Insurance company Allianz has told the Banking Royal Commission it is not sure how...

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1 WED 19 SEPTEMBER 2018 Mediaportal Report Insurance company Allianz has told the Banking Royal Commission it is not sure how... Sky News Live, Sydney, First Edition - Early, Charlotte Mortlock and Kieran Gilbert 19 Sep :38 AM Duration: 2 mins 39 secs ASR AUD 1,050 National Australia Industry Super Australia - Radio & TV ID: X Insurance company Allianz has told the Banking Royal Commission it is not sure how many times it breached compliance conditions over the past six years. The insurance company has been grilled after admitting it misled customers by uploading false information and policies on their website. Seven of the breaches have been reported to ASIC but the company admits there might be more. Rowena Orr QC, Senior Counsel Assisting has asked to confirm if Allianz trying to influence and alter the content of the EY report which was required to provide to APRA. The Royal Commission is now putting the microscope on IAG. 15,000 All, 11,000 MALE 16+, 6,000 FEMALE 16+ Interviewees Kenneth Hayne AC QC, Royal Commissioner Rowena Orr QC, Senior Counsel Assisting Vision Supreme Court Also broadcast from the following 9 stations Sky News Live (Melbourne), Sky News Live (Canberra), Sky News Live (Brisbane), Sky News Live (Adelaide), Sky News Live (Perth), Sky News Live (Regional NSW), Sky News Live (Regional Queensland), Sky News Live (Regional Victoria), Sky News Live (Tasmania) The Financial Services Royal Commission will investigate insurance companies... Smooth FM 95.3, Sydney, 06:00 News, Newsreader 19 Sep :01 AM Duration: 0 min 18 secs ASR AUD 316 NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Radio & TV ID: X The Financial Services Royal Commission will investigate insurance companies beginning with insurer Youi, with regards to how they handle claims after natural disasters. People whose homes were damaged in cyclones, floods, and bushfires will detail the problems and delays when making claims. 39,000 All, 20,000 MALE 16+, 19,000 FEMALE 16+ COPYRIGHT This report and its contents are for the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only and must not be provided to any third party by any means for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia and/or the relevant copyright owner. For more information contact copyright@isentia.com DISCLAIMER Isentia makes no representations and, to the extent permitted by law, excludes all warranties in relation to the information contained in the report and is not liable for any losses, costs or expenses, resulting from any use or misuse of the report.

2 Educator a finalist in award Western Advocate, Bathurst NSW, General News 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 38 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² NSW Australia HESTA - Regional Press ID: AWARD FINALIST AN INDIGENOUS educator recognised for her work lobbying the government for inclusive and culturally appropriate childcare policies is one of nine finalists in a national early childhood education award. Courtney Glazebrook, director of Towri MACS has been chosen as a finalist in the 2018 HESTA Early Childhood Education and Care Awards, which be announced on September 21. View original - Full text: 238 word(s), <1 min 1,953 CIRCULATION ASIC's Kell calls it quits despite extended term The Australian, Australia, Business News, Richard Gluyas 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 13,378 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Australian Securities & Investments Commission deputy chair Peter Kell will leave the watchdog in December, despite his reappointment for a 12-month term that was due to expire in May Mr Kell's departure, announced by Josh Frydenberg, follows the new Treasurer's stinging criticism of ASIC earlier this week in relation to its oversight of the scandal-plagued financial services sector. View original - Full text: 591 word(s), ~2 mins 94,448 CIRCULATION $512m London deal highlights AustralianSuper's new financing strategy The Australian, Australia, Business News, Ben Wilmot 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 5,506 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: The $140 billion AustralianSuper fund has forged deep into Britain's property debt market, joining with funds manager TH Real Estate to jointly finance One Crown Place in London's EC2 with a 280 million ($512.03m) development facility. The fund flagged in August last year that it could dive into international property lending as banks tightened finance to the real estate sector globally, saying this threw up opportunities to lend against office towers, warehouses and shopping centres. View original - Full text: 518 word(s), ~2 mins 94,448 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

3 CBA chief to listen to gripes Herald Sun, Melbourne, General News 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 4,275 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² VIC Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: COMMONWEALTH Bank chief executive Matt Comyn is writing to customers, inviting them to contact him personally with their complaints. In a letter to be sent out in the next few weeks, Mr Comyn acknowledges the bank has made mistakes - many of which have been publicly aired at the financial services royal commission. View original - Full text: 168 word(s), <1 min 303,140 CIRCULATION CBA hunts for CBD home to host its wealth spin-off The Australian, Australia, Business News, Ben Wilmot 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 13,790 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Commonwealth Bank has issued a major space requirement in Sydney's central business district in a move viewed as a precursor to the spin-off of its wealth management and mortgage broking businesses. The bank flagged the move in June and, in a further shake-up, indicated that it may also sell off its general insurance business, as it refocuses on its core banking operations. View original - Full text: 563 word(s), ~2 mins 94,448 CIRCULATION CBA to end SMSF lending The Australian, Australia, Business News, Michael Roddan 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 7,306 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Self-managed super fund owners who want to plough their savings into investment properties will now be knocked by every major bank, after Commonwealth Bank became the last lender to shut shop on the concerning products. The move comes as house prices soften across the nation and ahead of a potential crackdown on "SMSF property one-stop shops" by the corporate regulator in the wake of damning revelations at the royal commission about The nation's largest bank will no longer make loans to SMSF owners for property investment from the mid-october. The move comes hot on the heels of a similar decision by Westpac, which in July decided it would no longer be offering SMSF property investment loans. View original - Full text: 685 word(s), ~2 mins 94,448 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

4 Ernst & Young buckled over insurance report The Australian, Australia, Business News, Michael Roddan Ben Butler Auditors 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 3,936 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: The failure of independent professional consultants to resist pressure from some of Australia's largest companies has again been exposed by the financial services royal commission, which yesterday heard how Ernst & Young buckled to the demands of insurance giant Allianz. Revelations that EY produced four drafts of one report, and that Allianz unsuccessfully tried to "manipulate" another EY report that was destined for the prudential regulator, follow evidence before the commission in April that embattled financial services giant AMP had law firm Clayton Utz make more than two dozen changes to what was an "independent" report. View original - Full text: 392 word(s), ~1 min 94,448 CIRCULATION Inquiries have to balance all society's needs Herald Sun, Melbourne, General News, Jeff Kennett 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 19,379 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² VIC Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: SO the country is about to conduct another Royal Commission, this time into aged care. I am not opposed to a complete and thoughtful examination of the care that is provided to our senior citizens who cannot live out their lives in the comfort and dignity of their own homes. View original - Full text: 780 word(s), ~3 mins 303,140 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

5 If ASIC regulated banks instead of Eggsluts we wouldn't need a royal commission The Australian, Australia, Letters 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 5,686 Photo: No Type: Letter Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: First they came for the cartoonists, and other so-called cartoonists cheered them on Why didn't the Australian Securities & Investments Commission stamp out bad behaviour? Mike Taylor, moneymanagement.com.au, September 18: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. wants to know why. (ASIC) did not act on key issues raised at the royal commission. "there's certainly a case to answer here for the regulators because a lot of these activities they were aware of. fees for no service, fees to dead people. lying to regulators. 300,000 alleged breaches by a company providing unsolicited insurance advice to the public. I want to understand why ASIC did not stamp out this bad behaviour " Frydenberg said. Was it egg-cessively interested in Eggsluts? John Birmingham, The Sydney Morning Herald, August 20: When (Peter Coster) was a soldier, one of the things he most looked forward to. coming off a long. march in the morning was the bacon and egg rolls served piping hot at the barracks. When he got out of uniform he wished to share his egg-love with the world, setting up a cafe. The first venue he looked at was in Lutwyche, and. he came up with Eggs-Lut. You can see where this is going. Straight to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal! Because. (ASIC) refused the registration on the grounds that the word "slut" (was offensive). Sitting in judgment. was deputy president Bernard McCabe (and four lawyers). (ASIC) paid to do battle in the tribunal against the egg-loving former soldier. (Coster) had already. trademarked the term 'eggslut'. (gaining) eggsclusive rights. (but the) government, and its phalanx of lawyers, was holding firm for propriety. (McCabe) reserved his decision. View original - Full text: 609 word(s), ~2 mins 94,448 CIRCULATION AGED-CARE SYSTEM TERMINAL The Australian, Australia, General News, Rick Morton 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 39,619 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: 1, cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Providers say the industry will collapse without urgent reform In May this year, softly spoken Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt met the owner of a nursing home and privately conceded funding freezes worth more than $1.2 billion in 2016 were hurting the sector but, according to one man in the room, added: "These things are controlled by Treasury." While Wyatt denies this categorically, the vignette of life inside the land of labyrinthine agedcare policy gives some insight into a tension that has existed between government, consumers and providers for more than a decade. The tension arises in much the same way siblings grow together: they need one another but each can be insufferable in their own way. View original - Full text: 2098 word(s), ~8 mins 94,448 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

6 Super returns The Australian, Australia, Business News, Will Glasgow Christine Lacy 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 4,039 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Super returns Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie has joined the horde of Australians switching from the retail sector to the industry super fund giants. Wilkie, an intelligence analyst turned federal MP for Denison, has just closed his account with Brad Cooper's BT, the wealth arm of Brian Hartzer's Westpac, and switched his money to Ian Silk's mustachioed $140 billion giant AustralianSuper. View original - Full text: 160 word(s), <1 min 94,448 CIRCULATION Kell gets ASIC moving The Australian, Australia, Business News, John Dure 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 1,261 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Kell gets ASIC moving ASIC's Peter Kell has made the agency look better before the commission by being able to say an issue was in train and legal action would follow so at least it looked like the corporate plod was doing something. Not to mention the fact ASIC has handed some 60,000 documents to the commission and acted like an instructing solicitor. View original - Full text: 151 word(s), <1 min 94,448 CIRCULATION The 'Hagger' effect strikes fear into bank executives The Australian, Australia, Business News, Robert Gottliebsen 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 8,979 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: The apparently forced resignation of NAB's long-term chief executive contender, Andrew Hagger, is far more significant to the nation than simply a bank reshuffle. As senior and middle-ranking bank executives around Australia look at what happened to Hagger they realise that in the current environment they too are vulnerable. They will play safe. View original - Full text: 967 word(s), ~3 mins 94,448 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

7 Life insurance sector must earn consumers' trust Age, Melbourne, Money, John Collett 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 12,979 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² VIC Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Life insurers who have faced the royal commission into misconduct in the financial services sector have had a torrid time. But the discomfort of the life insurance executives in the witness box pales in comparison to the experiences of those who believed they were covered and were not. View original - Full text: 471 word(s), ~1 min 83,229 CIRCULATION How Allianz staff saw compliance Age, Melbourne, Business News, Clancy Yeates Ruth Williams 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 13,874 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² VIC Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: ROYAL COMMISSION Allianz employees viewed compliance training as "having to 'cascade crap to others'," and compliance breaches at the insurer were handled in a "Band-Aid" fashion, according to an internal Allianz workshop document, revealed at the Hayne royal commission. View original - Full text: 365 word(s), ~1 min 83,229 CIRCULATION Allianz 'only just starting' compliance Adelaide Advertiser, Adelaide, Business News, Michael Roddan Ben Butler 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 1,934 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² SA Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: INSURANCE group Allianz has no idea how many compliance incidents over the last six years, which may include serious breaches of the law, it needs to report to the corporate regulator. Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan told the royal commission yesterday the company had not handed over to Kenneth Hayne's inquiry all the information it had about the company's misconduct or conduct that fell below community standards and expectations when it was asked to do so. View original - Full text: 309 word(s), ~1 min 112,097 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

