The ASIC Podcast

Investing in land and property is certainly not a revolutionary idea. Australians have been investing in bricks, mortar and land for decades, but unfortunately not all property investment schemes are the same. 'Land banking' can produce returns for investors but comes with significant red flags. It is often unregulated, leaving investors without protection if things go wrong. In this episode, we explore some of the land banking sch...

In this episode we discuss the findings and recommendations from ASIC’s thematic review of total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance in Australia including what ASIC expects insurers and superannuation trustees to do to address the poor consumer outcomes. We are joined by the Senior Executive Leader of ASIC's Insurers team, Emma Curtis, and the Senior Executive Leader of the Superannuation team, Jane Eccleston. 

For more infor...

In this episode, we discuss ASIC's review of how car insurance claims are investigated where fraud is suspected. We are joined by the Senior Executive Leader of ASIC's Insurers team, Emma Curtis, and the Director of Casework at the Financial Rights Legal Centre, Alexandra Kelly.

For more information about the review, download ASIC Report 621 – Roadblocks and roundabouts: A review of car insurance claim investigations and read ASIC ...

On 10 July 2019, ASIC’s case against James Gibbs came to a close and he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of seven years to serve.

James Gibbs stole $4.88 million from his clients when he was acting as their financial adviser. His clients trusted him with their savings, with their money to be used for their retirements, and he devastatingly broke that trust by using that money for his own purposes.

In...

A man sits outside an office building on his laptop. He keeps to himself and passers-by don’t really notice him. He has been outside this office building before, but he is not interested in going inside. Unknown to those around him, and the company operating inside the building, this man is inside their network, accessing confidential information and reading their emails. He’s after inside information.

Steven Oakes was sentenced on...

In this episode we take you behind the scenes of a ponzi scheme, where unbelievably good returns are offered to investors, the scheme operator seems to be trustworthy – but it’s all smoke and mirrors.

ASIC investigators Kaan Finney and David McArthur explain how ponzi schemes work, how operators attract investors, how ASIC investigates and shuts down these schemes and most importantly, how can you can avoid getting caught up in a s...

ASIC has today released its enforcement update report for the period 1 July 2018 to 30 December 2018.

A copy of the report - outlining key actions taken over the past six months to enforce the law and support our enforcement objectives - can be found here.

The report also covers ongoing areas for particular focus, including ASIC Deputy Chair Daniel Crennan QC’s discussion of recent reforms enabling ASIC to pursue harsher civil pena...

ASIC has welcomed the passage of key financial services reforms contained in the Treasury Laws Amendment (Design and Distribution Obligations and Product Intervention Powers) legislation introducing:

• a design and distribution obligations regime for financial services firms; and
• a product intervention power for ASIC

The design and distribution obligations will bring accountability for issuers and distributors to design, m...