Introduction Reporting entities under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (‘AML/CTF Act‘) need to distinguish between money laundering (ML), terrorism financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF). Each concept has its own statutory meaning and can present differently…
Introduction Private credit borrowers rarely move from “performing” to “default” overnight. Financial stress often develops gradually through covenant pressure, construction delays, weaker presales, refinancing difficulty, rising costs or repeated requests to change loan terms. For Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensees…
Introduction Poor private credit practices are one of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission‘s (ASIC) 2026 enforcement priorities, with the regulator conducting targeted surveillance and enforcement activity across the sector. The Bathla Group voluntary administration has now brought many of…
An Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) is not a general permission to conduct any financial services business. It is a permission to provide the particular financial services, in relation to the particular financial products and client classes, recorded on the…
Corporate collective investment vehicles (CCIVs) provide an alternative corporate structure for operating investment funds in Australia. A CCIV is a company limited by shares, operates through one or more sub-funds and must have a single corporate director responsible for operating…
Australia’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Rules 2025 (‘AML/CTF Rules 2025’) form part of the major overhaul of Australia’s AML/CTF framework from 31 March 2026. The Rules work alongside the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (‘AML/CTF Act’). While the Act establishes the…
Managed investment schemes (MISs) are used for structures ranging from property and mortgage funds to equity funds, agricultural schemes and exchange traded funds. However, the licensing requirements differ depending on whether the scheme is registered or unregistered, who its investors are…
For many fintech startups, obtaining an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) before testing a new product can create significant cost and complexity. Australia’s Enhanced Regulatory Sandbox (ERS) provides a limited alternative by allowing eligible businesses to test specified financial services or credit…
In brief ASIC’s Report 832, Lifting the bonnet: ASIC’s review of car loans, identifies significant indicators of consumer harm across a sample of more than 350,000 loans provided by eight lenders. The concerns were not confined to loan approval. They…
Introduction Fintech businesses often face regulatory questions before their product is ready to launch. A payments app may need to determine whether it involves a non-cash payment facility, an investment platform may need authorisations, while a lending or embedded finance…
