Our latest insights

Australia has relied heavily on businesses and consumers to lead the way on emissions reduction to tackle climate change. Several Australian states have had to develop their own policies and roadmaps to progress the clean energy transition and enable private sector investment outside the national framework. This presents risks and challenges if not managed carefully.

Considering Australia’s significant fintech and financial sector experience, it’s no surprise Victoria’s recent Intersekt Festival focused on leveraging Australia’s fintech market to its full potential.

Since March 2022, existing .au registrants were eligible for the Priority Allocation Process, enabling them to apply for priority status of a direct .au domain name matching their pre-existing domain name. After 20 September 2022, direct .au domain names that have not been registered will be available to the general public.

Following the announcement of the CPS tripartite audits in November 2020, APRA began issuing notices to regulated entities to undergo the independent assessment. The reviews are part of APRA’s four year strategy to increase the rigor of compliance with CPS 234: Information Security.

APRA has now released draft Prudential Standard CPS 230 Operational Risk Management for comment. CPS 230 establishes APRA’s expectations regarding operational resilience and will replace CPS 231: Outsourcing and CPS 232: Business Continuity, and the sector specific standards HPS 231, SPS 231 and SPS 232.

The Payment Times Reporting (PTR) Scheme was introduced on 1 January 2021, requiring large businesses to report on the payment terms, and invoice payment times for their small business suppliers.

Whether you’ve just secured the coveted role of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or you’re on the cusp of becoming one, one thing’s for sure: you’re embarking on a high-stakes, high pressure role.

As we come to the end of the financial year, its timely to review your upcoming tax compliance obligations. For multinational entities, the disclosures and complexities of tax compliance generally have never been more complex or challenging. Here are some of the main IDS issues to be aware of.

With only 3 weeks remaining in the financial year, builders should immediately test their compliance with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission’s (QBCC) Minimum Financial Reporting Requirements (MFR) to ensure there is enough time to rectify any deficiencies before FY22/23 year end.

With so much media coverage and laws focused on paying your people correctly, businesses today are more aware about the potential to have payroll issues.

Last week, APRA Deputy Chair John Lonsdale delivered a speech at the COBA CEO and Director Forum. Reflecting on the history of the mutual banking sector, Lonsdale highlighted APRA’s recent review of mutuals exiting the industry and their performance 12 months prior to their exit. It brought to the fore several issues that could lead to potential future mutual exits, such as poor performance on cost management, lending growth and profitability. APRA highlighted three core priorities to “support a strong, stable mutual sector”, being: • Cyber risk, including CPS 234 reviews • Risk culture • Contingency and continuity frameworks

In June 2018, the NSW Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW Act) was passed – just ahead of the national approach to modern slavery. The Commonwealth’s Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) (the Commonwealth Act) was introduced to the Commonwealth Parliament a few weeks after New South Wales.