ASIC will hold public hearings in Sydney on the 12th of August and Melbourne on the 19th of August.

The hearings are part of the wider public consultation on ASIC’s guidance on the responsible lending obligations. It will allow ASIC to test particular issues raised in submissions. More information about the consultation, including the current Regulatory Guide 209 and stakeholder submissions are available on ASIC’s website.

The hearings will be conducted by Commissioner Sean Hughes and Deputy Chair Karen Chester with Commissioner Danielle Press also in attendance.

ASIC has contacted the parties who are invited to appear. ASIC’s website will be updated with a list of participants the day before each of the hearings.

The hearings are open for the public to attend and audio from the proceedings will be live streamed via ASIC’s website at asic.gov.au/responsible-lending-hearings. A transcript of proceedings will be made available on ASIC’s website following the hearings.

Media who wish to attend the hearings are encouraged to contact ASIC’s media unit in advance on 1300 208 215 or media.unit@asic.gov.au.

Hearing details

Location: Sydney
Date: 12 August 2019
Time: 9am for 9.15am start
Address: Wesley Conference Centre, 220 Pitt Street Sydney

Location: Melbourne
Date: 19 August 2019
Time: 9am for 9.15am start
Address: Stamford Plaza Hotel, 111 Little Collins Street, Melbourne

Background

Regulatory Guide 209 Credit licensing: Responsible lending conduct (RG 209) contains ASIC’s guidance on responsible lending for consumer credit. RG 209 was issued in 2010 and last revised in November 2014.

Since then there have been many matters that now mean it is timely for ASIC to update its guidance, including:

• ASIC regulatory and enforcement actions, including court decisions
• ASIC thematic reviews on various parts of the industry such as interest-only loans
• the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry
• recent and upcoming initiatives such as comprehensive credit reporting and open banking, and
• changes in technology

In February 2019, ASIC released a Consultation Paper on updating its guidance. Our review of RG 209 will consider whether the guidance remains effective and identify changes and additions to the guidance that may help holders of an Australian credit licence to understand ASIC’s expectations for complying with the responsible lending obligations. CP 309 contains a number of proposals for changes to be considered during this update. Written submissions were due on 20 May 2019.