Australia's current financial services regulatory & compliance landscape is changing rapidly - Clyde & Co's weekly Regulatory Roundup will ensure you are up to date with the most important changes. In each edition, we will set out five key developments from the past week for you to consider. 

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1. ASIC says “greenwashing is in our sights”: ASIC has clarified its views on greenwashing in a keynote speech by Chair Joe Longo, including its expectations of the finance industry more generally. Reminding the market of the definition of greenwashing in Info Sheet 271, i.e., “the practice of misrepresenting the extent to which a financial product or investment strategy is environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical,” ASIC emphasised that its interventions are founded on enforcing well-established legal obligations that prohibit misleading and deceptive conduct. With a reminder that compliance “equals good business”, the ASIC Chair provided some helpful guidance on its approach for enforcement action with matters with the broadest reach that will send a wider compliance message to the market, being at the top of the list. As more and more companies highlight their environmental credentials, regulatory attention shows no sign of abating. We encourage you to ensure that your environmental positions can be substantiated. 
2. First ASIC court win against non-cash crypto assets payment facility: the Federal Court has found that BPS Financial engaged in unlicensed conduct when offering Qoin Wallet, a non-cash payment facility that used a crypto-asset token called Qoin. In addition to contraventions of the Corporations Act, J Downes held that BPS Financial engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and made false or misleading representations concerning the Qoin Wallet, including that the Qoin Wallet was officially registered or officially approved when it was not. In yet another warning to the crypto-industry, ASIC commented that the decision “should send a message to the crypto industry that their products will continue to be scrutinised…to ensure consumers are protected and that they comply with regulatory obligations”. It is safe to say that ASIC will continue its laser focus on the crypto-sector and providers should be very carefully considering whether offerings are at risk of falling within the regulatory perimeter. 
3. AUSTRAC infringement notices for AML/CTF reporting failures: AUSTRAC has issued 8 infringement notices to a range of businesses, including non-bank lenders, financial service providers and trustees, for failures to meet reporting duties under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006. The penalties ranged from $3,300 for sole traders to $16,500 for companies per violation. The infringement notices related to failing to submit the 2022 annual compliance report, with AUSTRAC CEO Brendan Thomas commenting that a “key aspect of Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime is ensuring AUSTRAC receives information from businesses”. AUSTRAC has pledged to continue to monitor compliance with reporting obligations and take appropriate enforcement action where businesses fail to submit their annual compliance report.
4. APRA directive to life insurers: APRA has encouraged life insurers to develop “diverse and innovative” life insurance products that are adapted to today's demographics and risk profiles in a speech to the All Actuaries Summit, which marks the beginning of the “Think Bigger, Live Better” journey for the life insurance industry. Identifying an ageing population and growing levels of mental illness in the community as emerging key risk areas, Executive Board Member Suzanne Smith suggested life companies adopt a holistic view when designing future-fit insurance offerings and ask “critical questions about the ideal protection package, identifying coverage gaps and overlaps”. Increased transparency around risk assessment, product design, pricing, sales and claims processes were identified as key strategies to rebuild market trust with the industry as a whole being encouraged to focus on community understanding, coverage and outcomes to foster sustainability in the sector. 
5. International perspective: insurance contract law is back on the agenda in New Zealand with the draft Contracts of Insurance Bill being tabled on 2 May for its first reading. The Bill, which aims to overhaul the incumbent legislative regime that sits across six different statutes to align with international best practice, represents a material shift in areas such as the duty of disclosure and the application of the unfair contract terms regime in the Fair Trading Act. While the duty of good faith subsists as a matter of law, it is modified and codified in the Bill. Policy wordings will need to be written in plain English to facilitate comparison of product features under the proposed terms. The developments have been widely welcomed in the market, with the Chief Executive of the Insurance Council of New Zealand commenting that the “new Bill will help tidy up, rationalise and updated New Zealand’s insurance law into a single framework to support well-functioning markets for both insurers and consumers”. Submissions are invited until Monday 3 June and it will then be a waiting game to see how the Bill develops before it becomes law.  

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