Legal and regulatory update for the life and health insurance sector
20 Jul 2023 - The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released its annual Private Health Insurance Coverage Survey, which provides a snapshot at December each year of the number of people, by age, gender and state of residence, with hospital insurance, for the December 2022 reference period. https://www.apra.gov.au/private-health-insurance-annual-coverage-survey
20 Jul 2023 -The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have released key materials for consultation, to support the implementation of the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) by the financial services industry.
The FAR will impose a strengthened responsibility and accountability framework for APRA-regulated entities in the banking, insurance and superannuation industries and their directors and most senior and influential executives. In doing so, it is designed to improve the risk and governance cultures of those financial institutions. The closing date for submissions is 17 August 2023. https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2023-releases/23-194mr-apra-and-asic-commence-early-consultation-on-far/
21 Jul 2023 - The Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Te Pūtea Matua has released the dates for publication of its quarterly Monetary Policy Statement (MPS), Monetary Policy Review (MPR) decisions and the six-monthly Financial Stability Report (FSR). The new dates cover the period from February 2025 to July 2025. https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/hub/news/2023/07/monetary-policy-announcement-and-financial-stability-report-dates
24 Jul 2023 - The Therapeutic Products Bill receives royal assent https://bills.parliament.nz/v/6/e52e16e3-0427-4372-a650-4eb655b4c440?Tab=history
25 Jul 2023 - From today the Financial Markets Authority will begin accepting licensing applications for financial institution licences under the Conduct of Financial Institutions (CoFI) regime. Under CoFI, which comes into force on 31 March 2025, about 100 registered banks, licensed insurers, and licensed non-bank deposit takers such as credit unions will need to be licensed by the FMA to provide financial services to consumers. https://www.fma.govt.nz/news/all-releases/media-releases/cofi-licensing-begins/