Charmian Holmes

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s fair to say that regulators and businesses have shifted their priorities. Timelines for legislative reforms driven by the Hayne Royal Commission and licence applications for wealth businesses have changed.

APRA and ASIC licences may be delayed

APRA has announced that it will not issue any new insurance or banking licences for at least 6 months. While ASIC has said it’s ‘business as usual’ for the Australian financial services licensing process, we expect timelines to be impacted by remote working and a reduced workforce.

Regulators have changed their priorities

ASIC is prioritising challenges arising from the pandemic and regulatory change where:

• There is the risk of significant consumer harm;
• There are serious breaches of the law;
• There are risks to market integrity; or
• The matter is time critical.

Policy work on key Royal Commission reforms were to start on 1 July 2020 but these will be delayed by at least six months.¹

To help you plan, we’ve identified which changes apply now and which ones are likely to be delayed. This means you may have more time to prepare. We’ll update this blog as more information comes to hand.

By Charmian Holmes, Simon Carrodus and Lydia Carstensen

The post How Covid-19 has affected reforms to wealth businesses appeared first on AdviserVoice.