The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government and the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry. APRA was established on 1 July 1998 in response to the recommendations of the Wallis Inquiry. APRA's authority and scope is determined pursuant to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act, 1998 (Cth).
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services, including retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance, investment, and broking services. The Commonwealth Bank is the largest Australian listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange as of August 2015, with brands including Bankwest, Colonial First State Investments, ASB Bank, Commonwealth Securities (CommSec) and Commonwealth Insurance (CommInsure).
The treasurerof Australia, also known as the Federaltreasurer or simply the treasurer, is the minister of state of the Commonwealth of Australia charged with overseeing government revenue collection, federal expenditure and economic policy as the head of the Department of the Treasury. The current treasurer is Jim Chalmers, who was appointed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in May 2022 following the 2022 Australian federal election.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to protect Australian consumers, investors and creditors. ASIC was established on 1 July 1998 following recommendations from the Wallis Inquiry. ASIC's authority and scope are determined by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001.
Banking in Australia is dominated by four major banks: Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank. There are several smaller banks with a presence throughout the country which includes Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Suncorp Bank, and a large number of other financial institutions, such as credit unions, building societies and mutual banks, which provide limited banking-type services and are described as authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs). Many large foreign banks have a presence, but few have a retail banking presence. The central bank is the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The Australian government’s Financial Claims Scheme (FCS) guarantees deposits up to $250,000 per account-holder per ADI in the event of the ADI failing.
The Financial Ombudsman Service is an ombudsman in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000, and given statutory powers in 2001 by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, to help settle disputes between consumers and UK-based businesses providing financial services, such as banks, building societies, insurance companies, investment firms, financial advisers and finance companies.
In Australia, superannuation or "super" is a retirement savings system. It involves money earned by an employee being placed into an investment fund to be made legally available to fund members upon retirement.
Australian insurance law is based on commercial contract law, but is subject to regulations that affect the insurance industry and insurance contracts within Australia. Commonwealth Parliament has power to make laws with respect to insurance and insurance companies under section 51(xiv) and (xx) of the Australian Constitution. Generally, the Insurance Act 1973 and Insurance Contracts Act 1984 are the main acts that apply, however there are a number of other pieces of legislation enacted by the states, private codes and voluminous case law all of which forms the body of insurance law.
The Superannuation Complaints Tribunal is an independent statutory body established by the Australian Government to deal with complaints about superannuation.
Australia's insurance market can be divided into roughly three components: life insurance, general insurance and health insurance. These markets are fairly distinct, with most larger insurers focusing on only one type, although in recent times several of these companies have broadened their scope into more general financial services, and have faced competition from banks and subsidiaries of foreign financial conglomerates. With services such as disability insurance, income protection and even funeral insurance, these insurance giants are stepping in to fill the gap where people may have otherwise been in need of a personal or signature loan from their financial institution.
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent businesses from engaging in fraud or specified unfair practices to gain an advantage over competitors or to mislead consumers. They may also provide additional protection for the general public which may be impacted by a product even when they are not the direct purchaser or consumer of that product. For example, government regulations may require businesses to disclose detailed information about their products—particularly in areas where public health or safety is an issue, such as with food or automobiles.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was a member-funded Australian ombudsman service that provided external dispute resolution for consumers who were unable to resolve complaints with member financial services organisations.
Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) is a legal licence provided by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) enabling the operation and activities of Australian financial services businesses. It is a legal requirement for any Australian financial service business to obtain an AFSL from the day business operations begin unless provided a limited licence or exemption with special provisions under section 911A(2)(l) of the Corporations Act. The AFSL is issued by ASIC under Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001, in line with its regulatory supervision of the financial services industry. Australian Financial Service Businesses must submit an application to ASIC coupled with supporting documents to be assessed. Licensees are obligated to provide efficient, honest and fair financial services under the conditions of their AFSL and the Corporations Act 2001. Failure to follow and uphold the policies under the AFSL and the Corporations Act 2001 will result in penalties against the business.
Ombudsmen in Australia are independent agencies who assist when a dispute arises between individuals and industry bodies or government agencies. Government ombudsman services are free to the public, like many other ombudsman and dispute resolution services, and are a means of resolving disputes outside of the court systems. Australia has an ombudsman assigned for each state; as well as an ombudsman for the Commonwealth of Australia. As laws differ between states just one process, or policy, cannot be used across the Commonwealth. All government bodies are within the jurisdiction of the ombudsman.
The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is a Canadian organization whose responsibility is to handle the financial disputes of consumers and small businesses that could not be resolved by the customers and the financial firms on their own. The OBSI provides the service on an impartial and independent basis, and free of charge to the consumer as an alternative to the legal system.
Financial regulation in Australia is extensive and detailed.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was a member-funded Australian ombudsman service that provided external dispute resolution for consumers who were unable to resolve complaints with member financial services organisations.
The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, also known as the Banking Royal Commission and the Hayne Royal Commission, was a royal commission established on 14 December 2017 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and report on misconduct in the banking, superannuation, and financial services industry. The establishment of the commission followed revelations in the media of a culture of greed within several Australian financial institutions. A subsequent parliamentary inquiry recommended a royal commission, noting the lack of regulatory intervention by the relevant government authorities, and later revelations that financial institutions were involved in money laundering for drug syndicates, turned a blind eye to terrorism financing, and ignored statutory reporting responsibilities and impropriety in foreign exchange trading.
The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) is "Australia’s leading professional association for financial planners." The association has around 11,000 members and affiliates, with nearly 5,000 CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP) professionals. The FPA offers different membership categories including CFP® Professional, Practitioner member - AFP®, Affiliate, Retired, Academic and Student Affiliate members. In addition to running a program of local events across Australia, the FPA also hosts an annual professionals Congress for members and non-members in the profession. The FPA operates 30 Chapters across Australia which are supported by Chapter Chairs and Regional Chapter Chairs. The Future2 Foundation is the charitable enterprise of the FPA, and funds are raised through a mixture of activities including networking and social events. Alongside its consumer-facing brand Money & Life the FPA also runs regular campaigns to raise awareness of the value of financial advice amongst Australian consumers.
The Financial Ombudsman Service of the Russian Federation was created in 2018 to mediate consumer rights complaints and out-of-court disputes between consumers of financial services and financial organizations. It was created under federal law on June 4, 2018 to provide legal status of the Financial Ombudsman Service, the procedure for its activities, specific rules and regulation procedures as well as consideration of citizens’ complaints scheme and other legal relations. It was designed to help resolve disputes between consumers and financial institutions providing clients and considers claims against credit institutions, insurance organizations, microfinance institutions, credit consumer cooperatives, pawnshops and non-state pension funds on a mandatory and voluntary basis
