Financial Sector Reform (Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 1998

to provide for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission which will administer such laws of:

the Commonwealth; and

the Capital Territory; and

the States and the other Territories;

In performing its functions and exercising its powers, the Commission must strive to:

maintain, facilitate and improve the performance of the financial system and the entities within that system in the interests of commercial certainty, reducing business costs, and the efficiency and development of the economy; and

promote the confident and informed participation of investors and consumers in the financial system; and

achieve uniformity throughout Australia in how the Commission and its delegates perform those functions and exercise those powers; and

administer the laws that confer functions and powers on it effectively and with a minimum of procedural requirements; and

receive, process and store, efficiently and quickly, the information given to the Commission under the laws that confer functions and powers on it; and

ensure that information is available as soon as practicable for access by the public; and

take whatever action it can take, and is necessary, in order to enforce and give effect to the laws that confer functions and powers on it.

The Commission has the functions and powers that are conferred on it by or under the following Acts:

the Insurance Act 1973;

the Insurance (Agents and Brokers) Act 1984;

the Insurance Contracts Act 1984;

the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993;

the Life Insurance Act 1995;

the Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997;

the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.

The Commission has the function of monitoring and promoting market integrity and consumer protection in relation to the Australian financial system.

The Commission has the function of monitoring and promoting market integrity and consumer protection in relation to the payments system by:

promoting the adoption of approved industry standards and codes of practice; and

promoting the protection of consumer interests; and

promoting community awareness of payments system issues; and

promoting sound customer‑banker relationships, including through:

monitoring the operation of industry standards and codes of practice; and

monitoring compliance with such standards and codes.

Subsections (2) and (3) confer functions and powers to the extent to which they are not in excess of the legislative power of the Commonwealth.

The Commission may:

advise the Minister about any changes to a law listed in subsection (1) that the Commission thinks are needed to help overcome any problems that the Commission has encountered in the course of performing its functions or exercising any of its powers under that law; and

advise the Minister and make such recommendations as it thinks fit about any matter relating to its functions in subsections (2) and (3).

The Commission has power to do whatever is necessary for or in connection with, or reasonably incidental to, the performance of its functions.

The heading to section 11 is altered by adding at the end "-national scheme laws".

The Commission may accept a written undertaking given by a person in connection with a matter in relation to which the Commission has a function or power under this Act.

The person may withdraw or vary the undertaking at any time, but only with the consent of the Commission.

If the Commission considers that the person who gave the undertaking has breached any of its terms, the Commission may apply to the Court for an order under subsection (4).

If the Court is satisfied that the person has breached a term of the undertaking, the Court may make all or any of the following orders:

an order directing the person to comply with that term of the undertaking;

an order directing the person to pay to the Commonwealth an amount up to the amount of any financial benefit that the person has obtained directly or indirectly and that is reasonably attributable to the breach;

any order that the Court considers appropriate directing the person to compensate any other person who has suffered loss or damage as a result of the breach;

any other order that the Court considers appropriate.

From the commencement of this subsection, the Commission is to be known as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.