Mr Price received the 2022 SOCAP Australia Lifetime Achievement Award at the Annual SOCAP Australia International Symposium Gala Dinner & Industry Awards last night. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognises an individual who has significantly contributed through a lifetime of work within the consumer affairs, customer care and complaints management industry.

The award is a fitting acknowledgment of Mr Price’s nearly two decades of service in dispute resolution, and a career spanning nearly 50 years in the legal and financial services sectors.

“John has made an outstanding contribution over his long career and has been instrumental at AFCA and its predecessor schemes in providing independent, fair, efficient and effective dispute resolution,” AFCA’s Chief Ombudsman, David Locke, said. “He has also been a leading voice for many years on broader policy matters affecting insurance influencing improved insurer practices and consumer outcomes.”

Deputy Chief Ombudsman Dr June Smith added: “John has secured many individual outcomes for consumers and insurers in resolving complaints. But his true legacy can be seen in insurers’ improved engagement with their customers.”

Mr Price brought to his work not only a deep and nuanced understanding of insurance law but also an ability to work with both insurers and consumer representatives to achieve better outcomes for all, Dr Smith said.

The foundations of John’s deep industry knowledge were laid when he joined Maurice Blackburn & Co as a solicitor in 1978, becoming a partner in 1984. He led the industrial personal injuries practice there until moving into dispute resolution with the Insurance Ombudsman Service in 2004. In 2008 he became Lead Ombudsman, General Insurance, with the new Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). When AFCA replaced FOS and two other ombudsman schemes in 2018 Mr Price was appointed Lead Ombudsman for Insurance, a role he held until stepping aside at the end of June last year.

Mr Price is known for his commitment to direct engagement with insurers and consumer groups, and for being a “bridge” between them, as one industry participant put it.

His direct engagement approach was evident early, at the time of the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and the 2011 Queensland floods, when he made sure FOS was “on the ground” talking to those affected. He brought consumers and industry together to work out the most efficient and effective way forward.

Under his leadership, FOS systematised the management of major disasters like floods, developing approaches that are still used within the industry today. He was among those who pushed for a standard definition of flood cover.

Mr Price also influenced insurers’ approaches to issues such as informed consent, contract readability, and protecting people with mental health issues from unfair, blanket policy exclusions. He has helped ensure policy provisions are applied fairly, for example by ensuring that family violence victims do not have claims unfairly denied because of their partner’s conduct. He championed the need to address customer vulnerability before it became a requirement under codes and regulation.

More recently, Mr Price led AFCA’s insurance team though the peak months of COVID-19, a period when insurance complaints jumped as the industry grappled with travel insurance claims. He was involved in discussions about industry-led test cases over business interruption insurance.

Mr Price has also contributed as a Director of State Trustees Limited and STL Financial Service Limited, and as Chair of the State Trustees Limited Australia Foundation. He was a member of the Accident Compensation Committee for more than 20 years, a member of the Victorian WorkCover Authority Legal Liaison Committee and served on numerous Victorian Government working parties and advisory groups. He was also a Code of Conduct Commissioner for Cricket Australia and Chair of the Pennant Cricket Appeals Board for Cricket Victoria.

“We are fortunate that someone of John’s calibre continues to contribute at AFCA as a part-time decision maker and as a mentor,” Mr Locke said. “We congratulate him on this well-deserved award.”

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ASIC Commissioner John Price said, ‘ASIC is committed to easing the burden and offering whatever assistance we can to support individuals and businesses in the communities affected by these tragedies.’

Where customers are facing hardship or severe disruption as a result of the bushfires, ASIC may be able to review fees or waive late fees that a company has incurred, provide alternative payment options or help companies to obtain ASIC documents and information from our registers.

To apply for relief, customers must include details of their company, a contact person and information about their personal circumstance. They will also need to provide supporting evidence with their application.

Details of how to apply for fee relief or contact us for other assistance is available on ASIC’s website.

Information on what to do in the aftermath of a natural disaster, including information regarding insurance claims, is available on ASIC’s MoneySmart website.

