Australia

ESG / Sustainability

ACCC Internet Sweep Reveals Widespread Greenwashing by Businesses

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 03/03/2023

Out of 247 businesses reviewed during the ACC’s internet sweep, 57 percent made “concerning claims about their environmental credentials”.

Enforcement

ASIC Issues New Guidance on Whistleblower Programmes

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 03/03/2023

The guidance is intended to help entities improve their whistleblower handling arrangements and encourage speak up.

Crypto / Digital Assets

RBA Selects Use Cases to be Tested in Live CBDC Pilot

By Manesh Samtani | 03/03/2023

ANZ is involved in four case proposals; CBA is involved in two. Mastercard and Cuscal propose to use CBDC to enable consumers to buy NFTs.

ESG / Sustainability

NZX Amends Corporate Governance Code to Raise ESG Bar

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 02/03/2023

The amendments cover ethics training, director independence, diversity policies, conflicts of interest, and ESG and climate reporting.

Market Infrastructure

ASX Issues 3rd Consultation on Measures for Handling Outages

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 02/03/2023

ASX is consulting on enhancements to its test strategy, interconnectedness with other market operators, and its BCP strategy.

Enforcement

ASIC Commences First Court Action for Alleged Greenwashing

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 28/02/2023

ASIC alleges Mercer Superannuation made misleading statements about investment options that were marketed as suitable for members ‘deeply committed to sustainability’.

Market Infrastructure

Australia Seeks Input to Craft New 7-Year Cyber Security Strategy

By Editors | 28/02/2023

A new discussion paper released by the government says the Optus and Medibank incidents made clear that the government was “ill-equipped to respond”.

Fintech / Regtech

UK, Australia Should Draw Open Banking Lessons from Each Other

By Mark Johnston | 26/02/2023

NatWest and National Australia Bank published a white paper drawing lessons from the UK and Australia’s open banking implementations.

Market Infrastructure

ASIC Directs ASX to Produce ‘Special Reports’ on CHESS System

By Sanday Chongo Kabange | 23/02/2023

The reports will help ensure ASX is adequately addressing findings from an external review, and whether any further regulatory action is warranted.