In a surprising about face, the Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law, Chris Bowen MP, announced last Friday that the conduct of unsuitability assessments under the responsible lending conduct obligations, which were recently pushed back to 1 January 2011 (see our
update of 11 August 2009), have now been reversed back to 1 January 2010. The revision does not apply to Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions
(ADIs) and Registered Financial Corporations
(RFCs).
Selected changes to the National Credit Code (NCC) have also been pushed back from 1 January 2010 to 1 July 2010.
The following table summarises the current position:
A provider of credit assistance must make a preliminary assessment of whether a credit contract is unsuitable for its consumer client, within 90 days of the assistance being provided (Part 3-1, Division 4):
Non-ADIs and non-RFCs ADIs and RFC
|
From 1 January 2011 |
- From 1 Jan 2010
- From 1 Jan 2011
|
Other responsible lending obligations (including Credit Guides, Quotes and Credit proposal disclosure documents) |
From 1 January 2011 |
From 1 January 2011 |
New NCC Requirements:
Application to credit for residential properties. Introduction of debit default notices. Amendments to default notices. New notices in response to application for hardship variations and postponements.
|
From 1 January 2011 |
From 1 July 2010
(Current State Code requirements apply under NCC from 1 January 2010) |
Draft regulations for the NCC were also released on Friday with comment invited until 9 September 2009. The draft Regulations include:
- National Consumer Credit Protection Regulations 2009;
- National Consumer Credit Protection (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2009;
- National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Regulations; and
- Electronic Transactions Amendment Regulations 2009.
Click here to view Government media releases and the draft Regulations.
Assistance
Having assisted many financial services providers obtain their Australian Finance Services Licence under a similar regime, the Hall & Wilcox Financial Services and Banking & Finance teams are able to:
- assist in making a submission on the draft regulations;
- provide specific advice as to how the National Consumer Credit legislation and the responsible lending obligations will apply to you;
- assist in preparing Australian Credit Licence applications including all necessary proof documents in accordance with ASIC requirements; and
- assist in drafting template documents which comply with all of the disclosure requirements contained in the legislation and draft regulations.
For further information, please contact: