ASIC proposes naming AFSLs on breach dashboards | Australian Markets

Financial planning licensees who report breaches to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) face being publicly named beneath a new regime being canvassed by the regulator.

ASIC has made clear in a new session paper (CP 383) that it intends publishing by Reportable Situations (RS)  and Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) on the firm degree in addition to industry degree and can embrace corporations’ names and licence numbers.

This represents a important step up from ASIC’s present observe of publishing industry degree fairly than firm degree information – one thing which has precluded the publication of firm names.

While ASIC is meant that corporations be named within the new preparations, it stated that its dashboards wouldn’t embrace the names, licence quantity or submitted information of licensees who’re people.

In broad phrases, ASIC stated it was consulting on publishing information components overlaying the next key topics:

• in regards to the licensee ;
• quantity and nature of breaches;
• extent and influence of breaches;
• identification and investigation of breaches;
• remediation;
• rectification;
• and reporting practices.

ASIC’s session paper stated that it supposed to publish firm-level and RS and IDR information to:

:• improve accountability and transparency, offering an incentive for improved behaviour;

• help corporations and shoppers establish areas the place substantial numbers of important breaches and IDR complaints are occurring; and
• permit corporations to focus on their efforts to improve their compliance and shopper outcomes in these areas.

Announcing the release of the session paper, ASIC Commissioner, Alan Kirkland stated he believed the publication of the proposed dashboard would increase transparency, drive improved efficiency and help ship higher shopper outcomes.

“Publishing Reportable Situations and Internal Dispute Resolution data will encourage firms to lift their game. It also provides consumers and investors access to this data at firm level, further encouraging confident and informed participation in the financial system,” Kirkland stated.