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ASIC has updated Information Sheet 225 Initial coin offerings and crypto-assets (INFO 225) based on our recent experiences with ICOs and crypto-assets, which indicate that ICOs and crypto-assets will often be financial products or involve financial products that are regulated under the Corporations Act.

INFO 225 provides information on how the Corporations Act may apply to businesses that are considering raising funds through an ICO and to businesses involved with crypto-assets.

ASIC Commissioner John Price said, ‘Businesses offering crypto-assets, or offering services in relation to crypto-assets, need to undertake appropriate inquiries to satisfy themselves they are complying with all relevant Australian laws.

‘As a minimum, regardless of whether a financial product is involved in the fundraising, the prohibitions against misleading or deceptive conduct under Australian Consumer Law apply.

‘Australian laws will also apply even if the ICO or crypto-asset is promoted or sold to Australians from offshore. Issuers of ICOs, crypto-assets and their advisers should not assume the use of these structures means that key consumer protections under Australian laws do not apply or can be ignored’, Mr Price said.

In January 2019, the Treasury noted in its issues paper on Initial Coin Offerings that many ICOs have turned out to be scams. Businesses seeking to operate lawfully and legitimately need to distinguish themselves from possible scams and carefully consider the information in INFO 225.

ASIC’s MoneySmart website has information for investors on the risks of investing in initial coin offerings.

Background

INFO 225 covers crypto-assets such as cryptocurrency, tokens or stable coins. ASIC first published INFO 225 in September 2017, with an update in May 2018.

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These events are an opportunity for regtech startups, scaleups and financial services organisations’ in‑house development teams to demonstrate how their solutions can:

1. Monitor, identify and analyse financial advertising promotions to determine compliance (Monitoring Financial Promotions: Demo and Symposium in Sydney on Friday 2 August)
2. Improve the detection of problematic financial advice in datasets (Financial Advice Files: Demo and Symposium in Sydney on Thursday 22 August)
3. Demonstrate the capabilities, benefits and costs of applying Voice Analytics & Voice-to-Text (VA&VT) Research and Analysis to regulatory activities (VA&VT Symposium in late 2019).

ASIC Commissioner John Price said, ‘There is a real need for new regulatory approaches, which is why ASIC strongly supports the development and adoption of regtech solutions in the financial services sector to provide better outcomes for consumers.

‘Regtech is something we are keenly interested in, both as a consumer of products and a facilitator of engagement more generally to ensure innovation in this area is utlised.’

Regtech has the potential to help organisations build a culture of compliance, identify learning opportunities and save time and money relating to regulation. It also has the potential to support ASIC in the way it undertakes its regulatory work, including how it engages with different industries.

ASIC is undertaking a regtech trial to explore how it can communicate the application of its financial services and credit licensing requirements via a Licensing Technology-Assisted Guidance (TAG) Tool (AusTender now closed; findings to be shared at a fourth symposium later in 2019).

Details for the VA&VT and TAG Tool symposiums will be released closer to the date. Both symposiums will be based on trials ASIC is currently running with regtech companies selected via AusTender.

Demonstrators: express your interest

ASIC encourages anyone with innovative regtech to apply for a position in the Monitoring Financial Promotions and Financial Advice Files demonstrations.

This is your chance to showcase regtech solutions to representatives from government, finance, technology, media and other stakeholders all at the same time.

If you’re not selected as one of the 10 demonstrators, the good news is ASIC will give all applicants access to the test dataset. Applicants’ submissions will be showcased on a bulletin board at the symposiums on 2 and 22 August.

Details on the test datasets, application criteria and relevant timelines for submission will be released in late May. For more information and to register your interest as a demonstrator visit ASIC’s Innovation Hub.

Observers: express your interest

ASIC invites stakeholders to attend the symposiums as observers on 2 and 22 August. Visit ASIC’s Innovation Hub to register your interest.

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The proposed network will seek to provide a more efficient way for innovative firms to interact with regulators, helping them navigate between countries as they look to scale new ideas. It would also create a new framework for co-operation between financial services regulators on innovation related topics, sharing different experiences and approaches.

The collaborative effort, involving regulators from around the world, is also today issuing a joint consultation paper on the proposed role the GFIN should play in delivering its objectives, including the tools it will use.