8 Cavalier Allianz dismissed 'hysterical' compliance concerns The Australian, Australia, Business News, Michael Roddan Ben Butler 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 19,835 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Insurer Allianz has a toxic culture where management is more concerned about what it can get away with than doing the right thing, compliance officers are regarded as "hysterical" for raising concerns and training is seen as a way to "cascade crap to others", the financial services royal commission has heard. In evidence to the commission yesterday, Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan also admitted the company pressured consultants Ernst & Young to change two supposedly independent reports - one of which was handed to the prudential regulator - and that she personally had Deloitte kill another report early this year. View original - Full text: 776 word(s), ~3 mins 94,448 CIRCULATION Growth risk as trade war intensifies The Australian, Australia, Business News, Andrew White Perry Williams 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 15,719 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: TRUMP TARGETS $277BN OF IMPORTS An escalating trade war between the US and China risks lower exports, economic growth and exchange rates for Australia, with business supply chains and investment planning also considered vulnerable to President Donald Trump's new tariffs on $US200 billion ($277bn) of imports into the world's biggest economy. View original - Full text: 1351 word(s), ~5 mins 94,448 CIRCULATION Aussie Home Loans rebels over CBA spin-off plans The Australian, Australia, Business News, Bridget Carter Scott Murdoch 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 23,411 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Commonwealth Bank's planned $8 billion demerger has struck trouble with Aussie Home Loans protesting against being part of the portfolio of assets that the bank is spinning off. The deal remains on track to go ahead next year, but the process is understood to have become more difficult than expected and there are now questions over which parts of the business will be included in the final deal. CBA, the largest lender and bank by market capitalisation in Australia, announced in June that it would demerge its wealth management and mortgage broking businesses. View original - Full text: 546 word(s), ~2 mins 94,448 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

9 APRA right of reply The Australian, Australia, Business News, John Dure 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 3,164 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: APRA right of reply The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has not fared well before the banking royal commission. Concerns have been expressed, on several occasions, that its regulation has been missing in action. On Friday, APRA gets to reply when it lodges its response to the commission and perhaps will shed some light on a different regulatory approach. View original - Full text: 365 word(s), ~1 min 94,448 CIRCULATION From adviser to coach Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, Money, Bianca Hartgehazelman 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 52,533 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Client behaviour is the new advice field, writes Bianca HartgeHazelman. Financial planners are repositioning themselves as personal trainer-like wealth coaches in what's tipped to become the biggest trend for the embattled industry over the next decade. View original - Full text: 773 word(s), ~3 mins 88,634 CIRCULATION Life insurance sector must earn consumers' trust Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, Money, John Collett 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 16,735 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Life insurers who have faced the royal commission into misconduct in the financial services sector have had a torrid time. But the discomfort of the life insurance executives in the witness box pales in comparison to the experiences of those who believed they were covered and were not. View original - Full text: 471 word(s), ~1 min 88,634 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

10 From adviser to coach Age, Melbourne, Money, Bianca Hartgehazelman 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 37,371 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² VIC Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Client behaviour is the new advice field, writes Bianca HartgeHazelman. Financial planners are repositioning themselves as personal trainer-like wealth coaches in what's tipped to become the biggest trend for the embattled industry over the next decade. View original - Full text: 765 word(s), ~3 mins 83,229 CIRCULATION The great outsourcing failure Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, General News, Ross Gittins 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 45,912 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Placing government services such as aged care into private hands has been damaging, writes Ross Gittins. How will the era of "neoliberalism" end - with a bang or a whimper? With a royal commission - or three. View original - Full text: 935 word(s), ~3 mins 88,634 CIRCULATION How Allianz staff approached their compliance duties Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, Business News, Clancy Yeates Ruth Williams 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 19,354 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Allianz employees viewed compliance training as "having to 'cascade crap to others"', and compliance breaches at the insurer were handled in a "bandaid" fashion, according to an internal Allianz workshop document, revealed at the Hayne royal commission. It was also revealed that, in July, Allianz's chief risk officer Lori Callahan demanded professional services firm Deloitte retract another report highly critical of the company's compliance operations, while an "independent" report by EY in 2017 was revised to be more favourable to Allianz after company representatives pushed the consultants. View original - Full text: 502 word(s), ~2 mins 88,634 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

11 Horror tales spark calls for industry changes Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, General News, Nassim Khadem 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 12,151 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Aged care lobby groups say establishing minimum staff-to-resident ratios to protect the elderly in care won't be enough to end neglect and abuse, and have demanded immediate changes to lift the quality of staff. Some also want issues of mistreatment of the elderly at retirement villages looked at as part of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's royal commission into the aged care sector, even if regulation falls under the state and territories. View original - Full text: 394 word(s), ~1 min 88,634 CIRCULATION Leaked report raises doubts on light rail project Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, General News, Matt O'Sullivan 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 19,936 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA Australia's peak infrastructure body had major doubts about the stated benefits of Sydney's light rail following a plea by the state government for $500 million in federal funding for the project, a leaked assessment reveals. View original - Full text: 488 word(s), ~1 min 88,634 CIRCULATION Labor's $400m super pitch to women Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, General News, David Crowe 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 76,253 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: 1, cm² NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Shorten's super pitch to women Labor will unveil a $400 million plan today to narrow the gap between women and men's superannuation savings. Leader Bill Shorten will outline the policy to deliver a top-up payment to thousands of super accounts every year for those on parental leave, addressing one of the factors that leave women with about 60 per cent of the retirement savings of men. EXCLUSIVE PAGE 4 OPPOSITION PLAN View original - Full text: 766 word(s), ~3 mins 88,634 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

12 Smart move: voice-activated banking at your fingertips Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, General News, Clancy Yeates 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 18,918 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: TECHNOLOGY It wasn't that long ago that moving money with the touch of a mobile phone button was considered cutting edge. From this week, consumers will be able to pay someone simply by talking to their smart phone's digital assistant and taking a scan of their face. View original - Full text: 505 word(s), ~2 mins 88,634 CIRCULATION ALP cash to boost women's savings Age, Melbourne, General News, David Crowe 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 58,070 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: 1, cm² VIC Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: PAY GAP $400 million super top-up EXCLUSIVE View original - Full text: 791 word(s), ~3 mins 83,229 CIRCULATION Infrastructure Australia hits out at proposal to cut discount rates on projects Age, Melbourne, General News, Eryk Bagshaw 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 14,545 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² VIC Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: The infrastructure watchdog has savaged a key recommendation of a parliamentary committee, warning that it risks saddling the economy with C-grade investments and allowing sub-par projects through the gate. A six-month inquiry by Parliament's standing committee on infrastructure this week recommended reducing the discount rate on infrastructure investment from 7 per cent to 4 per cent, effectively adding millions of dollars in future value to projects that would otherwise be considered of marginal value. View original - Full text: 517 word(s), ~2 mins 83,229 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

13 Worth every cent West Australian, Perth, Health, Peta Rasdien 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 14,306 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² WA Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Fertility assistance can add up, writes Making babies can be an expensive business when you need a helping hand. With one in six couples likely to experience difficulties, many want-to-be parents are turning to fertility treatment to help them conceive. View original - Full text: 496 word(s), ~1 min 147,676 CIRCULATION Don't clock off at 65 Daily Mercury, Mackay QLD, General News, Tracey Johnstone 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 521 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² QLD Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Compton vows to fight on for later retirement EVERALD Compton controversially remains an enthusiastic supporter of retirement at 70 as Australia's politicians down on the planned change in the pension age. View original - Full text: 702 word(s), ~2 mins 7,738 CIRCULATION HOT TOPIC Compassion and empathy are lacking in aged care Courier Mail, Brisbane, Letters 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 4,935 Photo: Yes Type: Letter Size: cm² QLD Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: IT SADDENS me to read of the ongoing abuse, neglect and "don't care" attitude to our most vulnerable in aged care (C-M, Sep 18). Perhaps the authorities should put stringent guidelines in place for those wanting to work with the elderly. View original - Full text: 606 word(s), ~2 mins 135,007 CIRCULATION Realty mogul faces ban Courier Mail, Brisbane, General News, Vanda Carson 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 3,671 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² QLD Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Fallen agent accused of trading while insolvent ONE of the state's top real estate agents - who has boasted of selling $370 million worth of prime Brisbane real estate could be banned from directing companies, after his real estate empire went bust. View original - Full text: 296 word(s), ~1 min 135,007 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

14 Cut your home loan and credit card bills Gladstone Observer, Gladstone QLD, General News, Sophie Elsworth 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 98 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² QLD Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: DEBT-laden Australians trying to pay off mortgages and credit cards can wipe both more quickly by breaking up with the Big Four banks. Westpac, the Commonwealth, NAB and ANZ are all offering variable home loan packaged deals in the mid four per cent rage, new analysis shows - one percentage point more than the best deals on the market. The financial services Royal Commission has shone a light on the bad behaviour in the sector and experts say this should force customers to seek out cheaper deals. View original - Full text: 274 word(s), ~1 min 3,301 CIRCULATION Don't clock off at 65 Queensland Times, Ipswich QLD, General News, Tracey Johnstone 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 457 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² QLD Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Compton vows to fight on for later retirement EVERALD Compton controversially remains an enthusiastic supporter of retirement at 70 as Australia's politicians down on the planned change in the pension age. View original - Full text: 702 word(s), ~2 mins 6,256 CIRCULATION TEXTS TO THE EDITOR Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton QLD, Letters 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 260 Photo: No Type: Letter Size: cm² QLD Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: SMS the editor on with the word ROCK and a space in front of your message. G BM. I can't believe that State Labor is trying to take the credit for Rookwood Weir. We aren't fools. But for the tenacity of Michelle Landry it would never have happened. View original - Full text: 756 word(s), ~3 mins 9,376 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

15 CBA hunting for new office space Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, Business News, Carolyn Cummins 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 17,899 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is on the hunt for office space in the Sydney and North Sydney CBDs to potentially quarantine its wealth-management business before its sale, after the fallout from the banking royal commission. The bank has issued a mandate to the office-leasing market for space of between 10,000 square metres to 30,000 sq m in the North Sydney and Sydney CBD, for unidentified purposes, with the timing starting from the fourth quarter of 2018 until the fourth quarter of View original - Full text: 440 word(s), ~1 min 88,634 CIRCULATION ASIC HEAD RESIGNS Warrnambool Standard, Warrnambool VIC, General News 19 Sep 2018 Page 9 56 words ASR AUD 118 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² VIC Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: THE deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has resigned after seven years at the corporate watchdog. Peter Kell will leave on December 6, after also working at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. ASIC has been under increased scrutiny at the banking royal commission over the way it has handled bad behaviour. View original - Full text: 56 word(s), <1 min 8,274 CIRCULATION Real reform needed, not window dressing Newcastle Herald, Newcastle NSW, General News, Catherine Henry 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 9,928 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² NSW Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: AGED CARE ROYAL COMMISSION THE royal commission into aged care announced by the prime minister on Sunday is long overdue and not unwelcome. View original - Full text: 749 word(s), ~2 mins 23,625 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

16 Insurance sector must earn trust of clients Canberra Times, Canberra, Business News, John Collett 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 5,584 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² ACT Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Life insurers who have faced the royal commission on misconduct in the financial services sector have had a torrid time. But the discomfort of the life insurance executives in the witness box pales in comparison to the experiences of those who believed they were covered and were not. The commission heard how Commonwealth Bank-owned CommInsure would do almost everything it could to deny claims; premiums were taken from the accounts of dead people by AMP; and about high-pressured selling of dud policies over the phone. Life insurance is bought on the promise that, should the unthinkable happen, the policy will pay out as expected. View original - Full text: 474 word(s), ~1 min 17,579 CIRCULATION From adviser to coach Canberra Times, Canberra, Business News, Bianca Hartge-Hazelman 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 18,698 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² ACT Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Client behaviour is the new advice field, writes Bianca Hartge-Hazelman. Financial planners are repositioning themselves as personal trainer-like wealth coaches in what's tipped to become the biggest trend for the embattled industry over the next decade. View original - Full text: 762 word(s), ~3 mins 17,579 CIRCULATION Latest of many mistakes Canberra Times, Canberra, General News, Ross Gittins 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 17,161 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² ACT Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: The increasing resort to royal commissions may run a lot deeper. How will the era of "neoliberalism" end with a bang or a whimper? With a royal commission - or three. View original - Full text: 944 word(s), ~3 mins 17,579 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

