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The Australian Communications Industry Forum has published a Consumer Contracts Code relating to phone and Internet contracts.
The new code of practice is intended to provide assurance that contracts offered by telecommunications service providers will be simpler, fairer and more transparent.
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The Australian Communications Authority has registered the Australian eMarketing Code of Practice.
The code sets industry-wide rules and guidelines for the sending of commercial electronic messages in accordance with the Spam Act 2003.
Registration means that the ACA can enforce compliance with the code rules on all members of the e-marketing industry, as defined by the Telecommunications Act 1997, and not just signatories to the code.
“The code provides a framework of practical advice and guidance for the e-marketing industry
to use e-marketing responsibly, to handle any complaints about practices that might be spamming and to monitor industry compliance,” ACA Acting Chairman Dr Bob Horton said.
“The code also provides consumers with a clear understanding of e-marketing industry
processes and benchmarks for sending commercial electronic messag
Under the Telecommunications Act 1997 e-marketers are defined as those who use e-mail or mobile telephones as their main marketing tool, or who market in this way by contract or
arrangement on behalf of a third party. However, businesses other than e-marketers are likely to follow the code to ensure best practice and compliance with the Spam Act.
Under the Telecommunications Act, the ACA has the power to direct any e-marketer who has contravened the code to comply with it. If an e-marketer fails to comply with a direction, the ACA can then take the matter to the Federal Court which can impose penalties of up to $250,000 for each
contravention.
The ACA also recently released an m-commerce guide.
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As announced last year Queensland debits tax will end on 1 July 2005.
Debits tax will continue to apply until 30 June 2005. Any debit tax liabilities accruing up to and including 30 June 2005 will remain payable.
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ASIC has announced the results of its recent review of "related party" compliance.
The campaign targeted eight areas of disclosure where the quality of information in related party documents sent to shareholders continues to be defective. These areas of disclosure
include:
During the three-month period September 2004 to November 2004, ASIC reviewed a total of 223 notices of meeting and accompanying documents, including re-lodged notices of meeting. 58 notices of meeting were found to have common defects. As a result:
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The ACCC has continued its push for high penalties (including jail terms) for people found guilty of anti-competitive conduct following the recent decision on petrol price fixing in the Ballarat area.
Pecuniary penalties totalling
$23.305 million were ordered by the Federal Court for
price-fixing conduct in the Ballarat petrol market.The ACCC instituted proceedings against 16 respondents.
However there is concern that some of the respondents are insolvent.
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The Australian Communications Authority and the Australian Braodcasting Authority will merge on 1 July to form the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
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ASIC has accepted an enforceable undertaking from The Colonial Mutual
Life Assurance Society Limited (CMLA), Colonial Mutual Superannuation
Pty Limited (CMS) and Commonwealth Custodial Services Limited (CCSL).
The undertaking follows the identification by CMLA,
CMS and CCSL of some irregularities with unit-linked investment options
offered by CMLA, CMS or CCSL, and managed by CMLA.
CMLA, CMS and CCSL advised ASIC that some unit
prices in the unit-linked investment options managed by CMLA were wrong
due to the incorrect allocation of imputation tax credits, the
incorrect treatment of tax allowances, other tax related problems, and
processing irregularities. Investors in some superannuation funds,
deposit funds, master funds and master trusts were provided with
incorrect information concerning their investments including incorrect
account balances and incorrect withdrawal amounts by CMLA or CCSL. CMS
and CCSL are approved trustees of the relevant funds and trust.
ASIC’s Executive Director of Enforcement, Ms Jan
Redfern said ASIC and CMLA, CMS and CCSL agreed to enter into an
enforceable undertaking to ensure that investors who had been affected
by the unit pricing error were returned to the same position they would
have been had the errors not occurred.
CMLA has already rectified unit prices and made restitution to investors in connection with a number of the issues.
As part of the enforceable undertaking, CMLA has
undertaken to engage an external compliance consultant, to be approved
by ASIC, to review the systems, procedures and processes established by
CMLA to ensure that similar issues do not happen again. CMLA has
undertaken to report on these requirements to ASIC
CMS and CCSL have also agreed to compensate and
notify investors affected by those unit pricing issues, which have not
yet been addressed, and to report on this requirement to ASIC.
In December 2004, ASIC and APRA issued a consultation paper seeking
industry comment on proposed guidance for good practice in unit pricing.
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Austrac has issued an information circular clarifying which account signatories must be identified by cash dealers under the Financial Transaction Reports Act.
A key quote:
Any individual who has the ability to authorise a debit transaction for an account is considered to be a signatory to that account and therefore must be identified by the cash dealer offering the account. This applies regardless of the signatory being a third party acting as a professional for their client, an authorised staff member of an entity, the formal holder of the account, or a subsidiary card-holder of the account (if applicable).
The circular also deals with an individual who has ‘authorising officer’ access to a software-based product used to transmit electronic payment instructions to a cash dealer in relation to an account.
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Regulations that set out a standardised template for superannuation and managed investment products to disclose fees and costs have been gazetted.
The Corporations Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 1)
include an ASIC Fee Template, single-figure disclosure model and a consumer advisory warning box.
The new Rules commence on 1 July 2005.
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APRA has issued information on 2 areas affecting the financial services industry:
1. Basle II Capital Framework: an article in the latest APRA Insight discusses the implementation of the new capital standards.
2. IFRS: APRA has released a paper dealing with the prudential implications of a number of specific
IFRS-related changes to Australian accounting standards. It is intended that the proposals will take effect from 1 January 2006.
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