The consultation sets out the three main functions of the GFIN:

• act as a network of regulators to collaborate and share experience of innovation in respective markets, including emerging technologies and business models;
• provide a forum for joint policy work and discussions; and
• provide firms with an environment in which to trial cross-border solutions.

As part of the consultation, the group is seeking views on the mission statement for the GFIN, its proposed functions, and where it should prioritise activity. The group is also keen to hear from other interested regulators or related organisations who wish to get involved.

John Price, Commissioner commented: “The proposal for a Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) is a really important concept for regulators like ASIC who are actively engaged in understanding and harnessing the benefits of innovation in financial services for consumers, while managing the potential harm.

“There is great potential through a group like the GFIN to help share the experiences and knowledge from across different markets, while also providing a platform for innovative firms wishing to scale their propositions via testing in multiple countries.”

The working group is asking for feedback on the consultation questions by 14 October 2018. Over the course of the next two months, the group will engage with interested parties across the different jurisdictions involved in the project. In late October, the working group will assess feedback and agree on next steps.

Download the Consultation Paper (PDF 739 KB)

Background

The organisations involved in the GFIN at present are: Abu Dhabi Global Markets; Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec); Australian Securities & Investments Commission; Central Bank of Bahrain; United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Dubai Financial Services Authority; Financial Conduct Authority (UK); Guernsey Financial Services Commission; Hong Kong Monetary Authority; Monetary Authority of Singapore; Ontario Securities Commission; and Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP).

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Report 564 Annual general meeting season 2017 (REP 564) examines the voting outcomes of resolutions considered at AGMs held by ASX 200 companies in 2017 and highlights emerging corporate governance issues and trends arising during the season. It discusses remuneration reports, proxy advisers’ recommendations, the extent of shareholder engagement, board diversity and the effectiveness of AGMs, including ASIC’s recommendations about good corporate governance practices in these areas.

Commissioner John Price said, ‘Shareholder engagement is a cornerstone of good corporate governance and annual general meetings are an important opportunity for shareholders to hold their board and, through the board, company management to account for a company’s performance.

‘Therefore ASIC actively monitors the AGM season each year and our observations become an important and on-going resource informing our regulatory work in corporate governance.’

ASIC’s observations in this report highlight the need for boards to make the most of AGMs as an opportunity to be transparent, accountable and willing to engage with shareholders in order to enhance the long-term performance and corporate value of a company.

Among the key points:

• The 2017 AGM season was significantly less tumultuous than the 2016 season, with fewer ‘strikes’ on remuneration reports;
• A strong sense of shareholder input and engagement was evident, with directors being held accountable through material ‘against’ votes on their election;
• Proxy advisers continued to actively scrutinise governance practices and attract or generate significant media and corporate commentary; and
• Shareholders advocated for action on specific environmental, social and governance issues, with a particular spotlight on board diversity.

Download the report: REP 564

Background

Most listed companies hold AGMs during October and November each year, conforming with the Corporations Act requirement for an AGM to be held within five months of the end of its financial year (which for most companies is 30 June).

ASIC routinely monitors AGMs held around this time to identify emerging trends and corporate governance issues, and to observe the extent to which companies use AGMs to engage in a meaningful way with their shareholders.

ASIC places great importance on the role AGMs play in providing a forum for shareholders to critically assess a company’s business strategies and future prospects and to hold the board and company management accountable for a company’s performance.

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Read the consultation paper

ASIC Commissioner John Price said, ‘by introducing ASIC’s fintech licensing exemption,we have given a range of fintech businesses the chance to test their ideas without needing a licence.’

‘Even in cases where interested fintechs have discovered that they were not able to make use of the fintech licensing exemption, we have found that its introduction has encouraged businesses to come forward and consider their other options that result from the flexibility in ASIC’s existing regime.’

ASIC’s current fintech licensing exemption allows eligible businesses to test specified services for up to 12 months with up to 100 retail clients, provided they also meet certain consumer protection conditions and notify ASIC before they commence the business.

To date, four fintech businesses have used the fintech licensing exemption. Relying on the exemption, one business tested its financial services (providing advice and dealing in listed Australian securities); two businesses are currently testing advisory and dealing services in deposit products; and one business is testing acting as an intermediary and providing credit assistance.

