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There are a number of issues to be considered for those planning to make voluntary submissions to the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, Dr Tom Middleton writes.
The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (the Royal Commission) held its first public hearing on Monday, 12 February 2018 in Melbourne.
The Royal Commissions Act 1902 (Cth) (the Act) that authorises the federal government, through the Governor-General, to initiate this inquiry is bristling with powers that let the Royal Commission inquire into and report on any matter specified in the Letters Patent, and refer any suspected contraventions to the regulators for enforcement.
The Royal Commission can refer suspected misconduct to regulators – at any time
The Royal Commission can’t resolve individual disputes, award compensation or make orders requiring a party to a dispute to take or not take any action. However, under s 6P of the Act, the Royal Commission can, if it thinks it’s appropriate, refer any suspected misconduct to the relevant regulator responsible for that area of law, such as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) or the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The regulators don’t need to wait for any final report; the Royal Commission can refer a suspected contravention of the law to a regulator for action at any time during the course of the inquiry.
If a suspected contravention is referred to ASIC, it has the power to:
Dr Tom Middleton is an Associate Professor at the James Cook University law school in Townsville. He is the author of Thomson Reuters’ ‘ASIC Corporate Investigations and Hearings’.