NZ ombudsman scheme raises payout limits
15 July 2024
New Zealand’s financial dispute resolution services are raising their maximum compensation limits to $NZ500,000 ($450,760) and increasing the cap for non-financial losses...
Regulatory & Government
Insurance House kicked off Victorian builders’ warranty broker panel
08 July 2024
The Victorian Managed Insurance Authority has removed Insurance House from its broker distributor panel for domestic building insurance...
Commission consent becomes law
08 July 2024
Parliament last week passed the federal government’s first phase of advice reforms that include changes to insurance commission disclosures...
ASIC failing to enforce law, inquiry finds
08 July 2024
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has “comprehensively” failed to go after corporate misconduct and enforce financial services laws, a Senate inquiry has concluded...
Advocate bodies given power to make ‘super complaints’
08 July 2024
The federal government has appointed three designated complainants that are empowered to report significant or systemic market issues affecting consumers or small businesses...
Queensland risk fund pumps more cash into disaster readiness
08 July 2024
Queensland will receive nearly $15 million for natural disaster mitigation projects under a fresh round of funding from the state and federal governments...
Industry gets behind NSW strata law reforms
01 July 2024
Insurers, brokers and consumer groups have backed the NSW government’s plan to tighten laws on strata commission disclosure and other practices that have raised concerns around transparency and conflicts of interest...
ARPC weighs strata mitigation discounts in cyclone pool
01 July 2024
The Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation is considering introducing mitigation discounts on strata policy wind premiums as part of cyclone pool rate changes to apply from next April...
National ban on deadly stone kicks in
01 July 2024
Australia’s world-first ban on engineered stone begins today, marking a significant move against dust-related diseases such as silicosis...
Victorian building regulator appoints new surveyor
01 July 2024
The Victorian Building Authority has hired Steven Baxas as state building surveyor, effective from August 5...
EQC changes name under legislative shake-up
01 July 2024
New Zealand’s Earthquake Commission has today taken the new name of Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tu Ake under an update of the insurance scheme’s legislation...
WA channels cash to councils for bushfire mitigation
01 July 2024
The WA government is providing $4 million to help 27 councils prepare for the next bushfire season...
Senate panel backs advice reform, but opposition demands change
24 June 2024
The Senate Economics Legislation Committee has completed its inquiry into the federal government’s draft advice law changes and recommended that the bill be passed...
Ministers to co-ordinate action on battery safety
24 June 2024
Federal and state environment ministers have agreed to strengthen laws around battery disposal after a spate of deadly fires in homes and recycling facilities...
Rescue service, new bridge receive NSW flood response funds
24 June 2024
The NSW government says a $94.7 million State Emergency Service funding injection will strengthen flood preparedness, including in the vulnerable Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley and Northern Rivers regions...
Sustainable finance roadmap revealed in net zero push
24 June 2024
The federal government has published its Sustainable Finance Roadmap, detailing reforms that will produce comparable information about businesses’ exposure to climate-related financial risks...
State insurer defends handling of building claims
24 June 2024
The Victorian Managed Insurance Authority says it has about 2200 “open” building settlement claims, contrary to figures provided by the state opposition...
'Historic moment' as NSW passes industrial manslaughter laws
24 June 2024
An industrial manslaughter bill has been passed in NSW, the last mainland state to make gross negligence in the workplace an offence...
Last resort compensation scheme makes first payments
17 June 2024
The Compensation Scheme of Last Resort has paid more than $360,000 to seven victims of financial services misconduct – its first payouts since the industry-funded redress program began on April 2...
NZ insurers flag concerns over fast-track planning laws
17 June 2024
The Insurance Council of New Zealand has called for changes to proposed laws on a new streamlined decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects with significant regional or national benefits...