17 ENOUGHON THEIR PLATES Canberra Times, Canberra, General News, Daniel Burdon 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 26,971 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: 1, cm² ACT Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Canberra's taxi plate owners claim they are facing potential bankruptcy as the ACT government looks to increase the regulated plates cap by almost 40 per cent, to 500. The head of the ACT's Taxi Plate Owners Association, Phil Booth, fears the move could devastate the local industry and is worried about owners' mental health. View original - Full text: 959 word(s), ~3 mins 17,579 CIRCULATION ASIC HEAD RESIGNS Launceston Examiner, Launceston TAS, General News 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 244 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² TAS Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: THE deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has resigned after seven years at the corporate watchdog. Peter Kell will leave on December 6, after also working at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. ASIC has been under increased scrutiny at the banking royal commission over the way it has handled bad behaviour. View original - Full text: 56 word(s), <1 min 17,631 CIRCULATION Shock Allianz admission Northern Territory News, Darwin, Business News 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 2,180 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² NT Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: INSURANCE group Allianz has no idea how many compliance incidents over the past six years - which may include serious breaches of the law - it needs to report to the corporate regulator. Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan told the royal commission yesterday that the company had not handed over to Kenneth Hayne's inquiry all the information it had about the company's misconduct, or conduct that fell below community standards and expectations, when it was asked to do so. View original - Full text: 311 word(s), ~1 min 11,279 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

18 Decades of land potential Northern Territory News, Darwin, Business News, Ashley Manicaros 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 5,038 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² NT Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: A NEW study has found the availability of commercial and industrial land in the Territory could take 17 years to exhaust, while residential land could sustain more than three decades of demand. The Property Council commissioned The State of Supply, Whole Sector Market Report. View original - Full text: 903 word(s), ~3 mins 11,279 CIRCULATION It pays to go past Big Four banks Northern Territory News, Darwin, General News 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 452 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² NT Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: DEBT-LADEN Australians trying to pay off mortgages and credit cards can wipe both more quickly by breaking up with the Big Four banks. Westpac, the Commonwealth, NAB and ANZ are all offering variable home loan packaged deals in the mid 4 per cent range, new analysis shows - one percentage point more than the best deals. View original - Full text: 207 word(s), <1 min 11,279 CIRCULATION ASIC HEAD RESIGNS Border Mail, Albury-Wodonga, General News 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 119 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² VIC Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: THE deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has resigned after seven years at the corporate watchdog. Peter Kell will leave on December 6, after also working at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. ASIC has been under increased scrutiny at the banking royal commission over the way it has handled bad behaviour. View original - Full text: 56 word(s), <1 min 13,519 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

19 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Border Mail, Albury-Wodonga, Letters 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 447 Photo: No Type: Letter Size: cm² VIC Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR UNFAIR PENSION CHARGES Prime Minister Scott Morrison came to Albury on September 6 to deliver a speech spelling out his and his party's principles and social values. "I believe in a fair go for those who have a go in this country," he said. No argument there. View original - Full text: 285 word(s), ~1 min 13,519 CIRCULATION Banking and aged care Hobart Mercury, Hobart, Letters 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 224 Photo: No Type: Letter Size: cm² TAS Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: DO we really need the increasingly desperate ScoMo's surprise royal commission into Australia's aged care system? I'm sure if the terms of reference of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry were extended to aged care, the names and actions of some now-familiar players would quickly materialise. Just continue to follow the money. View original - Full text: 64 word(s), <1 min 28,265 CIRCULATION CEO asks customers for complaints Cairns Post, Cairns, General News, Greta Stonehouse 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 1,309 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² QLD Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: COMMONWEALTH Bank chief executive Matt Comyn is sending letters to customers inviting them to contact him personally with their complaints. In a letter to be sent out over the next few weeks, Mr Comyn acknowledges the bank has made mistakes many of which have been publicly aired at the financial services royal commission. View original - Full text: 159 word(s), <1 min 13,896 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

20 SMSF nomination may not be so binding Australian Financial Review, Australia, Smart Investor, Julie Hartley 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 5,926 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: A recent decision by the Queensland Supreme Court has raised some interesting issues regarding the powers of an enduring attorney to make, vary or revoke a binding death benefit nomination (BDBN) on behalf of a superannuation member. In the case (Re Narumon Pty Ltd [2018] QSC185), the enduring attorneys of a member who no longer had mental capacity purported to extend his lapsed BDBN by signing an "extension of death benefit binding nomination form", which the court upheld as valid. View original - Full text: 666 word(s), ~2 mins 44,635 CIRCULATION Fears grow for future of aged care stocks Australian Financial Review, Australia, General News, Sarah Turner And William Mclnnes 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 8,616 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: "The aged care royal commission and negative media coverage is likely to increase investment risk on aged care stocks," according to Macquarie Securities analyst Matt Johnston. The investment community is anxious having spent months hearing horror stories from the Hayne inquiry into the financial services sector. Now there are concerns that there could be a similar stream of bad news emerging from the aged care sector, which is largely government funded. View original - Full text: 690 word(s), ~2 mins 44,635 CIRCULATION Kell quits ASIC before extended term ends Australian Financial Review, Australia, General News, James Eyers 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 7,646 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Australian Securities and Investments Commission deputy chairman Peter Kell has resigned eight months before his extended term was due to end, after a torrid year responding to the financial services royal commission. Mr Kell has been the point man for ASIC at the Hayne inquiry, at which he has appeared twice. View original - Full text: 572 word(s), ~2 mins 44,635 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

21 Shorten's $400m super pitch to women Canberra Times, Canberra, General News, David Crowe 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 24,538 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² ACT Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: LABOR'S PLAN Labor will pledge a financial boost for more than 160,000 women in a policy that aims to narrow the gap between women and men's superannuation savings for retirement. View original - Full text: 469 word(s), ~1 min 17,579 CIRCULATION AustralianSuper seals UK property debt deal Australian Financial Review, Australia, Property, Nick Lenaghan 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 7,302 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: The country's largest pension fund, AustralianSuper, has teamed up with its long-standing adviser, TH Real Estate, to jointly finance One Crown Place in London with a 280 million development loan, worth about $510 million. AustralianSuper itself has committed 230 million in the first piece of commercial property debt it has issued in Britain. Property p30 View original - Full text: 491 word(s), ~1 min 44,635 CIRCULATION CBA to dump SMSF lending products Australian Financial Review, Australia, Companies and Markets, Duncan Hughes 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 6,068 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: Commonwealth Bank, the nation's largest mortgage lender, is axing residential and commercial loans for self managed super funds amid growing concerns about regulatory problems, property market weakness and stricter capital adequacy rules squeezing returns. The bank is set to announce it is pulling SMSF lending product SuperGear, in an attempt to "become a simpler, better bank and streamline our product range", from October 12. View original - Full text: 519 word(s), ~2 mins 44,635 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT For the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only. Not to be provided to any third party for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia. For further information contact copyright@isentia.com

22 Fintechs must follow Prospa on contracts Australian Financial Review, Australia, Companies and Markets, James Eyers 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 4,753 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: The corporate regulator wants all online business lenders to remove unfair terms from their contracts just like Prospa has done, indicating startups that want to compete against banks will be held to similar regulatory standards as community expectations lift following the royal commission. In a letter sent last week to Brad Kitschke, CEO of industry lobby group FinTech Australia, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission declared "action [is] required". View original - Full text: 556 word(s), ~2 mins 44,635 CIRCULATION APRA leadership bolstered in reaction to scandals Australian Financial Review, Australia, Companies and Markets, John Kehoe 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 2,124 Photo: No Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: The banking regulator has had its leadership ranks bolstered by the creation of a second deputy chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), as the Morrison government reacts to damning scandals uncovered by the royal commission. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed on Tuesday that John Lonsdale, a long-time senior Treasury official, would fill the new APRA position. View original - Full text: 249 word(s), <1 min 44,635 CIRCULATION ASIC's loss of corporate memory Australian Financial Review, Australia, General News 19 Sep 2018 Page words ASR AUD 7,828 Photo: Yes Type: News Item Size: cm² National Australia Industry Super Australia - Press ID: If Treasurer Josh Frydenberg thinks Peter Kell's sudden resignation as deputy chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission will absolve the government of any responsibility for lax enforcement of wayward activity in financial services he should think again. Kell has been the face of ASIC at the Hayne royal commission over the past few months when counsel assisting Rowena Orr QC exposed less than vigorous enforcement of the law in superannuation, financial advice, life insurance and general insurance. View original - Full text: 643 word(s), ~2 mins 44,635 CIRCULATION COPYRIGHT This report and its contents are for the internal research use of Mediaportal subscribers only and must not be provided to any third party by any means for any purpose without the express permission of Isentia and/or the relevant copyright owner. For more information contact copyright@isentia.com DISCLAIMER Isentia makes no representations and, to the extent permitted by law, excludes all warranties in relation to the information contained in the report and is not liable for any losses, costs or expenses, resulting from any use or misuse of the report.

23 Western Advocate, Bathurst NSW Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 1,953 Page: 5 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 38 Words: 238 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Educator a finalist in award AWARD FINALIST AN INDIGENOUS educator recognised for her work lobbying the government for inclusive and culturally appropriate childcare policies is one of nine finalists in a national early childhood education award. Courtney Glazebrook, director of Towri MACS has been chosen as a finalist in the 2018 HESTA Early Childhood Education and Care Awards, which be announced on September 21. The awards recognise early childhood educators, carers, and services who demonstrate outstanding dedica- tion to practice improvement and development, leading to enhanced learning outcomes for children. Ms Glazebrook is recognised for advocating for inclusive and culturally appropriate childcare policy, that ensures Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have access to quality early childhood education and care. As Director of Towri MACS she has recognised the negative impact that recent government childcare policy changes have had on the ability of families to access their service and advocated for change engaging local members of parliament. Through her efforts, she has secured funding for an Indigenous Community Liaison Officer and implemented a range of care options so that families can access childcare services for more than one day per week. HESTA CEO, Debby Blakey said the finalists were selected for their leadership in creating engaging and inclusive learning environments for children. The winner will be announced at a gala award dinner being held in Sydney on September 21. FINALIST: Courtney Glazebrook, pictured at Towri MACS, is a finalist in a national award.

24 The Australian, Australia Author: Richard Gluyas Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 22 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 13,378 Words: 591 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 ASIC s Kell calls it quits despite extended term RICHARD GLUYAS REGULATION Australian Securities & Investments Commission deputy chair Peter Kell will leave the watchdog in December, despite his reappointment for a 12-month term that was due to expire in May Mr Kell s departure, announced by Josh Frydenberg, follows the new Treasurer s stinging criticism of ASIC earlier this week in relation to its oversight of the scandal-plagued financial services sector. Mr Frydenberg targeted previous chairman Greg Medcraft, who was succeeded by James Shipton last February, for allowing a poor culture to spread throughout the industry. Appalling conduct and there is a case to answer now for ASIC, not the current chairman who is new, but the question has to be asked: if ASIC knew about this activity, this unlawful conduct, why didn t they take action and why has this culture been allowed to permeate? the Treasurer said. It was the Turnbull government that asked Mr Kell to stay at his post for another year to facilitate a smooth transition to Mr Shipton. Mr Kell has also been the point man for ASIC s engagement with the royal commission, and has personally given evidence twice. He will continue in that role until his departure on December 6, taking in the seventh and final round of public hearings in November when the major-bank chief executives will be grilled on policy issues arising from the previous six rounds. Mr Kell has been instrumental in pursuing the financial services sector over the long-running feesfor-no-service scandal. Remediation of customers has so far exceeded $360 million and is likely to top $1 billion. Earlier this month, ASIC started Federal Court action against National Australia Bank companies over its involvement in the scandal, with other cases likely to follow. Also, on September 4, Westpac agreed to pay a $35m civil penalty for breaches of its responsible lending obligations when providing home loans. If approved by the court, it will be the largest civil penalty awarded under the National Credit Act. Mr Kell, previously deputy chairman of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, joined ASIC as a commissioner in 2011 before his promotion to deputy chairman in May The watchdog currently has a record six commissioners and will have a seventh when ex-tabcorp group general counsel joins Sean Hughes joins soon. In recent years, however, the organisation s resources and key personnel were allowed to run down. Before Mr Shipton started on February 1, ASIC only had three commissioners, with Mr Kell acting as chairman. Funding was slashed before a $121m top-up in 2016 part of a political strategy to fend off the Labor Party s repeated calls for a royal commission. Since then, a further $70.1m has been allocated to boost enforcement capabilities, including an initiative by Mr Shipton to embed ASIC supervisors in the major banks and AMP. Criminal and civil penalties for wrongdoing have also been increased. Mr Frydenberg announced two additions to the commissioner ranks late last month. Mr Hughes and Danielle Press, an ex-ceo of the Myer Family Company and Equipsuper, were given five-year appointments. Before their recruitment, ASIC secured the services of a second deputy chair, the senior barrister Daniel Crennan. Mr Crennan will focus on enforcement. Mr Frydenberg said in a statement that Mr Kell had made a significant contribution to improving financial literacy, and noted he had served on the Australian Government Financial Literacy Board since its establishment. His experience and understanding of corporate regulation has been appreciated by successive governments as well as members of ASIC, the Treasurer said.

