Changes to our Disclosure Documents due to Design and Distribution Obligations and Internal Dispute Resolution Legislation

ASIC recently announced new regulatory guides concerning the design and distribution of regulated products to customers, including the capture and reporting of product-related complaints known as product Design and Distribution Obligations (RG274), as well as the internal resolution of disputes (RG271). Both pieces of legislation come into effect from 5 October 2021.

As a result of the new legislation, we will be making changes to our processes and disclosure documents.

1. RG271: Internal Dispute Resolution

   Designed to ensure all consumers have access to fair, timely and effective dispute resolution, RG271 contains updated standards and requirements which seek to achieve a consistent approach to complaint handling across the industry.

   In response to this new legislation, we will be updating our Share Trading Terms and Conditions, Financial Services Guide, Exchange Traded Options (ETO) Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Global Markets ETO PDS and Privacy Policy effective, 5 October 2021.

   The changes include the updating references to ‘final response’ to ‘Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) response’, as well as changes to the maximum timeframes by which we are required to provide customers with an IDR response, from 45 to 30 calendar days.

2. RG274: Design and Distribution Obligations

   This legislation introduces a new framework for product Issuers and Distributors across the lifecycle of financial products in order to promote better, fairer outcomes for consumers.

   As a result of this new legislation, we will be producing an ETO Target Market Determination and Global Markets ETO Target Market Determination that we will make available on our website alongside our ETO application form and PDS.

   We will also be updating our ETO PDS and Application Form, and our Global Markets ETO PDS and Application effective, 5 October 2021. The changes include adding references and acknowledgements to the new ETO Target Market Determination, as well as introducing a new customer suitability questionnaire.

The updated documents will be available for download from the ‘Forms’ page of this website from 5 October 2021.

We recommend you carefully review the changes. Should you have any questions about these changes, please contact us.