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Queensland stamp duty reduction promised
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The Queensland Premier has promised to increase the threshold for receiving a full stamp-duty rebate from $80,000 to $250,000 for first-home buyers from July 1 if is re-elected on 7 February.

A re-elected Beattie government will also increase the amount at which the partial stamp-duty rebate for first home buyers will cut out to $500,000. The rebate now cuts out completely at $160,000. This reflects the increase in the price of the average home.

More on the Queensland election from the ABC

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Bank not Obliged to Disclose Property Valuation to Loan Customers
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In ACCC V Oceana Commercial Pty Ltd & Ors [2003] FCA 1516, the Federal Court of Australia dismissed a claim by the ACCC that the Commonwealth Bank was obliged to provide certain investment loan customers with the contents of its valuation of the investment property, or otherwise alert them that they may have paid too much for the property so that they might seek their own advice.

More

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Draft Code of Conduct for soft dollar payments
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On 16 December 2003, the Investment and Financial Services Association
(IFSA) and the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA)
released a Draft Code of Conduct on Alternative Remuneration (soft
dollar payments) that regulates certain industry remuneration
practices and that will be adopted by members of each Association.

The Draft Code incorporates three key proposals:
· Banning of practices such as gifts and conferences that are
linked to product sales;
· The establishment and maintenance of a public register for
payments and receipts of appropriate transactions with a value greater
than $300;
· Comprehensive disclosure in appropriate regulatory documents
such as the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Financial Services
Guide (FSG) of appropriate types of alternative remuneration.

The Code is in response to changing community expectations and is the
latest initiative implemented by the financial services industry to
improve operating practices and transparency on remuneration.

The draft Code of Conduct is now being
circulated for comment throughout the industry and the two
organisations hope to finalise it by the end of February, for
operation shortly thereafter.

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Australia endorses global anti-money laundering standards
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The Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Chris Ellison, has announced that Australia is to implement new global standards aimed at cracking down on money laundering and terrorist financing. He said the Australian financial sector and other industry areas will be consulted as part of the implementation of a range of global anti-money laundering standards issued by the Financial Action Taskforce on Money Laundering (FATF), a 33-member international body of which Australia is a founding member.

Senator Ellison said the Government will now proceed with a fundamental overhaul of Australian legislation, including the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988. The new standards will oblige Australia to expand customer due diligence requirements for financial institutions and extend anti-money laundering obligations to non-financial businesses and professions such as real estate agents, dealers in precious metals and stones, accountants, trust and company service providers, legal professionals and notaries.

The Attorney-General's Department will coordinate an extensive consultation process which will involve the preparation of industry-specific issues papers and direct consultation with industry sectors. Proposed anti-money laundering legislation will then be released for public comment. Senator Ellison also announced the establishment of a Ministerial Advisory Group to assist with the development of anti-money laundering measures.

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ASIC CODES OF PRACTICE REPORT
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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released its annual monitoring report on compliance with the Banking, Credit Union and Building Society Codes. The report covers the period from April 2002 to March 2003.

This is the last time that ASIC will report on the Code of Banking Practice, as from next year, an independent body will undertake monitoring responsibilities.

Findings
The report shows an increase in disputes reported under the Code of Banking Practice of 18 per cent (which translates to an increase of 11 per cent per million transactions). Of these, 40.2 per cent were resolved internally in favour of the customer, and a further 24.3 per cent by mutual agreement.

Disputes about fees and charges were the most common cause of consumer dispute. This is in contrast to the two previous monitoring reports, which showed that EFT (PIN based) transactions were the most common cause of disputes reported under that code.

The number of disputes recorded under the Credit Union Code and Building Society Code fell this year. Credit union disputes fell by 19 per cent, following an increase in the previous reporting period. The total number of disputes recorded under the Building Society Code also fell significantly, by 46 per cent. However, this does not provide a complete picture of building society activity, as only 8 of the 14 building societies operating in Australia currently subscribe to that code.

The most common cause of dispute recorded under the Credit Union and Building Society codes related to EFT (PIN based) transactions.

Background - EFT Code
In previous years, ASIC has reported on compliance with the EFT Code as well as the other payments systems codes. However, this year, EFT Code figures are not reported on because of the major amendments to that code, but will be covered again in the next report.

The EFT Code was significantly amended from 1 April 2002. The revised code extends coverage from ATM and EFTPOS transactions to all forms of electronic banking, including telephone, internet and PIN based credit card transactions. As a result, this year's EFT returns are not easily comparable to previous year's results, and new systems are being developed to properly capture the expanded range of information under the Code. Data will again be provided next year.

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