On 10 December 2024, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) received royal assent. This legislation makes material amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) and brings about significant reform to Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regime.
These amendments have sought to close key legislative gaps and better align Australia’s AML/CTF regime with the international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force.

Last month ASIC announced that it is calling upon product issuers to ensure distribution practices are ‘up to scratch’. This announcement follows the release of Report 795 Design and distribution obligations: Compliance with the reasonable steps obligation by ASIC. Alan Kirkland, ASIC Commissioner, has said that improvements across the board are still required to ensure that consumers feel confident that the financial products they purchase will suit their needs.

On 11 September 2024, the Australian Government released a much-anticipated bill which proposes to extend the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime to real estate professionals, professional service providers including lawyers, accountants and trust and company service providers, and dealers in precious stones and metals.

On 12 March 2024, the Australian Government released exposure draft legislation on Buy Now, Pay Later products (“BNPLs”) for public consultation. This follows the Government’s previous consultation on the regulatory framework for BNPLs, and growing calls to regulate the BNPL industry in order that these products might have similar or the same protections that exist for consumer credit products in Australia.

The Government has released exposure draft legislation to update the Payments Systems (Regulation) Act 1998 (PSRA). This follows consultation conducted in June 2023 to “modernize” the application of the PSRA and to ensure the framework appropriately regulates emerging and future payment functions.

For the fourth time since its inception in September 2016, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has extended the transitional relief period for Foreign Financial Services Providers (FFSPs) for a further 12 months until 31 March 2025. In its introduction of the ASIC Corporations (Amendment) Instrument 2023/588 on 4 August 2023, FFSPs have been offered a further extension on relief from the requirement to hold an Australian financial services license when providing certain financial services.

In this edition of Bite-size Briefings, we take a bite-size look at the latest developments concerning AI regulation as it affects financial services in Australia, the EU, Hong Kong SAR, Thailand, the UK and the US.

The Australian Government has released its Strategic Plan for Payments System: Consultation Paper. It is significant insofar as it demonstrates the current Government’s commitment to reform by creating a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework in respect of payments mirroring international developments. It is also significant in that the paper expressly states that the reform agenda includes implementing a tiered licensing framework for payment services providers. Interested parties are invited to comment on this consultation. Responses are due on 6 February 2022.

This virtual seminar series provides insights on how the regulatory landscape is changing and discuss the future of crypto within the financial services sector. Recordings of the following sessions are now available — The Crypto Ecosystem; Integrating Crypto into Established Financial Services (Part 1: Funds and Listings and Part 2: Practical Considerations); Crypto Risk: Significant Legal and Regulatory Risks; A Deep Dive into NFTs; and DeFi (Decentralized Finance).

The speed and volume of change in the crypto asset markets has accelerated across the globe, with established financial institutions increasingly entering the sector whilst regulators look to keep pace. Recent high-profile developments and market volatility have led to growing calls for scrutiny and regulatory controls. Navigating this fast paced environment, within a sometimes disjointed regulatory framework, can be challenging. The Crypto Boot Camp 2022 Series covers the crypto ecosystem and integrating crypto into established financial systems (recordings available), crypto risk (3 November 2022), NFTs (15 November 2022), DeFi (1 December 2022), and Growth in Crypto (6 December 2022).