ASIC unveils updated guidance on reporting breaches

ASIC unveils updated guidance on reporting breaches | Insurance Business Australia

Insurance News

Changes aim to help AFS licensees improve reporting practices

Insurance News

By
Roxanne Libatique

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has published an updated guidance on making notifications to ASIC under the reportable situations regime – formerly breach reporting.

The updates to Regulatory Guide 78 Breach reporting by AFS licensees and credit licensees (RG 78) clarify the existing guidance’s aspects and provide new guidance in responding to operational issues that have arisen since the implementation of RG 78 on October 1, 2021.

ASIC updated the guidance after analysing reports it received and obtaining direct feedback from the industry and other stakeholders to clarify the requirements for licensees, including a targeted consultation that considered feedback from various industry associations from the insurance, banking, superannuation, financial advisers, markets, and credit sectors.

RG 78 updates

The updates to RG 78 include:

clarifying the circumstances in which licensees may group multiple reportable situations into one report to ASIC;
new guidance on the information to include when licensees describe a reportable situation; and
new guidance for licensees on ASIC’s expectations when licensees are providing updates related to a reported breach.

ASIC will also amend the prescribed form for lodging reportable situations, to be implemented on May 5, 2023. Additionally, it will clarify how some questions should be answered and point licensees to guidance available in RG 78.

“The improved guidance will support industry to meet their obligations and support the regime to meet its policy objectives for ASIC, [the] industry, and consumers,” Sidhu said. “We acknowledged early on that there were some implementation challenges with the regime. Our updated guidance has been developed following consultation with industry on practical solutions to some of these challenges.”