Compliance & Ethics

ASIC has published Form 485 and its accompanying guide, which require directors to lodge a statement within seven days if they pass a negative solvency resolution or fail to pass any resolution within two months of the company's review date. The document restates existing obligations under section 347A of the Corporations Act 2001 rather than introducing new ones. Compliance teams should confirm that review dates, board resolutions, and lodgment deadlines are tracked across all Australian entities.

Japan's Financial Services Agency is soliciting public comments on a draft Cabinet Office Ordinance amending the Financial Statements Rules and Consolidated Financial Statements Rules. The amendments align the rules with revised ASBJ accounting standards, including Standard No. 27 on corporate income tax, and designate recently published standards as generally accepted. Compliance and financial reporting teams at Japan-listed or Japan-reporting entities should assess impacts and consider submitting comments before the October 16, 2026 deadline.

The FCA has permanently banned Nurul Miah, also known as Neil Mia and Neil Miah, from working in financial services after the SRA found he dishonestly caused or allowed more than GBP $28 Million of client money to be taken from client accounts. The case shows that findings by another regulator can lead directly to FCA prohibition, even when the misconduct occurred outside an FCA-regulated firm. Compliance teams should treat it as a reminder to strengthen fitness and propriety screening and ongoing monitoring of approved persons.

ASIC has published Form 562, the notice a court-appointed liquidator uses to tell ASIC that the time to submit a report on a company's activities and property has been extended under s475(7)(b) of the Corporations Act 2001. The form is a routine administrative document, not a new obligation. Compliance teams that deal with insolvent counterparties or act as liquidators or advisers should understand its role in the reporting process.

ASIC has published Form 520, the Declaration of Solvency that a majority of directors must sign and lodge under section 494 of the Corporations Act 2001 before a company enters a members' voluntary winding up. The declaration carries personal exposure for directors, because it attests that the company can pay its debts in full within 12 months of the winding up commencing. Compliance and legal teams handling entity rationalization or restructuring should confirm their internal processes support an accurate, properly supported declaration.

Japan's Financial Services Agency promulgated Cabinet Office Ordinance amendments under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) that relax rules on group company bond solicitation and on domestic venture funds investing in overseas venture funds, and that designate rights in depositary receipts without physical certificates as securities. The first two amendments take effect September 16, 2026, and the third on October 5, 2026, so compliance teams have little time to assess impacts and update procedures.

Meta had planned to introduce new commercial terms on October 30 that could give it access to content published on the websites of businesses using its services. The company would be able to use that material to develop its own products, including artificial intelligence features, without necessarily giving publishers a choice over how their work was used.