25 The Australian, Australia Author: Richard Gluyas Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 22 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 13,378 Words: 591 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 ASIC deputy chairman Peter Kell will leave the watchdog in December AAP

26 The Australian, Australia Author: Ben Wilmot Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 26 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 5,506 Words: 518 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 $512m London deal highlights AustralianSuper s new financing strategy BEN WILMOT DEBT The $140 billion AustralianSuper fund has forged deep into Britain s property debt market, joining with funds manager TH Real Estate to jointly finance One Crown Place in London s EC2 with a 280 million ($512.03m) development facility. The fund flagged in August last year that it could dive into international property lending as banks tightened finance to the real estate sector globally, saying this threw up opportunities to lend against office towers, warehouses and shopping centres. AustralianSuper, which has benefited from the global surge in commercial property values after picking up assets in the US and Britain early in the cycle, was rocked in July by an unfair dismissal claim brought by its former head of property Jack McGougan. He accused AustralianSuper of poor governance, intimidation and conflicts of interest, and claimed that he was pressured into investing in industry superannuation fund-controlled ISPT s property products. The fund has defended the legal action and the latest investment goes some way to meeting a mandate laid down by Mr McGougan, who told The Australian last year that rather than investing in offshore property debt via managers, it was keen to expand into direct subordinated debt lending in the property sector. AustralianSuper committed 230m to the London play and TH Real Estate s new Global Real Estate Debt Partners Fund II (UK) will pour in 50m. The mixed-use scheme, being undertaken by Malaysian conglomerate MTD Group, comprises 370,500sq ft (34,420.6sq m) of office and retail, a boutique hotel and 246 luxury apartments. Real estate agency CBRE is development manager and the firm s senior director, Henry Robinson, said the deal was executed efficiently by the lenders. CBRE Capital Advisors debt and structured finance team also acted for the Malaysian company. Kuala Lumpur-based MTD Group is an infrastructure group that moved into developing property in Britain in 2013 with the acquisition of the landmark One Crown Place. MTD Group chief executive Tee Kim Siew said the company was building relationships with TH Real Estate and Australian- Super. The loan is AustralianSuper s first commercial real estate debt investment in Britain and follows the launch of a new mandate with TH Real Estate to expand their investment strategy into British and European property debt. The play is on top of the fund s award of a mandate to TH Real Estate to buy office and retail assets in Europe. AustralianSuper head of mid risk Jason Peasley said The One Crown Place transaction strongly aligns with the fund s real estate debt strategy of lending against institutional assets in toptier locations in European cities. The tie-up with TH Real Estate allowed the fund to partner with a top global manager, he added. AustralianSuper is targeting more debt financing opportunities in London and other major European cities, with its focus on mezzanine, development and refurbishment deals worth more than 100m. TH Real Estate director Shawn Kaufman said the deal demonstrated the combined strength of the fund manager and Australian- Super. As part of the now formalised debt mandate, together we are able to implement an investment strategy that is both meaningful and relevant to borrowers in the current environment, he said.

27 Herald Sun, Melbourne Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 303,140 Page: 4 Printed Size: 77.00cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 4,275 Words: 168 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 CBA chief to listen to gripes COMMONWEALTH Bank chief executive Matt Comyn is writing to customers, inviting them to contact him personally with their complaints. In a letter to be sent out in the next few weeks, Mr Comyn acknowledges the bank has made mistakes many of which have been publicly aired at the financial services royal commission. Over the last few months, the banking industry, including the Commonwealth Bank, has been rightly criticised for mistakes we ve made, Mr Comyn wrote. Mr Comyn, who became chief this year after Ian Narev quit after allegations the bank broke money-laundering laws, apologised to customers for mistakes over the years. I m sorry for the mistakes we ve made, he wrote. My job now is to fix them. Revelations from the royal commission have included Commonwealth Bank advisers charging dead clients fees in 2015, plus more than 13,000 criminal breaches of superannuation law. Mr Comyn s pledge comes after rival NAB kept variable mortgage rates on hold to try to gain favour with customers. BUSINESS DAILY, PAGE 28

28 The Australian, Australia Author: Ben Wilmot Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 26 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 13,790 Words: 563 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 CBA hunts for CBD home to host its wealth spin-off BEN WILMOT LEASING Commonwealth Bank has issued a major space requirement in Sydney s central business district in a move viewed as a precursor to the spin-off of its wealth management and mortgage broking businesses. The bank flagged the move in June and, in a further shake-up, indicated that it may also sell off its general insurance business, as it refocuses on its core banking operations. The split it is contemplating would see the new wealth business listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, with its own branding and corporate identity, including a separate headquarters. CBA already has a major presence in Sydney, particularly around Darling Harbour, where it occupies a tower in Darling Park, the twin building Darling Quarter, and Commonwealth Bank Place, which was completed last year. The group is also to move thousands of workers to the ATP in inner-city Redfern. It is now quietly sounding out developers for about up to 30,000sq m of potential space, which could either spark a new tower or fill a major existing building refurbished to meet its needs. The bank s requirement is notable for its size as it frequently has smaller tenancy needs of up to 5000sq m that gets quickly filled. The larger requirement was likely related to the needs to find a premises for the proposed demerged company, that would span funds management, financial planning, platforms and mortgage broking, agents said. The latest leasing brief is separate to a longstanding 30,000-50,000sq m brief the bank has had in the market. Last year, The Australian reported this hunt for a new headquarters was zeroing in on the fourth tower proposed for Sydney s Darling Park complex. The tower has been proposed by a trio of property companies GPT Group, Canada s Brookfield and AMP Capital and they held talks with the bank about a potential move and, more recently, recut the tower s design into a more elegant form to satisfy planning authorities. A CBA spokesman confirmed the space requirement. We re seeking expressions of interest for property, and will review submissions with a view to approaching short-listed parties with a request for proposal, she said. This process is part of our usual practice of reviewing our property portfolio in line with requirements of our business. The bank is not alone in issuing a major leasing brief in Sydney. US cloud computing company Salesforce, advised by Cushman & Wakefield, has a 25,000sq m space requirement that could suit the tech alley around Martin Place or the proposed precinct near Central station. The quantum of the space needed will likely see it shift from Tower Three at Darling Park. US e-commerce giant Amazon is also keen on expanding its space from beyond its floors in the Citigroup Centre. Software company Microsoft is also in the market as it looks to shift workers closer to the CBD and it is believed to be looking at space in the Locomotive Sheds at Redfern. The NSW government is also working through proposals put to it after it put a brief out for up to 22,000sq m of space in Sydney CBD or the southern CBD in a bid to amalgamate several agencies. Property NSW flagged a preference for A-grade office space and agents pointed to ARA Asset Management s 320 Pitt Street along with other mid range CBD towers as potential options.

29 The Australian, Australia Author: Ben Wilmot Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 26 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 13,790 Words: 563 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 CBA is looking for 30,000sq m of space in Sydney s CBD

30 The Australian, Australia Author: Michael Roddan Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 23 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 7,306 Words: 685 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 CBA to end SMSF lending MICHAEL RODDAN SUPERANNUATION Self-managed super fund owners who want to plough their savings into investment properties will now be knocked by every major bank, after Commonwealth Bank became the last lender to shut shop on the concerning products. The move comes as house prices soften across the nation and ahead of a potential crackdown on SMSF property one-stop shops by the corporate regulator in the wake of damning revelations at the royal commission about The nation s largest bank will no longer make loans to SMSF owners for property investment from the mid-october. The move comes hot on the heels of a similar decision by Westpac, which in July decided it would no longer be offering SMSF property investment loans. Now none of the four major banks, which control 80 per cent of the housing market, will be selling the loans. CBA s exit comes amid rising scrutiny on the surge in self-managed super funds borrowing large sums of cash to sink into investment properties, as falling house prices and stalling rents reduce earnings. As part of our strategy to become a simpler, better bank, we are streamlining our product portfolio and have taken the decision to discontinue our SuperGear lending product which enabled investment in residential and commercial property through self-managed super funds, a CBA spokesman said. We will continue to support our existing customers who have these loans with us. Self-managed super funds now make up almost 30 per cent of the $2.7 trillion super sector, with SMSFs being set up at the rate of 2800 a month. Total assets in SMSFs increased 65 per cent to $697 billion in the five years to the end of last year. More than 1.1 million Australians now have a self-managed super fund. While the Productivity Commission s latest report on the superannuation sector said the rise in borrowing through super funds to invest in property was not a systemic concern to the system, it said it warranted further monitoring. However, the SMSF manoeuvre has copped heat from many in the banking sector and from the Labor Party. Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen recently raised concerns that SMSF borrowing had grown by more than 860 per cent since The royal commission has also unearthed a systemic problem across financial advice outfits that spruik SMSF property investment and stand to win lucrative fees whether or not it is in the best interests of clients. The royal commission heard one instance in which former celebrity financial adviser Sam Henderson had advised Fair Work Commissioner Donna McKenna to roll her existing superannuation into an SMSF and borrow through it to invest in property, which would have immediately resulted in her losing $500,000 as a penalty for early redemption from her fund. Regulators are now targeting the use of SMSFs to invest in property after the Australian Securities & Investments Commission found 90 per cent of financial advice for self-managed funds failed to comply with the best interests tests. Many customers were being shunted into high-risk property investments by one-stop shops, which typically involve real estate agents, developers, mortgage brokers, accountants and financial advisers. The regulatory crackdown also comes as property investment becomes a more risky venture, with house prices softening around the country. Meanwhile, borrowing through SMSFs for property has become a national sport. The most recent figures from the Australian Taxation Office reveal the number of DIY super funds that have borrowed from banks to invest in property has doubled over the past five years to more than 50,000 accounts. Now, almost one in 10 SMSF owners has accessed limited recourse borrowing arrangements, which are mostly used to fund property investments. SMSF borrowing for property has ballooned from $2.5 billion in 2012 to more than $25bn last year. Although the total rate of borrowing does not have analysts worried yet, the high gearing of individual funds that have bought investment property leaves thousands of SMSFs vulnerable to a housing downturn. In his 2014 financial system inquiry, former banker David Murray recommended banning SMSFs from borrowing to invest in property. It was the only one of 44 recommendations that the then- Turnbull government ignored.

