Publication
Challenges to the validity of local council levies
The way that local councils issue special levies, and deal with errors made in the passing of those levies, has come under spotlight in the recent High Court of Australia decision.
Australia | Publication | June 2021
ASIC has recently published a consultation paper seeking comments from stakeholders on a number of long-awaited updates to the ePayments Code (the Code), which has not been updated since 2010.
The proposed updates are largely aimed at bringing the Code up to speed with recent developments in the electronic payments environment. The Code is still voluntary, however ASIC has proposed that the Code will eventually be made mandatory through legislative mechanisms. If it becomes mandatory, this will have far-reaching impacts on the market, particularly for businesses which are not currently Code subscribers.
The Code is a voluntary code of practice that regulates electronic payments in Australia by setting standards on how to comply with, and exceed, various aspects of the law. These include, for example, ATM, EFTPOS and card transactions, online payments and internet and mobile banking.
The Code has a broad subscription base, including most banks, credit unions and building societies operating in Australia, as well as other electronic payment services providers. Notable subscribers include the big four Australian banks, American Express and PayPal.
The Code’s centrepiece is a range of important protections that complement, and often enhance, the consumer and investor protections that ASIC administers (eg, the ASIC Act, Corporations Act and National Credit Code). Examples of the protections set out in the Code include:
The Code operates by imposing requirements as part of a subscribing financial institution’s terms and conditions with its customers. In this way, the requirements of the Code are incorporated into, and form part of, the contract between that financial institution and the relevant customer.
On the basis that there have been significant developments in the electronic payments environment since the last time the Code was reviewed, the purpose of ASIC’s review of the Code is to ensure that:
We set out in this article some of the proposed changes and their potential impact.
In 2014, the Government accepted recommendations to move away from the current voluntary subscription scheme and mandate compliance with the Code. The recommendation was made as part of the findings from the Financial System Inquiry, where the Government examined how the financial system could be positioned to best meet Australia’s evolving needs and support Australia’s economic growth. Since then, the Council of Financial Regulators in 2019 recommended that ASIC be empowered to enforce mandatory compliance with the Code, such as through a legislative rule-making power.
As such, until the Code is eventually mandated through legislative machinery, the current voluntary scheme is considered an interim measure. The Australian Government and other relevant bodies will in parallel consider policy issues arising from the Code.
The proposed updates to the Code mainly relate to the following areas:
Overall, the proposed amendments are encouraging, but there is room for further improvement. In any event, electronic payment service providers should now be on notice as to the requirements of the Code and the proposed amendments as they are likely to be imposed across the industry.
Submissions are due by Friday, 2 July 2021.
ASIC will then will consider stakeholder feedback and publish a report outlining the submissions and ASIC’s final positions on issues raised. ASIC will also issue a draft updated Code for comments on the technical wording and format.
ASIC has stated that it hopes to release the updated Code by late 2021. Once finalised, current subscribers to the Code will be required to reapply for the updated version of the Code through ASIC.
If you would like any assistance with entering a submission in response to the consultation paper, or otherwise navigating or subscribing to the Code, please get in touch with our team.
Publication
The way that local councils issue special levies, and deal with errors made in the passing of those levies, has come under spotlight in the recent High Court of Australia decision.
Publication
On 22 February 2024, Belgium became the EU frontrunner in the fight against ecocides by being the first EU member state to criminalise ecocide, in the new Belgian Criminal Code.
Publication
The Pensions Regulator’s General Code has arrived and will apply from March 27, 2024. In this briefing, we take a step back from the detail. We set out why the General Code really matters and how pension scheme trustees can best make it work for them.
Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .
© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 2023