In addition, over a dozen fintech businesses have also contacted ASIC about using the fintech licensing exemption.

The consultation period closes on 27 February 2018.

Background

ASIC’s Regulatory Sandbox Framework

ASIC’s Regulatory Sandbox Framework was introduced in December 2016. It comprises:

• Existing flexibility in the regulatory framework or exemptions already provided by the law or ASIC which mean that a licence is not required. Examples include existing ASIC relief for non-cash payment products like stored value cards and regulations meaning that a licence is often not required for certain foreign exchange services;
• ASIC’s fintech licensing exemption provided under ASIC Corporations (Concept Validation Licensing Exemption) Instrument 2016/1175 and ASIC Credit (Concept Validation Licensing Exemption) Instrument 2016/1176;
• Tailored, individual licensing exemptions from ASIC to facilitate product or service testing – individual exemptions of this nature are similar to the ‘regulatory sandbox’ frameworks established by financial services regulators in other jurisdictions.

Fintech licensing exemption

ASIC’s fintech licensing exemption allows eligible businesses to test specified services for up to 12 months with up to 100 retail clients, provided they also meet certain consumer protection conditions and notify ASIC before they commence the business.

The fintech licensing exemption was initially proposed in Consultation Paper 260 Further measures to facilitate innovation in financial services(CP 260). Information about the services covered by the fintech licensing exemption, is available in an ASIC infographic, as well as in RG 257.

Businesses that are not eligible for the fintech licensing exemption are able to seek an individual exemption. ASIC’s policy on exemptions is available in Regulatory Guide 51 Applications for relief (RG 51).

Other measures to facilitate innovation

The ASIC review coincided with Treasury’s own consideration of feedback to its exposure draft legislation and regulations relating to the Government’s enhanced sandbox proposal.

The Government’s draft proposal would extend the scope of the ASIC’s fintech licensing exemption in a number of areas, including the testing period, caps, limits and number of times a business can make use of the sandbox.

In December 2016, ASIC released updated guidance to licensees on satisfying the requirements to maintain competence in Regulatory Guide 105 Licensing: Organisational competence (RG 105) and Regulatory Guide 206 Credit licensing – Competence and training (RG 206).

The updated guidance in RG 105 provides greater flexibility for some ‘small-scale, heavily automated businesses’ seeking to nominate a responsible manager. These businesses may now nominate a responsible manager without day-to-day involvement in the business to provide regular sign-off on the licensee’s processes and systems and the quality of financial services provided.

RG 105 has also been updated to include six examples to help illustrate the how ASIC assess submissions about a responsible manager’s knowledge and skills under Option 5 of RG 105.

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The DFSA regulates the Dubai International Financial Centre (‘DIFC’). Dubai has recently set up a number of initiatives aimed at encouraging fintech innovation, including the ‘FinTech Hive’ accelerator program, and the Dubai Future Accelerators, which involves an intensive nine-week programme pairing technology companies with government organisations to create transformational solutions.

The DFSA allows firms to apply for a restricted class of financial services licences. Successful applicants for the DFSA’s ‘Innovation Testing Licence’ are able to test new products, services and business models within a more flexible regulatory environment, for a limited time.

This Agreement will enable the DFSA and ASIC to refer innovative fintech businesses to each other for support provided through their respective fintech functions. It provides Australian fintech businesses wishing to operate in the DIFC with a simple pathway for engaging with DFSA, and vice versa.

The Agreement also provides a framework for information sharing between the two regulators. Recognising the importance of regulatory technology (‘regtech’), this Agreement specifically provides that ASIC and the DFSA intend to deepen their partnership by sharing information on regtech trials.

On signing the Agreement, ASIC Commissioner John Price said, ‘We are excited to partner with the DFSA to help encourage fintech innovation in Australia and Dubai. Regtech is becoming more and more important – this is a new frontier in our bilateral cooperation that will benefit both regulators and businesses.’

Ian Johnston, Chief Executive of the DFSA said: ‘Today’s agreement underscores our commitment to maintaining strong channels of communication with our regulatory peers and creates a regulatory framework that supports the latest developments in FinTech innovation. We have a long-standing productive relationship with our colleagues at ASIC, which we look forward to extending to this fast-developing industry.’

