Corporations and Financial Sector Legislation amendments commence

Friday 19 July 2013 @ 1.17 p.m. | Corporate & Regulatory

The Corporations and Financial Sector Legislation Amendment Act 2013 (No. 59 of 2013) (the Act) has fully commenced  today (19 July 2013) bringing into effect important new measures with respect to the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives (OTC derivatives).

Main Objectives

In general terms the Act is said by the government to introduce a range of miscellaneous measures related to the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives (OTC derivatives) and other financial products and the main objectives of the Act are stated as:

  • assisting central counterparties (CCPs) in managing the defaults of clearing participants;

  • improving the allocation of resources by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in assessing the compliance of Australian Market Licence (AML) and Clearing and Settlement Facility Licence (CFSL) holders with their legal obligations;

  • allowing certain Australian regulators including the RBA to exchange protected information with other entities in Australia and overseas in the execution of their duties subject to appropriate safeguards; and

  • allowing ASIC to gather and share protected information with regulatory entities overseas for supervision and enforcement purposes; and requiring ASIC to report on the use of those powers.


Legislation affected by the amendments

The Act amends the following legislation:

  • Corporations Act 2001,

  • Payment Systems and Netting Act 1998,

  • Mutual Assistance in Business Regulation Act 1992,

  • Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001,

  • Reserve Bank Act 1959,

  • Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011, and

  • Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011.

Source:
Corporations and Financial Sector Legislation Amendment Act 2013 (No. 59 of 2013) and supporting speeches and explanatory memoranda as reported in the TimeBase LawOne Service.

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