31 The Australian, Australia Author: Michael Roddan Ben Butler Auditors Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 23 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 3,936 Words: 392 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Ernst & Young buckled over insurance report MICHAEL RODDAN BEN BUTLER AUDITORS The failure of independent professional consultants to resist pressure from some of Australia s largest companies has again been exposed by the financial services royal commission, which yesterday heard how Ernst & Young buckled to the demands of insurance giant Allianz. Revelations that EY produced four drafts of one report, and that Allianz unsuccessfully tried to manipulate another EY report that was destined for the prudential regulator, follow evidence before the commission in April that embattled financial services giant AMP had law firm Clayton Utz make more than two dozen changes to what was an independent report. Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan also admitted to the commission that just three months ago she killed a scathing Deloitte report probing the insurer s compliance and control failures a move she said was not my finest moment. The mounting evidence of management interference in independent reports uncovered by the commission throws doubt on the reliability of the endless stream of such reviews mandated by the Australian Securities & investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. The revelations come as APRA prepared to be inundated with independent reviews, after the regulator forced the nation s largest financial institutions to investigate whether they suffered from the same issues as Commonwealth Bank, which was the subject of a scathing APRA-led review of its governance, culture and accountability. The biggest banks, insurers and super funds have to the end of November to submit the boardendorsed written assessments of the group-wide governance. The royal commission heard that in September and October last year Allianz forced EY to redraft a troubling review of the insurer s compliance with financial services laws, after it was not happy with its dismal performance in the review. Under pressure from Allianz, EY agreed to accept as true information given to it by the insurer that had no documentation to it up, the commission heard. An EY spokeswoman declined to comment. This year Allianz commissioned Deloitte to review its culture and governance a process that has uncovered that Allianz staff thought the company had a poor compliance culture, and that its compliance officers were dumped on. Ms Callahan received the scathing draft report, and the following day called Deloitte asking for it to be withdrawn. A Deloitte spokesman said the Allianz report was an early draft to be discussed with the chief executive.

32 Herald Sun, Melbourne Author: Jeff Kennett Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 303,140 Page: 25 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 19,379 Words: 780 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 Inquiries have to balance all society's needs JEFF KENNETT SO the country is about to conduct another Royal Commission, this time into aged care. I am not opposed to a complete and thoughtful examination of the care that is provided to our senior citizens who cannot live out their lives in the comfort and dignity of their own homes. Importantly I look forward to reading what I hope are the practical findings of the Royal Commission. Many of those citizens in care are without family. Many are with family who, when placing their elderly in accommodation, reduce or transfer their own responsibility for that person to staff of the place of care. Some sadly walk away from any responsibility altogether. Of course, many families continue to be involved in the welfare of those they have committed to care. With the aged care staff, they are the ones who report failures in the system Just the establishment of the Royal Commission will send a shot across the bows of all providers of facilities, so everyone I suspect can now expect to see an improvement of care and staffing. Woe betide any operator, after the announcement of the commission, who continues to place financial return before appropriate care. The Royal Commission into the banking, financial services and superannuation industry should serve as a warning that inquiries take no prisoners, nor will they accept excuses for unacceptable performance or behaviour. My greatest concern is over how the government will respond to the findings of the aged care Royal Commission. Yes, there well may be greater restrictions and demands on operators, and care will have to be taken not to reduce the supply of services for our ageing population. Second, some costs might have to be met by the state and federal governments in the future that of course means us, the taxpayers. The demands on governments from the community have grown tremendously in recent years. The cost of meeting the growing demands in the mental health sector runs into billions of dollars. Similarly, billions are spent on subsidising childcare. The role of every level of government is to try to meet the competing demands for services and infrastructure. Every government should ensure they do not spend more on recurrent expenditure, in the main services, than the revenue they collect. If they do, that leads to debt which then has to be financially serviced through interest that could have been spent on services. Good governance should be the first test of any government. It is not a fact often valued or recognised by the community at election time, but it is a fundamental ingredient in the development of a community. Getting the balance right is always a challenge. But two issues are obvious when responding to a society in which a sense of entitlement has come to exceed personal or collective responsibility. First, you must have economic growth to generate the revenue (taxes and fees), to cater for society s increasing demands. Second, governments must at times make some tough decisions in the interests of the community. When well-intentioned people and groups call on governments for more funding, be it for mental health, aged care, education or hospitals, they often do so because they are employed in the sector or have family in need of that service. Their calls for more funding might be well justified. But their demands are made in ignorance of the potential impact that acceding to such demands might have on other services that the community also needs. There is no shared responsibility. The focus is invariably, and to some degree understandably, solely on the sector in which one is involved. That is why the Royal Commission into aged care after dozens of reports into the industry, the recommendations of

33 Herald Sun, Melbourne Author: Jeff Kennett Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 303,140 Page: 25 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 19,379 Words: 780 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 which have not been implemented is important. We know that commissions recommendations often raise public expectations, in part because those conducting the inquiries are not charged with having to implement the recommendations or consider their cost or sources of funding. They are charged only with recommending what they think will deliver best practice. The best current example is the National Disability Insurance Scheme, which I support. It will cost about $22 billion a year from next year, but has lifted sky-high the expectations of all those hoping it will assist them. In truth, it will take some years before the service is bedded down. And even then, there will be more demands for more funds for more services. As a community, we must understand we do not generate enough revenue for governments to meet all society s demands. Governments must prioritise demands across the whole community. Have a good day. JEFF KENNETT IS A FORMER PREMIER OF VICTORIA

34 The Australian, Australia Section: Letters Article type : Letter Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 15 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 5,686 Words: 609 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 If ASIC regulated banks instead of Eggsluts we wouldn t need a royal commission First they came for the cartoonists, and other so-called cartoonists cheered them on Why didn t the Australian Securities & Investments Commission stamp out bad behaviour? Mike Taylor, moneymanagement.com.au, September 18: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg wants to know why (ASIC) did not act on key issues raised at the royal commission there s certainly a case to answer here for the regulators because a lot of these activities they were aware of fees for no service, fees to dead people lying to regulators 300,000 alleged breaches by a company providing unsolicited insurance advice to the public I want to under- stand why ASIC did not stamp out this bad behaviour Frydenberg said. Was it egg-cessively interested in Eggsluts? John Birmingham, The Sydney Morning Herald, August 20: When (Peter Coster) was a soldier, one of the things he most looked forward to coming off a long march in the morning was the bacon and egg rolls served piping hot at the barracks. When he got out of uniform he wished to share his egg-love with the world, setting up a cafe The first venue he looked at was in Lutwyche, and he came up with Eggs-Lut. You can see where this is going. Straight to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal! Because (ASIC) refused the registration on the grounds that the word slut (was offensive) Sitting in judgment was deputy president Bernard McCabe (and four lawyers) (ASIC) paid to do battle in the tribunal against the egg-loving former soldier (Coster) had already trademarked the term eggslut (gaining) eggsclusive rights (but the) government, and its phalanx of lawyers, was holding firm for propriety (McCabe) reserved his decision. A win for ASIC Eggslut is eggceedingly offensive. Frank Chung, news.com.au, September 17: McCabe described (Eggslut) as a case with something to offend almost everyone Conservatives will be aghast at the coarsening of public discourse liberals of a classical bent will be troubled by the attempt to regulate unseemly expression. Progressive types might see the attempted use of a misogynistic slur as evidence of the need for more stringent regulation of practices that tend to excess, insensitivity and oppression. He pointed out that ASIC s primary role was regulating the financial system. That mission would not be fulfilled if ASIC were required to obsess over business names that offered only trivial or largely theoretical offence, he said. Good government would grind to a halt ASIC should be wary of ceding a veto over business names to mere cranks (Yet) McCabe was satisfied the proposed business name is of a kind that is undesirable within the meaning of the act. Are they cartoonists? Sarah Malik, sbs.com.au, September 13: We asked Australian cartoonists (about the Serena Williams) match Sam Leighton-Dore: it was telling that white men managed to make such an historic event about them and their misplaced rage Safdar Ahmed: if you re a mediocre, middle-class, typically white male cartoonist who wants to pretend there s no racist genealogy to what you do the joke is on you Costa A: I worry about all the other injustices that never get this sort of spotlight. Or cackling harpies? John Spooner, The Australian, September 17: Bill (Leak) s life was ruined by murderous Islamist threat and insidious defamation by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Now another crowd of cowards is going after Mark (Knight) A cartoonist will often notice that the cackling harpies around the guillotine will be knitting reusable shopping bags.

35 The Australian, Australia Author: Rick Morton Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 13 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 39,619 Words: 2098 Item ID: Page 1 of 4 AGED-CARE SYSTEM TERMINAL Providers say the industry will collapse without urgent reform RICK MORTON In May this year, softly spoken Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt met the owner of a nursing home and privately conceded funding freezes worth more than $1.2 billion in 2016 were hurting the sector but, according to one man in the room, added: These things are controlled by Treasury. While Wyatt denies this categorically, the vignette of life inside the land of labyrinthine agedcare policy gives some insight into a tension that has existed between government, consumers and providers for more than a decade. The tension arises in much the same way siblings grow together: they need one another but each can be insufferable in their own way. Here is that hierarchy, in brief. Older Australians need someone to care for them as they live longer and their own children have kids later in life. The federal government needs for-profit and not-for-profit providers to do the work it doesn t want to do while the providers themselves rely on the taxpayer for about 70 per cent of their revenue, most of which directly funds nursing and personal care in homes. In his meeting, Wyatt is referring to a funding freeze for the Aged Care Funding Instrument in the 2016 budget, which has remained in place for almost 2½ years. So while Scott Morrison correctly notes total aged-care funding rose $1bn a year under the Coalition, that is due to creating more places under home and residential care. The component of the budget that subsidises the greatest cost of delivering nurses and personal support for those existing and new places hasn t grown at all. The effect on the sector is particularly potent now, given the ALP tinkered with the same funding instrument in 2012 for a $1.6bn budget saving. The arithmetic is simple: the population is growing older, the number of places are expanding but medical and care subsidies are not growing. According to respected industry accountants Stewart Brown: ACFI residential care subsidies are now cumulatively increasing at a lower rate than the costs of providing direct care. In its submission to the federal government s Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce commissioned by Wyatt Stewart Brown says ACFI and supplement funding has risen by 78 per cent in the decade to last year but direct care costs have risen by 88 per cent in the same period. This will create further financial tension and risk the potential of reducing staffing hours to attempt to remain financially viable. Not surprisingly, there is disagreement about just why the ACFI was frozen in the 2016 budget. The federal government was spooked by a huge rise in claims, particularly for the highest daily rate for complex healthcare. This subsidy was for particularly highneeds residents with complicated pain-management regimes, chronic skin conditions or intensive medication requirements. Some of the bigger private providers had been rorting the subsidy and had whole teams of people on staff whose only job was to maximise the severity ratings of residents to get the top daily rate. What the government didn t have, however, was evidence that this practice was widespread. Many of its reports into the issue actually found evidence that some aged-care operators had been under-claiming. The review report released quietly last year by Wyatt found the huge rise in ACFI projections over the forward estimates was because of a combination of factors. Partly, people are older and more frail when they enter residential aged care and so their needs are much higher than they have been before. This, providers say, ought to have been obvious. There were specialised ACFI co-ordinators established in most organisations which led to better management and co-ordination of claiming reviews which resulted in a reduction in the number of facilities that were under-claiming, the review says. No fee if no ACFI funding gain consultancies sprang up, and these were successful at significantly improving average ACFI funding levels, particularly with existing residents who had not been reappraised for some time. There was significant growth in the proportion of private providers in the sector (from 2012) who have been historically more efficient at generating the best ACFI claim possible, the report says. But increasing claims and rorting are not the same thing. How many providers have been prosecuted, such as in the family daycare sector, for fraudulently claiming taxpayer money through the ACFI? Precisely zero. Untangling what is and isn t legitimate is nearly impossible because the government put off a study into the actual cost of care. As staff numbers are spread ever more thinly and operator models that allow quality care become squeezed year on year, the government has kept a funding tool the ACFI when it has no idea if it comes even close to covering the