This is the ninth fintech referral agreement ASIC has entered into, following on from agreements with the United Kingdom, Singapore, Ontario, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi and Switzerland.

Download the agreement (PDF 317KB)

Background

ASIC is focused on the vital role that fintechs are playing in re-fashioning financial services and capital markets. In addition to developing guidance about how these new developments fit into our regulatory framework, in 2015, ASIC launched its Innovation Hub to help fintechs navigate the regulatory framework without compromising investor and financial consumer trust and confidence.

The Innovation Hub provides the opportunity for entrepreneurs to understand how regulation might impact on them. It is also helping ASIC to monitor and understand fintech developments. ASIC collaborates closely with other regulators to understand developments, and to help entrepreneurs expand their target markets into other jurisdictions.

To date, fintech referral and information-sharing agreements have been entered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, Ontario Securities Commission, Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the Japan Financial Services Agency, Malaysia Securities Commission, Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority, and the Financial Market Supervisory Authority, Switzerland. In addition, information-sharing agreements have been entered with the Capital Markets Authority, Kenya, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan, Indonesia and the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

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While around 90% of ASIC’s regulatory activities will be now be recovered as part of the Government’s industry funding arrangements, the remaining 10% will be recovered via fees-for-service.

Fees-for-service recover the regulatory costs attributable to a single, identifiable entity. They apply to:

• licencing and professional registration services
• processing of relief applications, and
• ASIC’s formal compliance review of documents lodged by entities under the Corporations Act.

ASIC Commissioner John Price said, ‘The current fees for these activities do not reflect their actual cost and the Government is seeking input from industry on changes to address this.’

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The six new and updated regulatory guides have been developed in advance of the upcoming new Asia Region Funds Passport and corporate collective investment vehicle (CCIV) legislation, taking into account these new areas as well as bringing ASIC’s funds management policy up to date across the board.

ASIC Commissioner John Price said that the new and updated guidance aims to provide up-to-date advice while simultaneously reducing regulatory burden.

‘We saw a real opportunity to substantially update and consolidate our main regulatory guides that apply to managed investment schemes as part of considering what policy should be for the new CCIV and Asia Region Funds Passport regimes’, said Commissioner Price. ‘Our aim is to provide clarity and reduce duplication on matters in relation to funds management.’

ASIC proposes to consolidate its core guidance for the funds management industry into 6 regulatory guides covering topics:

• establishing an registering a fund
• constitutions
• compliance and oversight
• asset holding
• how we may exercise our exemption or modification powers and common forms of relief we may grant
• entry and ongoing requirements for foreign passport funds.

The guidance will reflect ASIC’s current views on these topics, and apply to managed investment schemes, CCIVs, Australian passport funds and certain other AFS licensees involved in funds management.

ASIC will develop an information sheet on funds management governance considerations and make a range of less substantive amendments to other regulatory guides. These amendments will reflect the consequential amendments that will be made to the Corporations Act to accommodate the new regimes.

ASIC will be holding an information session for funds managers about the new and updated guidance.

Download the Consultation Paper 296 and draft regulatory guides and the Information on funds management.

Background

The CCIV regime will be implemented in Australia through the Treasury Laws Amendment (Collective Investment Vehicle) Bill 2017 and a further Bill enacting consequential amendments to other legislation, including the Corporations Act.

The CCIV regime will be an optional alternative to the existing managed investments regime in Chapter 5C of the Corporations Act.

The Asia Region Funds Passport will provide a multilaterally agreed framework to facilitate the cross-border marketing of passport funds across participating economies in the Asia region. It is proposed to be applied in Australia by new legislative provisions.

The Asia Region Funds Passport will be implemented in Australia through:

1. the Corporations Amendment (Asia Region Funds Passport) Bill 2017
2. a legislative instrument enacting the Passport Rules in Annex 3 to the Memorandum of Cooperation, and
3. consequential amendments to other legislation, including the Corporations Act—a further Bill enacting these consequential amendments will follow.

The Asia Region Funds Passport is an initiative of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Group (APEC).

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