Victorian Government rejects fire services levy appeal
21 April 2008
The Victorian Government has again refused to scrap the fire services levy, five years after the HIH Royal Commission recommended its removal...
Regulatory & Government
Lords step in for HIH creditors
21 April 2008
Australian creditors of failed insurer HIH will benefit from a British ruling in favour of applying Australian bankruptcy law to reinsurance assets held in the UK...
SA WorkCover exit fees threaten self-insurance
21 April 2008
South Australian employers are concerned a State Government proposal to charge WorkCover exit fees will prevent firms from self-insuring...
Queensland targets dodgy landlords with fire safety laws
21 April 2008
The Queensland Government has tightened fire safety regulations by closing a loophole which allowed budget hoteliers to sidestep safety standards if they did not provide…
Vic review period near end
21 April 2008
Submissions to the review of Victoria’s Accident Compensation Act, which regulates the workers’ compensation scheme, will close on May 2...
Taxpayer digs deep for uninsured storm victims
14 April 2008
The Victorian Government has announced a storm relief package of up to $26,000 for uninsured households, despite concern that state assistance encourages underinsurance...
NSW broker pleads guilty to ASIC charges
14 April 2008
A NSW broker’s attempt to pass off false insurance contracts underwritten with $30 million of coverage from Lloyd’s came unstuck when the UK institution alerted tASIC to his actions…
Hawker flies lone insurance flag on beefed-up FSAC
14 April 2008
IAG CEO Michael Hawker remains the sole general insurance representative on the Federal Government’s expanded Financial Services Advisory Council...
Swiss Re chief calls for global insurance regime
14 April 2008
Australia’s financial services regulators might be relaxing after a thorough bout of reform over the past seven years, but one UK reinsurance leader has urged for “greater harmonisation”…
APRA scuttles its reinsurance plan
07 April 2008
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has backed away from controversial plans to change reinsurance recoverables and investment capital factors...
ASIC proposes online disclosure
07 April 2008
ASIC is seeking feedback on plans to “ease the burden of disclosure” on the financial services industry by using the internet...
Sherry details regulatory power grab
07 April 2008
The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to a takeover of financial services regulation for mortgage and investment loans from the states and territories...
Australia unlikely to follow UK commission disclosure push
31 March 2008
Mandatory commission disclosure being considered by the UK’s Financial Services Authority is unlikely to be followed by Australian regulators...
Be reasonable, regulators told
31 March 2008
The insurance industry will see few changes from a Federal Government Administrative Review Council report expected to tell regulators at all levels to take a more balanced approach…
Financial services exempt from new consumer law
31 March 2008
Draft legislation enforcing the “total price” of goods and services announced this morning by Competition Policy & Consumer Affairs Ministers Chris Bowen don’t affect…
NSW postpones tax review
17 March 2008
NSW Premier Morris Iemma has approved the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s request for an extension to its review of NSW state taxation, which includes…
IAG calls for flood pool
17 March 2008
IAG has called for the establishment of a flood compensation pool to combat the rising cost of climate change...
… as ICA recommends public-private climate partnership
17 March 2008
ICA has also called for the industry, governments, businesses and individuals to work together in adapting to environmental change...
New online breach reporting system for APRA and ASIC
17 March 2008
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority have released a new online breach reporting system…
More tax hikes on insurance in Vic and NSW
10 March 2008
Further rises in the fire services levy in Victoria and NSW have triggered a broadside from NIBA...