprehensive review, due three years after its commencement.

At the same time, ASIC will collect quarterly data from banks and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority to monitor the extent of the Code’s coverage of small business. ASIC will ensure that this data is made public every six months. This will provide the public with ongoing transparency about the coverage of the Code.

EXPANDED PROTECTION FOR CONSUMERS

The Code has built on and enhanced the existing protections for consumers in the 2013 Code.

The new Code includes:

  • provisions for inclusive and accessible banking, including for vulnerable customers, customers on low incomes and Indigenous customers;

  • protections relating to the sale of consumer credit insurance (CCI) including a deferred sales period of four days for CCI for credit cards and personal loans sold in branches and over the phone;

  • protections for guarantors of loans, for instance, giving prospective guarantors generally three days to consider information about a guarantee and requiring banks to only enforce a guarantee once they have taken action against the borrower;

  • rules requiring credit card customers to receive reminders about balance transfer promotional periods ending, as well as more consistent treatment about how repayments are applied; and

  • enhanced processes for assisting customers in financial difficulty and processes for resolving complaints.

MONITORING AND ENFORCEABILITY

All ABA member banks will be required to subscribe to the Code as a condition of their ABA membership and the relevant protections in the Code will form part of the banks’ contractual relationships with their banking customers.

The Code will be administered and enforced by an independent monitoring body, the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC). Any person will be able to report a breach of the Code to the BCCC, and consumers and small businesses with disputes about the Code protections will be able to have those disputes heard by the new Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

ASIC notes the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry may make findings relevant to the Code. ASIC may review its approval of the Code in light of the Royal Commission findings.

BACKGROUND

ASIC has provided guidance on its approach to approving codes, including how to obtain and retain approval in Regulatory Guide 183 Approval of financial services sector codes of conduct (RG 183).

 In approving the Code, ASIC considered that:

  • the rules in the Code are binding on the ABA’s members and form part of the contracts between banks and their customers;

  • the Code was developed and reviewed in a transparent way, which involved significant consultation with relevant stakeholders including consumer and small business groups; and

  • the Code is supported by effective administration and compliance mechanisms. The BCCC will have oversight on banks’ Code compliance, tools to require banks’ cooperation with their monitoring and investigations, and a range of sanctions for non-compliance with Code provisions.

www.asic.gov.au

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