The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has submitted its final report on a financial services legislation overhaul to the Federal Attorney-General following a three-year inquiry. 

“We look forward to participating in public discussions on the ALRC’s recommendations in due course,” the organisation said. 

The ALRC Review of the Legislative Framework for Corporations and Financial Services Regulation was started under the previous federal government as part of its response to the Hayne Royal Commission. 

The review has involved the release of three interim reports to date. The third, issued in the middle of this year, focused on improving Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act following hundreds of amendments since its 2001 enactment. 

The ALRC has said rising complexities have increased costs and non-compliance risks and that the sooner reforms can be made to the regulatory architecture, the easier they will be to implement. 

A background paper released during the inquiry says efforts over the years to address various kinds of risks have seen the Corporations Act balloon from 1866 pages in 2001 to 3900, with a commensurate increase in accompanying regulations and legislative instruments.