I have reviewed the “year ahead” video I recorded at the beginning of 2023. 

The issues I identified then remained important during the year: operational risk, cybersecurity, climate change impact, privacy, financial crime and consumer protection.

In the area of consumer protection, from 10 November 2023, significant penalties can be imposed for unfair contract terms in standard form contracts for consumers and small business customers.

The main regulatory changes for the banking, insurance and superannuation sectors were the passing of the Financial Accountability Regime Act 2023 and the finalisation of APRA’s Prudential Standard CPS 230 Operational Risk Management.

The “Modernising Business Communication” legislation now allows companies to send notices electronically in many circumstances.

Increased ASIC enforcement activity, particularly for misleading conduct and greenwashing, and breach reporting obligations put increased pressure on the monitoring of compliance programs. 

2023 also saw APRA and Austrac’s co-ordinated enforcement actions against the Bank of Queensland while ASIC and Austrac separately sued Star and Star’s directors for alleged serious and systemic non-compliance with Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws.

Finally, workplace laws have commenced which introduce a positive duty on all employers to take “reasonable and proportionate measures” to eliminate unlawful sex discrimination. Gender pay gap reporting has also commenced for the private sector.

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