Australia

Conduct, Culture & Accountability

Australian Court Penalises Two Firms for Consumer Credit Law Breaches

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 16/12/2025

A lender and introducer were penalised for engaging in unlicensed credit activity, failing to verify loan purposes, and denying consumers key protections.

Structural Regulation

Australia Proposes to Enhance Rules for Professional Indemnity Insurance

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 15/12/2025

The Treasury is consulting on strengthening professional indemnity insurance to reduce reliance on the industry-funded CSLR.

Anti-Money Laundering

New Zealand's ASB Admits AML Breaches, Agrees to NZD 6.73m Penalty

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 15/12/2025

The CBA-owned lender admitted to serious compliance failures after the RBNZ filed court proceedings over breaches dating back to 2019.

Structural Regulation

ASIC Mandates Major ASX Overhaul, Imposes Capital Charge

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 15/12/2025

ASIC imposes A$150m capital charge and forces board reforms after inquiry finds ASX prioritised profits over infrastructure stability.

KYC & CDD

Australia Proposes Overhaul of Business Registers, Director ID Rules

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 15/12/2025

The proposed laws will link director IDs to company records, give ASIC new disqualification powers, and unwind a costly modernisation programme.

KYC & CDD

Australia's FAAA Launches Digital ID Tool to Meet AML Rules

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 12/12/2025

The tool, launched by the Financial Advice Association of Australia, aims to help financial advisers meet 'Safe Harbour' provisions under AML/CTF laws.

Tokenisation

Australian Fintechs to Pilot Tokenised Asset-Backed Securities

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 12/12/2025

A consortium of fintech firms will pilot a tokenised AUD 250 million asset-backed security under the RBA's Project Acacia.

Nature & Biodiversity

Financial Regulators Failing on Nature Risk Despite Climate Progress, WWF Says

By Manesh Samtani | 12/12/2025

A global assessment finds major gaps in addressing risks from deforestation and water stress, urging APAC regulators to act.

Operational Risk

APRA Imposes Licence Conditions on Super Fund HESTA Over Service Disruption

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 11/12/2025

The action follows a prolonged outage that harmed members, with the regulator citing governance and risk management failures.