Over the last two decades, Australia has developed a unique legal and regulatory framework for collective investments, including mutual funds. This framework is built around a single “responsible entity” that combines the role of the fund sponsor and adviser with that of the trustee. This...

In recent years there has been a renewed emphasis on improving the regulatory frameworks of financial systems in part as a response to the global financial crisis. This has included a focus on how institutional design can promote financial stability. Support for the continued importance of...

Employment restraints of trade can discourage employees from leaving their position by restricting their ability to work in their chosen field for a period of time after their employment has ended. This is a contentious issue in terms of fairness between employers and employees. This article...

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) was established in 2008 to resolve disputes between Australian consumers and financial service providers. This article outlines the role of FOS in resolving disputes under the statutory protections for Australians in financial hardship. This article also...

In May 2015 the Productivity Commission released its Draft Report ‘Business Set-up, Transfer and Closure'. This research note does not deal with the broad range of issues touched on by the Productivity Commission. Instead, it concentrates on those matters relating to corporate insolvency and...

Phoenix activity occurs where the business of a failed company is transferred to a second company and the second company's controllers are the same as the first company's controllers. Phoenix activity can be both legal as well as illegal, however regulators face difficulties delineating between...

Special protections for Australians in financial hardship have recently been incorporated into the legal frameworks governing the consumer credit, energy, water and telecommunications sectors. These protections have the objective of enabling consumers to avoid the serious legal consequences of...

The authors analyse resolutions proposed by shareholders of Australian companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange for the 10 year period from 2004 to 2013. They investigate the number of shareholder resolutions over time, the subject matter of the resolutions, whether the resolutions...

Bankruptcy has always been a source of significant stigma. The first Elizabethan statutes regarded bankruptcy as a quasi-criminal state, punishable by public shaming, imprisonment and, in some cases, death. More modern regimes have recognised that bankruptcy serves important economic objectives,...

Financial hardship occurs where a consumer takes on payment obligations under a contract but then becomes unable to meet them when they fall due. The authors present the results of a survey of financial counsellors with the aim of drawing upon the extensive work experience of the counsellors to...