36 The Australian, Australia Author: Rick Morton Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 13 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 39,619 Words: 2098 Item ID: Page 2 of 4 true cost of care. A study into those costs is under way and is due to report in December, just months ahead of the likely federal election. We have to be honest as a nation, and in a bipartisan way, and actually ask ourselves: how much does this cost? Because we haven t done that in about 22 years, HammondCare chief executive Stephen Judd tells The Australian. We need to do that again and work wards from there. The government and in particular the Treasury might not like what we find. HammondCare is a Christian charity provider with annual revenue of $300 million. Unlike many other providers, its operations are diversified and residential agedcare services make up about 40 per cent of the outfit. Even so, those services are struggling a little bit because this is the pointy end of the aged-care mission. Costs are higher, facilities harder to open, regulations appropriately more strict. We would be losing money on some of those services and not losing money on others, Judd says. Financial viability is not just rhetoric, either. The numbers are alarming. In its analysis of sector performance, Stewart Brown told government 21 per cent of facilities were making a loss on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and 41 per cent were making a loss on earnings before tax. These figures are up more than 5 per cent and 7 per cent respectively in just six months to December. The effect of the reduced facility performance as a result of the combination of the COPE (Commonwealth Own-Purpose Expenses) freeze, amendments to the ACFI scoring matrix, ACFI downgrades and increased costs has resulted in many facilities moving into an increasingly financially vulnerable position, its submission says. Why does this matter at all? Because without providers there is no aged-care sector and the government knows this. This may explain why the compliance regime in aged care has been so weak, even after providers are caught doing the wrong thing time and time again. Take just one case, the Aurrum Kincumber nursing home on the NSW central coast. Aurrum Kincumber was re-accredited for six months on November 13 last year after failing to meet 11 standards. Just one week later, however, it was the subject of a serious risk notice for lax standards that placed residents at immediate risk of serious harm. In March this year, however, the service was re-accredited for another year to May next year. Just two months later it has been the subject of another serious risk decision for persistent issues relating to skin tears and wounds among residents. In the past financial year just 12 aged-care services had their accreditation cancelled for good. Aurrum Kincumber was not one of them. The Prime Minister has called a royal commission into the quality of care and abuse in the sector because of a disturbing and alarming rise in such serious risk notifications in the past year. They have soared 177 per cent. But regulators are reluctant to close these services at all because where else are the elderly meant to go, particularly in regional Australia? It s a Faustian bargain with some of the worst performers in the sector. This is not a strand of Coalition ideology, nor Labor, but one of government machinery, which does not have an answer. I used to pay my personal care and hotel staff over-award up to 5 per cent but I have had to absorb these over-award payments and revert to the award minimum, otherwise we would be running at a loss, another aged-care provider tells The Australian. Furthermore, with each fall in ACFI claiming now I cut staffing levels. This is the only possible response to falling ACFI claims which is how care staff are funded. I do not want to take these steps, I hate doing it but I am fighting for survival. This provider, who did not wish to be named, says he has no doubt the ACFI is being rorted on an industrial scale by larger operators but criticised the response of successive governments to turn the tool into a blunt instrument. The government, instead of increasing their ACFI compliance efforts by targeting the highest claimants, decided to increase the criteria of ACFI claiming rules, the operator says. This is making it harder for every provider to claim the appropriate rate for their residents. This leads to a larger problem for the future of the system. The Aged Care Financing Authority last year estimated the sector needed to build an additional 83,500 places across the next decade at a cost of $35bn. This isn t home care with its low overheads. These are bricks-and-mortar facilities for residential aged care, and that takes time and money. Stewart Brown says just upgrading existing facilities twothirds of which are more than 20 years old would cost even more than $35bn. Non-profit and for-profit providers are asked to fund this in large part through borrowings from financial institutions. On that note, another agedcare provider had lunch with highranking bankers recently and recounts the look of surprise on their faces when they checked how much money had been lent to aged-care operators. Their eyes went wide, like, how much? the provider says. Another added: Aged care is no longer a viable industry. Anyone who has invested in a listed aged-care provider has destroyed their superannuation savings, he says. The government s arbitrary policy from the hip has now made the industry unviable, and it is only a matter of time as the government keeps adding one stone at a time, that individual providers will be sanctioned out of business, close down or become insolvent.

37 The Australian, Australia Author: Rick Morton Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 13 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 39,619 Words: 2098 Item ID: Page 3 of 4 The government has created an almighty storm which is about to hit. The royal commission will uncover horrific stories of abuse and neglect but the government is already in possession of reams of its own reports it has commissioned through years that form a chorus of evidence. When the money dries up, older Australians suffer. Aged care is no longer a viable industry. Anyone who has invested in a listed agedcare provider has destroyed their superannuation savings AGED-CARE PROVIDER NURSING A GRIEVANCE The royal commission will look at the quality of residential and home aged care, including how young Australians with disabilities are cared for in residential facilities increase in 177% the number of aged-care homes where a serious risk to residents was identified in the past financial year increase in 292% the number of facilities that refused to comply with rules The decision to conduct a royal commission was triggered in part by the Oakden nursing home scandal in South Australia. The home was closed a year ago after it was revealed elderly patients with dementia had been abused for years The Health Department has set up a website where Australians can tell their stories which will then be passed on to the agedcare royal commission Source: Stewart Brown % OF AGED-CARE FACILITIES MAKING EBT & EBITDA LOSSES Number of facilities with negative EBITDA Number of facilities with negative EBT 16.1% 21.3% 33.9% 41.3% JUN 17 DEC % OF AGED-CARE FACILITIES MAKING EBT LOSSES BY REMOTENESS Outer regional, remote & very remote Inner regional Major cities 30% 36% 42% 39% 52% 56%

38 The Australian, Australia Author: Rick Morton Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 13 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 39,619 Words: 2098 Item ID: Page 4 of 4 % OF AGED-CARE FACILITIES MAKING EBITDA LOSSES BY REMOTENESS Outer regional, remote & very remote Inner regional 15% 23% 27% 33% Major cities 15% 19% EBT=Earnings before tax; EBITDA= Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation Louise Josephs, fourth from left, hosts Wendy White, left, Ray White, Lynne McKeough, Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Ken Wyatt, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Assistant Minister for Treasury and Finance Zed Seselja at her home in Canberra yesterday. PICTURE KYM SMITH

39 The Australian, Australia Author: Will Glasgow Christine Lacy Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 20 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 4,039 Words: 160 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 MARGIN CALL WILL GLASGOW Super returns Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie has joined the horde of Australians switching from the retail sector to the industry super fund giants. Wilkie, an intelligence analyst turned federal MP for Denison, has just closed his account with Brad Cooper s BT, the wealth arm of Brian Hartzer s Westpac, and switched his money to Ian Silk s mustachioed $140 billion giant AustralianSuper. If the timing seems pointed, it s because it is. For some time I ve been meaning to shift from a retail super fund to an industry super fund because of the lower returns delivered by the forprofit funds, Wilkie told Margin Call. The revelations of the royal commission, and in particular the unconscionable conduct by some people and companies in the financial services sector, prompted me to finally act. AustralianSuper is by far the most popular fund among our federal political class. It received more than $1 billion from new customers in both July and August. Best royal commission ever. will.glasgow@theaustralian.com.au CHRISTINE LACY christine.lacy@news.com.au

40 The Australian, Australia Author: John Dure Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 29 Printed Size: 49.00cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 1,261 Words: 151 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Kell gets ASIC moving ASIC s Peter Kell has made the agency look better before the commission by being able to say an issue was in train and legal action would follow so at least it looked like the corporate plod was doing something. Not to mention the fact ASIC has handed some 60,000 documents to the commission and acted like an instructing solicitor. Kell s decision to step down in December is no surprise given he was given only a 12-month extension in May. His task was to see ASIC through the royal commission and the handover to Shipton, and both will be done by year s end, marking another job well done. He has handled most of the hot button issues for ASIC, from responsible lending to insurance to superannuation and, while the plod hasn t won ringing endorsements from the commission, Kell has performed better than most in his seven years. JOHN DURIE

41 The Australian, Australia Author: Robert Gottliebsen Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 29 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 8,979 Words: 967 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 The Hagger effect strikes fear into bank executives ROBERT GOTTLIEBSEN The apparently forced resignation of NAB s long-term chief executive contender, Andrew Hagger, is far more significant to the nation than simply a bank reshuffle. As senior and middle-ranking bank executives around Australia look at what happened to Hagger they realise that in the current environment they too are vulnerable. They will play safe. To understand the national repercussions and serious dangers that this poses to the economy it s worth first looking at the Hagger departure through the eyes of those middle-ranking banking executives. Hagger was a good banker who was given the job of sorting out the MLC mess. No one at NAB knew just how badly MLC had been run because it was a Sydney operation kept totally separate from NAB. It even banked with Westpac. When NAB bought MLC it also tried to buy AMP, believing there was a future in a combined operation. But the cultures of MLC and NAB were totally different and NAB did not have the management skills to bridge the gap. Had NAB bought AMP, the MLC disaster would have become a total catastrophe. Hagger, as the first NAB person to enter the MLC den, discovered a big chunk of the MLC mess (but not all) and thought he could fix it over time without causing a major blow to the NAB share price. It was a huge error, given the royal commission. He should have demanded full and immediate customer repayments and massive writedowns. As the consummate and faithful NAB banking executive, Andrew Hagger accepts the full blame. Hagger knew better than anyone that he had to go but his inevitable exit has deep meaning for middle-ranking bankers who do not have his personal financial firepower. They see it as an execution that could happen to them. The CEOs of the major banks, including those outside the majors, exude confidence that they will ride through the current environment. For the most part the banking analysts accept the CEO view. But at the barbecues the atmosphere among middleranking bankers, who have their own mortgages and are educating their children, is quite different. Many are fearful. It seems only yesterday that they were sending cars to auctions to offer instant loans to enable buyers to bid higher. It seems only yesterday that mortgage credit risks were set by formula and there were incentive bonuses linked to the business generated. Now there are a set of rules whereby customers must be grilled about their expenditure on food, alcohol, the hairdresser, and a myriad of other personal items. Every aspect and detail of the loan must be accurate. Australians are not used to such interrogation and have become very nervous. But from the bankers side they fear that if they slip up they will be a Hagger. And we have new regulations to come, including regulators actually coming into the bank to supervise them. Just as bad, lawyers are circling the banks looking for ways to attack bank executives for their past mistakes and their past bonuses. We regularly get legal action reports that scare bankers in the current environment. To illustrate, I will quote the first few sentences in recent press reports: Up to five million Australians could get thousands of dollars from the big banks under what is set to be the largest class action in the nation s history. Slater and Gordon has launched a wave of legal actions on behalf of about one in three Australian workers believed to have their super invested as cash with the banks. It is estimated the landmark lawsuits could get some account holders as much as $3000 and end up costing the banks more than $1 billion. A massive class action lawsuit is being planned on behalf of Australian bank customers who have entered into mortgage finance agreements with banks since Chamberlains has been appointed to act in the planned class action lawsuit aiming to represent bank customers that are incurring financial losses as a result of entering into mortgage loan contracts with banks since Westpac could be sued by its customers, funders and investors after admitting it breached responsible lending laws and a separate finding that it lacked appropriate lending controls. The bank reached a $35 million corporate settlement with ASIC after admitting an automated decision-making system for home loans breached responsible lending laws, issuing more than 10,000 mortgages that should not have been approved. Maurice Blackburn says Westpac s admission has exposed the company to civil action. Add to that the actions against the Commonwealth and ANZ. Leave aside the validity of

42 The Australian, Australia Author: Robert Gottliebsen Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 29 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 8,979 Words: 967 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 these actions they are telling bankers that if they make a lending mistake the bank could be liable for any losses the client suffers under the responsible lending laws. The executives become a Hagger. Transfer that to borrower land. Australians looking to borrow money have never experienced these sorts of detailed questions. They feel almost like a criminal as they are required to justify their personal expenses, plus a whole range of other detail. And even if they eventually answer all the questions and get the detail right, the amount of money they can borrow is between 20 and 40 per cent less than what was available a few months ago. Those who want to shift houses find they are trapped in their existing house because if they shift, their borrowing to buy the new house will be subject to the new rules and is usually about one-third less than their current loan. We all know that credit squeezes like this, when applied to both consumers and developers, will have severe effects on the economy. That s to come. And the Hagger execution means that fearful bankers will be even more careful and the national repercussions more serious.

