The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government and the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry. APRA was established on 1 July 1998 in response to the recommendations of the Wallis Inquiry. APRA's authority and scope is determined pursuant to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act, 1998 (Cth).
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services, including retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance, investment, and broking services. The Commonwealth Bank is the largest Australian listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange as of July 2024, with brands including Bankwest, Colonial First State Investments, ASB Bank, Commonwealth Securities (CommSec) and Commonwealth Insurance (CommInsure). Its former constituent parts were the Commonwealth Trading Bank of Australia, the Commonwealth Savings Bank of Australia, and the Commonwealth Development Bank.
The Treasurerof Australia, also known as the FederalTreasurer or more simply the Treasurer, is the minister of state of the Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing government revenue collection, federal expenditure and economic policy as the head of the Department of the Treasury. The current treasurer is Jim Chalmers, who was selected by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in May 2022 following the 2022 Australian federal election.
The Australian financial system consists of the arrangements covering the borrowing and lending of funds and the transfer of ownership of financial claims in Australia, comprising:
Banking in Australia is dominated by four major banks: Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank. There are several smaller banks with a presence throughout the country which includes Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Suncorp Bank, and a large number of other financial institutions, such as credit unions, building societies and mutual banks, which provide limited banking-type services and are described as authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs). Many large foreign banks have a presence, but few have a retail banking presence. The central bank is the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The Australian government’s Financial Claims Scheme guarantees deposits up to $250,000 per account-holder per ADI in the event of the ADI failing.
In general, compliance means conforming to a rule, such as a specification, policy, standard or law. Compliance has traditionally been explained by reference to deterrence theory, according to which punishing a behavior will decrease the violations both by the wrongdoer and by others. This view has been supported by economic theory, which has framed punishment in terms of costs and has explained compliance in terms of a cost-benefit equilibrium. However, psychological research on motivation provides an alternative view: granting rewards or imposing fines for a certain behavior is a form of extrinsic motivation that weakens intrinsic motivation and ultimately undermines compliance.
A financial planner or personal financial planner is a qualified financial advisor. Practicing in full service personal finance, they advise clients on investments, insurance, tax, retirement and estate planning.
Australian insurance law is based on commercial contract law, but is subject to regulations that affect the insurance industry and insurance contracts within Australia. Commonwealth Parliament has power to make laws with respect to insurance and insurance companies under section 51(xiv) and (xx) of the Australian Constitution. Generally, the Insurance Act 1973 and Insurance Contracts Act 1984 are the main acts that apply, however there are a number of other pieces of legislation enacted by the states, private codes and voluminous case law all of which forms the body of insurance law.
The Superannuation Complaints Tribunal is an independent statutory body established by the Australian Government to deal with complaints about superannuation.
Australia's insurance market can be divided into roughly three components: life insurance, general insurance and health insurance. These markets are fairly distinct, with most larger insurers focusing on only one type, although in recent times several of these companies have broadened their scope into more general financial services, and have faced competition from banks and subsidiaries of foreign financial conglomerates. With services such as disability insurance, income protection and even funeral insurance, these insurance giants are stepping in to fill the gap where people may have otherwise been in need of a personal or signature loan from their financial institution.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was a member-funded Australian ombudsman service that provided external dispute resolution for consumers who were unable to resolve complaints with member financial services organisations.
Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) is a legal licence provided by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) enabling the operation and activities of Australian financial services businesses. It is a legal requirement for any Australian financial service business to obtain an AFSL from the day business operations begin unless provided a limited licence or exemption with special provisions under section 911A(2)(l) of the Corporations Act. The AFSL is issued by ASIC under Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001, in line with its regulatory supervision of the financial services industry. Australian Financial Service Businesses must submit an application to ASIC coupled with supporting documents to be assessed. Licensees are obligated to provide efficient, honest and fair financial services under the conditions of their AFSL and the Corporations Act 2001. Failure to follow and uphold the policies under the AFSL and the Corporations Act 2001 will result in penalties against the business.
Ombudsmen in Australia are independent agencies who assist when a dispute arises between individuals and industry bodies or government agencies. Government ombudsman services are free to the public, like many other ombudsman and dispute resolution services, and are a means of resolving disputes outside of the court systems. Australia has an ombudsman assigned for each state; as well as an ombudsman for the Commonwealth of Australia. As laws differ between states just one process, or policy, cannot be used across the Commonwealth. All government bodies are within the jurisdiction of the ombudsman.
Storm Financial Limited was a financial advice company, based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The company was founded by Emmanuel Cassimatis and his wife Julie Cassimatis as a private company initially with the name Cassimatis Securities Pty Ltd on 23 May 1994. As part of the company's expansion outside of Townsville the company changed its name from a personality based name to ozdaq Securities Pty Ltd on 10 April 2000. This name remained intact until 1 February 2004 when it was relinquished consequent to trademark objections from the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United States. The company then traded as Storm Financial Pty Ltd from 2 February 2004 until 14 June 2007 at which time the company became an unlisted public company and continued trading as Storm Financial Ltd from 15 June 2007 in preparation for making an initial public offering (IPO) in December 2007. This IPO was subject to a Storm Financial Prospectus which was dated 14 November 2007 and lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) on the same date. Storm Financial Ltd continued to trade until external administrator Worrells Solvency and Forensic Accountants were appointed on 9 January 2009. The main creditor Commonwealth Bank appointed receivers and manager KordaMentha on 15 January 2009.
Financial regulation in Australia is extensive and detailed.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was a member-funded Australian ombudsman service that provided external dispute resolution for consumers who were unable to resolve complaints with member financial services organisations.
Health Insurance Fund (HIF) is an Australian, not-for-profit insurer. In 1954 it was brought into existence as the WA Government Employee's Hospital and Medical Benefits Fund Incorporated. But has since undergone a series of name changes to better reflect the scope and services it provides.
The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, also known as the Banking Royal Commission and the Hayne Royal Commission, was a royal commission established on 14 December 2017 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and report on misconduct in the banking, superannuation, and financial services industry. The establishment of the commission followed revelations in the media of a culture of greed within several Australian financial institutions. A subsequent parliamentary inquiry recommended a royal commission, noting the lack of regulatory intervention by the relevant government authorities, and later revelations that financial institutions were involved in money laundering for drug syndicates, turned a blind eye to terrorism financing, and ignored statutory reporting responsibilities and impropriety in foreign exchange trading.
In Australia, charitable investment fundraisers (CIF) are not-for-profit entities with charitable purposes that take deposits from the public to finance those charitable purposes. CIFs may apply for an exemption from the requirement to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) if the “financial products” they provide is limited to the issue of debentures or the running of managed investment schemes. For example, the solicitation of secured loans that are paid back with interest are considered debentures. Such deposit taking entities have since 2003 also been exempted from certain requirements of the Banking Act 1959.
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority or AFCA is an external dispute resolution (EDR) company for consumers who are unable to resolve complaints with member financial services organisations. It is operated as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee and was authorised in 2018 by the then Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O'Dwyer, in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
