The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has stewarded the Australian National Financial Literacy Strategy since 2011. Financial literacy is increasingly recognised as an essential part of consumer protection, complementing traditional consumer protection mechanisms such as...

The authors analyse the business objectives of the top 100 companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to determine to what extent stakeholder interests are taken into account in the objectives. The objectives are classified according to whether the company prioritises the...

This paper examines the legal structure of securities lending in Australia, and also Europe, the United Kingdom and United States. It provides an analysis of the widely used industry documents, the Australian Master Securities Lending Agreement and the Global Master Securities Lending Agreement...

This paper examines the corporate governance implications of securities loans, in particular the impact of securities loans on shareholders' voting rights and the control of listed Australian companies. The paper considers whether the current regulatory framework for securities loans in...

Takeover disputes can be fiercely contested. Given this, there is an important question about the forum for these disputes. Traditionally, takeover disputes were resolved by the courts. However, in recent years, there has been a trend to have these disputes resolved by Takeovers Panels. The...

There is significant interest in the volume of litigation before the courts. This will have important implications for the resources that the courts need to deal with this ligation. Although there is an increasing amount of information available about matters before the courts, little is known...

A poor credit history can preclude an individual from obtaining loans, credit cards and even access to basic utilities. Credit repair companies claim to assist people in this situation, by deleting adverse information from their credit histories. As financial hardship becomes more widespread,...

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has been responsible for the supervision of Australia's licensed financial markets, such as the Australian Securities Exchange, since August 2010. As part of this responsibility, ASIC has developed market integrity rules (MIRs) with...

The current debate in the United Kingdom about the appropriate regulatory response to payday lending involves the key issue of borrower vulnerability. There is compelling evidence in the UK that many payday lenders are deliberately making loans to financially vulnerable borrowers who cannot...

This article reports the findings of the first detailed empirical survey of court-based enforcement activities by the regulator of Australian corporate and financial services law, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), during the years 1997–99. ASIC is responsible for...