43 Age, Melbourne Author: John Collett Section: Money Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 83,229 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 12,979 Words: 471 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Life insurance sector must earn consumers trust Super & funds John Collett Life insurers who have faced the royal commission into misconduct in the financial services sector have had a torrid time. But the discomfort of the life insurance executives in the witness box pales in comparison to the experiences of those who believed they were covered and were not. The commission heard how Commonwealth Bank-owned CommInsure would do almost everything it could to deny claims; premiums were taken from the accounts of dead people by AMP; and about high-pressured selling of dud policies over the phone. Life insurance is bought on the promise that, should the unthinkable happen, the policy will pay out as expected. It is one of the most complex financial products most consumers buy and it is little wonder consumers have few options rather than to place a lot of trust in the insurer to do the right thing. Revelations before the commission show insurers cannot be taken at their word and consumers need to be on their guard. A major take-home from evidence before the commission is consumers need to be particularly careful when buying life insurance directly. Policies sold directly tend to have lots of exclusions, because those selling directly don t what to ask too many questions, as it makes the sale harder to close. Insurance sold or bought directly can more often than not be junk insurance. That s particularly with accidental death insurance where the commission heard most claims are denied. One of the largest super funds, the not-forprofit REST fund, which covers those working in the retail sector, came under examination by the commission. And it is fair to say it came through relatively unscathed. There were no sharp practices identified, but the fund could better communicate with members as to how the the life insurance coverage continuance operates after a member leaves their job and there is no more superannuation being paid into the fund. Many super funds offer automatic acceptance on life insurance, at least up to a certain level of default cover, without the need to provide medical history or undergo a medical exam. On the evidence before the commission, life insurance accessed through not-forprofit super funds looks to be one of the more reliable ways to access life insurance. But for those with complex circumstances, such as small business owners or those with complex family arrangements, where a more tailored policy is needed, the advice of a qualified adviser can be valuable. However, even with life insurance provided through super funds there are some areas of differences in coverage. One of biggest is with the definition of total and permanent disability. A payout can depend on whether the disability stops you from doing your own or any occupation. The best policy definitions say the member is covered by total and permanent disability if they cannot work in their own profession. NATAGE N001

44 Age, Melbourne Author: Clancy Yeates Ruth Williams Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 83,229 Page: 24 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 13,874 Words: 365 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 How Allianz staff saw compliance ROYAL COMMISSION Clancy Yeates Ruth Williams Allianz employees viewed compliance training as having to cascade crap to others, and compliance breaches at the insurer were handled in a Band-Aid fashion, according to an internal Allianz workshop document, revealed at the Hayne royal commission. It was also revealed that, in July, Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan demanded professional services firm Deloitte retract another report highly critical of the company s compliance operations, while an independent report by EY in 2017 was revised to be more favourable to Allianz after company representatives pushed the consultants. Ms Callahan was yesterday questioned by senior counsel assisting the commission, Rowena Orr, QC, over the documents. Ms Callahan said she disagreed with some of the criticisms from the workshop and the Deloitte report, because they did not reflect the work the company had already done to improve its compliance. This was why she asked for the report to be retracted, she said, later admitting it was not her finest moment. The commission also heard that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) asked Allianz to look at its governance standards earlier this year in the wake of a critical report into governance and culture at Commonwealth Bank. Commissioner Kenneth Hayne grilled Ms Callahan on whether the matters flagged in the retracted Deloitte report related to the same issues APRA had asked Allianz to examine following the CBA report questions of governance, culture and accountability. She agreed it did. Yet you asked for that report to be withdrawn? the commissioner asked. I did, she replied, adding that it was withdrawn and that the whole process would now form part of the reply to APRA. Earlier, the commisson heard how Allianz s processes for ensuring its website content complied with the law were deficient and it was still working on a review of years of website incidents. The travel insurance errors, some from as far as 2012, were detected mostly in late 2015, but the company failed to report the matter to the watchdog until this year. The commissions and other rewards paid to car dealers by insurance giant IAG s offshoot, Swann Insurance, were also examined yesterday.

45 Age, Melbourne Author: Clancy Yeates Ruth Williams Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 83,229 Page: 24 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 13,874 Words: 365 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan yesterday. Photo: AAP

46 Adelaide Advertiser, Adelaide Author: Michael Roddan Ben Butler Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 112,097 Page: 47 Printed Size: cm² Market: SA Country: Australia ASR: AUD 1,934 Words: 309 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Allianz only just starting compliance MICHAEL RODDAN BEN BUTLER INSURANCE group Allianz has no idea how many compliance incidents over the last six years, which may include serious breaches of the law, it needs to report to the corporate regulator. Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan told the royal commission yesterday the company had not handed over to Kenneth Hayne s inquiry all the information it had about the company s misconduct or conduct that fell below community standards and expectations when it was asked to do so. Ms Callahan also revealed that despite numerous breaches that went unreported to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission over six years, the company s overhaul to ensure it complied with changes in the law, after an internal audit found its compliance plans were out of date and not taking place, were only just starting. She also admitted the insurer s oversight of a sister company that sold its insurance products, AWP, had been inadequate. The royal commission has heard how Allianz misled consumers and the corporate regulator over travel insurance disclosures on its website, which it did not pull down from public access out of fear it would lose revenue. In a taxing opening session for the royal commission yesterday, Commissioner Hayne interjected in proceedings multiple times after Ms Callahan failed to provide concise or direct responses to questions. When asked if Allianz had fixed its lacklustre legal compliance after the internal audit, Ms Callahan said she had established the regulatory and legislative change forum that will have as its basis the ability to address this problem coupled with individual business unit compliance plans. Mr Hayne told Ms Callahan that he would interpret your answer and say it to her. You are at the start of the process, Mr Hayne said. Thank you, Commissioner, yes, we are at the start of the process. It s commencing now, Ms Callahan said. - THE AUSTRALIAN

47 The Australian, Australia Author: Michael Roddan Ben Butler Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 19 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 19,835 Words: 776 Item ID: Page 1 of 4 Cavalier Allianz dismissed hysterical compliance concerns MICHAEL RODDAN BEN BUTLER Insurer Allianz has a toxic culture where management is more concerned about what it can get away with than doing the right thing, compliance officers are regarded as hysterical for raising concerns and training is seen as a way to cascade crap to others, the financial services royal commission has heard. In evidence to the commission yesterday, Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan also admitted the company pressured consultants Ernst & Young to change two supposedly independent reports one of which was handed to the prudential regulator and that she personally had Deloitte kill another report early this year. Ms Callahan s evidence, drawn from her by counsel assisting the commission, Rowena Orr QC, painted a picture of an organisation that is only now beginning to set up the structures needed to ensure it complies with the law. She told the commission Allianz had no idea how many compliance incidents over the past six years, which may include serious breaches of the law, it needed to report to the corporate regulator. It also did not hand over to Kenneth Hayne s inquiry all the information it had about the company s misconduct or conduct that fell below community standards and expectations when it was asked to do so. Continued on Page 23 MORE REPORTS P23 FINANCIAL SERVICES ROYAL COMMISSION

48 The Australian, Australia Author: Michael Roddan Ben Butler Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 19 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 19,835 Words: 776 Item ID: Page 2 of 4 Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan leaves the royal commission yesterday AAP

49 The Australian, Australia Author: Michael Roddan Ben Butler Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 19 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 19,835 Words: 776 Item ID: Page 3 of 4 Fears hysterical : Allianz Continued from Page 19 FINANCIAL SERVICES ROYAL COMMISSION Ms Callahan revealed that despite numerous breaches that went unreported to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission over six years, an overhaul to ensure it complied with changes in the law, after an internal audit found its compliance plans were out of date and not taking place, was only just starting. She also admitted the insurer s oversight of a sister company that sold its insurance products, AWP, had been inadequate. And it only last week brought its compliance team to full strength by hiring a new analyst, she added. Ms Orr referred Ms Callahan to notes taken by Deloitte during an interview with Allianz head of compliance Jennifer Davidson in July this year. The interviewer recorded Ms Davidson s view that the company had an overly legalistic approach to technical defensibility versus practical good compliance outcomes. This approach was ed by Allianz s general counsel and company chairman, according to the note, which also recorded: Compliance not valued as a counterweight why are you being so hysterical? Another Deloitte document, the minutes of a workshop held with Allianz compliance staff in March, show staff thought the company had a poor compliance culture, with compliance officers dumped on. Training is just seen as having to cascade crap to others, the minutes show. The royal commission has heard how Allianz misled consumers and the corporate regu- lator over travel insurance disclosures on its website, which it did not pull down from public access out of fear it would lose revenue. Commissioner Hayne was yesterday forced to interject in proceedings multiple times after Ms Callahan failed to provide concise or direct responses to questions. Asked by Ms Orr if Allianz had fixed its lacklustre legal compliance following an internal audit, Ms Callahan said she had established a regulatory and legislative change forum that will have as its basis the ability to address this problem coupled with individual business unit compliance plans. Mr Hayne interrupted and told Ms Callahan that he would interpret your answer and say it to her: You are at the start of the process, Mr Hayne said. Thank you, Commissioner, yes, we are at the start of the process. It s commencing now, Ms Callahan said. The royal commission heard Allianz currently has some 150 matters that were raised through its internal compliance system that are yet to be assessed to see if they are serious enough to report to ASIC. Failing to report significant breaches of the law to ASIC is a crime. Despite saying there were also historically more incidents that could stretch into the hundreds of incidents yet to be assessed for their reportability to ASIC that Allianz would review, Ms Callahan refused to say how big the pile of work would be. I cannot give you a number, Ms Callahan told the commission. Is it a number that would be in the hundreds? Ms Orr asked. I don t want to speculate, she responded. Ms Callahan said Allianz had retained an external resource that was helping the company set up a methodology to assess the logged compliance incidents.

50 The Australian, Australia Author: Michael Roddan Ben Butler Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 19 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 19,835 Words: 776 Item ID: Page 4 of 4 DAVID GERAGHTY Commissioner Kenneth Hayne interjected several times during the proceedings AUSE01Z01MA Training is just seen as having to cascade crap to others DELOITTE WORKSHOP MINUTES

51 The Australian, Australia Author: Andrew White Perry Williams Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 19 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 15,719 Words: 1351 Item ID: Page 1 of 3 TRUMP TARGETS $277BN OF IMPORTS Growth risk as trade war intensifies ANDREW WHITE PERRY WILLIAMS ECONOMY An escalating trade war between the US and China risks lower exports, economic growth and exchange rates for Australia, with business supply chains and investment planning also considered vulnerable to President Donald Trump s new tariffs on $US200 billion ($277bn) of imports into the world s biggest economy. Economists and business groups said Australia s trade surplus with China meant it was likely to be hit by any slowdown triggered by the extension of tariffs to almost half of its exports to the US. With China expected to retaliate shortly, tariffs have now been extended to an estimated 1 per cent of global trade as part of Mr Trump s efforts to rein in what he says are unfair trade practices by the Chinese. Economists and analysts said the impact on the Australian economy would take some time to emerge, but could shave up to 0.5 per cent from economic growth over a decade. There are also expected to be a number of local companies directly affected by the tariffs because they have manufacturing operations in China or are part of supply chains with Chinese companies doing business in the US. You d have to think those discretionary services like higher education and tourism are more exposed to being negatively affected, KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne told The Australian. Stephen Anthony, chief economist at Industry Super Australia, said the escalation of trade measures was coming at the worst time for the Australian economy because it would weaken exports at a time when the other big economic drivers such as the finance sector and the housing industry were slowing or turning down. The more the US moves slow down bilateral trade between China and the US, the more it affects us, Mr Anthony said. Mr Trump has added a 10 per cent tariff to $US200bn of goods starting from Monday and rising to 25 per cent from January 1. About 6000 items are affected by the tariffs, ranging from rattan mats to burglar alarms and bicycles. Bicycle helmets and some other child-safety products have been excluded, as have smart watches and some other electronic goods. The latest moves follow tariffs on solar panels and white goods earlier this year, followed by broader tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. Retaliation by Continued on Page 28 WALL STREET JOURNAL P25 How the market reacted % change -0.4 SHANGHAI HONG KONG TOKYO STOXX EUROPE 600* *last at S&P/ASX Source: Bloomberg

52 The Australian, Australia Author: Andrew White Perry Williams Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 19 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 15,719 Words: 1351 Item ID: Page 2 of 3 Exports, growth in danger as Trump ups the ante Continued from Page 19 China, largely focused on agricultural exports, meant around $50 billion of goods from each country were caught up in the first two rounds. Australian shares fell, running against the trend of rising markets in the region. The ASX200 was down 0.4 per cent, or 23.5 points to But the Aussie dollar, which has recently touched 2½year lows, rose about a quarter of a cent to US72.18 cents. China s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.8 per cent, while the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China s second exchange, climbed 1.68 per cent. Hong Kong s Hang Seng index rose 0.6 per cent, to close at 27, The optimism has been boosted by the fact Trump left some key items from the latest target list, while he is also due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in November and will likely want a deal in place. While the US tariffs salvo is hardly middling, it s not as bad as it could have been, said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA, so unless China hits with draconian measures, markets should remain supported after [the] knee-jerk reactions. Ultimately the graduated tariff hike allows more room to negotiate before the thumping 25 per cent levy gets triggered, so perhaps China may temper their response accordingly. Saul Eslake, vice chancellor s fellow at the University of Tasmania, said the main impact would be on US consumers, who would pay higher prices as importers moved to cover the cost of tariffs and domestic producers took the opportunity to compete for higher margins. The US trade deficit is running as high as $US330bn and widening as a stronger US economy sucks in more imports. The effects on Australia were likely to be indirect and driven by a slowdown in Chinese growth that could curb demand for mining and agricultural commodities, Mr Eslake said. But it could also lead to higher inflation in the US from higherpriced imports, which could see official interest rates increased more quickly and lead to a stronger US dollar. A weaker Australian dollar could also lead to higher local interest if more expensive imports pushed up inflation and forced the Reserve Bank of Australia to act. Moody s Investors Service estimates the new tariffs would strip 0.3 per cent to 0.5 per cent from China s GDP growth over the next year. But those effects were expected to be cancelled out by other fiscal and policy easings, leaving China s real GDP growth unchanged at 6.6 per cent this year and 6.4 per cent in The negative impact of the tariffs could spread beyond the targeted sectors due to the increasing domestic value-added characteristic of Chinese exports, Lillian Li, a vice-president at Moody s, said. The spillover effect will be amplified, as companies using the higher-tariff and therefore highercost products as raw materials will gradually diversify or shift supply away from China. KPMG s Mr Rynne said tariffs at 10 per cent would cost Australia 0.3 per cent of GDP growth or $36bn over a decade and $58bn or 0.5 per cent should tariffs increase to 25 per cent on January 1. That starts to negatively influence Chinese demand for our goods and services, Mr Rynne told The Australian. While existing contracts for Australia s two biggest export earners, iron ore and LNG, are seen as safe for now, any new supplies of the two commodities being sold to China may find a less captive market. Many of our commodities tend to be associated with longterm supply contracts but anything associated with new supply in the mining and agriculture sector might be more at risk, Mr Rynne said. Dairy product exports including baby formula were likely to hold up given the strong underlying demand for premium Australian products. Mr Rynne said Australian companies should consider scenario planning around alternative export markets if signs emerge of a further escalation of the trade spat between the world s two largest economies or an all-out global trade war. Rich-lister Rod Jones, the cofounder of university education provider Navitas, hit at claims the sector might suffer a decline from tariff impacts and said it had proven relatively immune from economic downturns. We saw through the GFC there wasn t any real pull in international students because of that underlying demand in developing countries, Mr Jones said. This is not something where parents have to stick their hand in their pocket tomorrow to pay for their kids. Parents in many of these countries and China is one of them have been saving for their kids education literally from the day they were born, said Mr Jones, who stepped down as chief executive earlier this year but remains on the Navitas board. Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said Australia should continue to campaign for free trade and its pol-

53 The Australian, Australia Author: Andrew White Perry Williams Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 19 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 15,719 Words: 1351 Item ID: Page 3 of 3 itical leaders should see the move as a spur to accelerate the implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We re not immune to global economic shocks, which is exactly why our political leaders must double down to make our economy more competitive, Ms Westacott said. The parliament can start implementing the TPP-11 deal to grow Australian incomes and send a clear message that Australia will continue to support freer and more liberal global trade. The TPP-11 will provide an important mechanism for international co-operation on trade, putting momentum into the agenda for liberalisation, and helping to reduce the effects of the increased tariffs on US-China trade. We should work with other nations to continue building and maintaining the rules-based system of trade which has both benefited Australians and lifted millions out of poverty overseas. AUSE01Z01MA - V1 The negative impact of the tariffs could spread beyond the targeted sectors. LILLIAN LI, MOODY S

54 The Australian, Australia Author: Bridget Carter Scott Murdoch Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 20 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 23,411 Words: 546 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 DATAROOM EDITED BY BRIDGET CARTER carterb@theaustralian.com.au SCOTT MURDOCH Aussie Home Loans rebels over CBA spin-off plans Commonwealth Bank s planned $8 billion demerger has struck trouble with Aussie Home Loans protesting against being part of the portfolio of assets that the bank is spinning off. The deal remains on track to go ahead next year, but the process is understood to have become more difficult than expected and there are now questions over which parts of the business will be included in the final deal. CBA, the largest lender and bank by market capitalisation in Australia, announced in June that it would demerge its wealth management and mortgage broking businesses. The wealth group will consist of Colonial First State, Colonial First State Global Asset Management and Count Financial. The decision to include Aussie Home loans in the spunoff business was instantly criticised by analysts, who believed it was put together with an odd set of assets. It is understood that Aussie Home Loans is deeply unhappy and has railed against the move. The process is understood to have been strongly driven by CBA chairman Catherine Livingstone, who has taken charge of trying to repair the bank s reputational damage following the Austrac scandal and the royal commission. The bank s incoming deputy chief executive, David Cohen, has oversight of the demerger and had been touted as a potential chief executive of the spun-off business. However, sources say that is now unlikely. CFS Global Asset Management chief executive Mark Lazberger is understood to be keen on leading the new business and has flagged his interest. A second leading internal candidate was thought to have been Michael Venter, the bank s current chief operating officer of its wealth management business, but that prospect is starting to be downplayed. One option open to CBA is separating Aussie Home Loans and its 20 per cent stake in Mortgage Choice from the demerged entity and working on a sale of the two assets. The plan is being considered now by CBA and UBS, which devised the demerger plan and presented it to the bank s board. During reporting season, CBA published the financial details of the demerged group known as NewCo for the first time for investors, who will receive stock in the group. The wealth management and mortgage broking company had a pro-forma cash profit of about $568 million in the 2018 financial year, up 5 per cent on the same time last year. The business had about 2850 jobs at the end of June, down from 3000 a year earlier. It is increasingly likely that a large number of those jobs will be cut as the final composition of the demerged company takes shape. The bank flagged that NewCo would have the opportunity to make investment decisions to drive growth, which was interpreted as keeping the option open to offload some divisions. NewCo s total operating income in 2018 was $2.046bn, up from $1.73bn, and the net tangible assets were valued at $883m. murdochs@theaustralian.com.au

55 The Australian, Australia Author: Bridget Carter Scott Murdoch Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 20 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 23,411 Words: 546 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 Colonial First State s assets under management By region By asset class NORTH EMEA* INFRASTRUCTURE AMERICA % 37 % AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES ASIA AUSTRALIA FIXED INCOME GLOBAL EQUITIES FY18 CFSGAM net flows by asset class ($m) AUSTRALIAN EQUITIES -13, ,858 INFRASTRUCTURE GLOBAL EQUITIES FIXED INCOME 114 TOTAL AUM i h ill i k i Ri l h i lli i * Europe, Middle East and Africa Source: Commonwealth Bank B fi t hm

56 The Australian, Australia Author: John Dure Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 94,448 Page: 29 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 3,164 Words: 365 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 APRA right of reply The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has not fared well before the banking royal commission. Concerns have been expressed, on several occasions, that its regulation has been missing in action. On Friday, APRA gets to reply when it lodges its response to the commission and perhaps will shed some light on a different regulatory approach. Today s confirmation that former Treasury secretary John Lonsdale will take on a new role as deputy boss at APRA underlines his potential appointment as the new boss when Wayne Byres term expires in July next year. Lonsdale s appointment was flagged earlier but today s announcement is the official confirmation because it required accompanying legislation for the new position. The move follows a series of changes at Treasury. John Fraser has stepped down as boss; his originally intended replacement Michael Brennan goes to the Productivity Commission and Phil Gaetjens goes from former treasurer Scott Morrison s office to take up the Treasury head role. Talk in Canberra suggests Fraser will be appointed as new Future Fund chairman when Peter Costello s term expires early in the new year. Fraser has taken on two new roles: joining the AMP board and the board of small business lender Judo Capital. Treasury s anointed ones are nonetheless now in place. The interest at APRA is on its governance structure. Helen Rowell and Geoff Summerhayes cover superannuation and insurance respectively and Byres handles the banks. This was the same model adopted by ASIC but new boss James Shipton has abandoned that governance structure in favour of a separate commission to better select work focus in the regulator, the idea being if you remove the commissioner from the staff, he or she can take a better helicopter view of the world and allocate resources accordingly. This is also the model adopted by Rod Sims at the ACCC. Lonsdale had previously rejected the ACCC model for ASIC when he was in Treasury. Whether that changes in light of the revelations at the royal commission remains to be seen and, of course, until the middle of next year Byres will be in charge. For the moment, all eyes are on APRA s Friday responses to its royal commission bagging. JOHN DURIE

57 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: Bianca Hartgehazelman Section: Money Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 52,533 Words: 773 Item ID: Page 1 of 3 From adviser to coach Client behaviour is the new advice field, writes Bianca Hartge- Hazelman. Financial planners are repositioning themselves as personal trainer-like wealth coaches in what s tipped to become the biggest trend for the embattled industry over the next decade. The Association of Financial Advisers national president, Marc Bineham, says advisers are increasingly changing their service offering to appeal to younger and more financially literate clients, with many moving into wealth coaching. People need to feel accountable, they ve got money stress, they ve got money concerns that keep them up at night, so they need to get their money under control, and having a money coach or wealth coach fits perfectly with what financial advisers do and how they are transitioning, Bineham says. It doesn t matter if you are the best tennis player in the world, you still have a coach... and it s that coaching side of it which I see as the biggest trend over the next 10 years. But unlike traditional financial advice, wealth coaching doesn t necessarily require an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) because it doesn t have to involve selling tailored financial advice or products. The emerging trend comes as the industry waits to hear from the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) on what incoming education standards for their profession will look like and whether it will involve a requirement for advisers to hold a degree. The move to wealth coaching, which is focused on providing accountability and goal tracking behaviour for clients, presents an opportunity for many advisers to break away or reposition their business from an industry tarnished by massive reputational damage dating to the global financial crisis. Lea Schodel is an award-winning financial adviser who recently abandoned her licence to focus on wealth coaching through her business Mindful Wealth. I believe wealth coaching is a new offering that will broaden the current services of advisers, but not replace them, Schodel says. Traditionally advisers have never really looked at the behavioural side of things when it comes to people and money. Wealth coaches do this and shouldn t need to have an AFSL. But certainly there needs to be a new education framework that recognises this emerging profession to ensure clients are protected. The royal commission into financial services has highlighted numerous examples of poor advice. Before that Fairfax Media uncovered the CBA financial planning scandal, followed by scandals at Macquarie, NAB, ANZ and IOOF. In some organisations incentivised advisers were caught forging signatures to access customer money, and in many cases clients were deliberately put into inappropriate and costly products. I don t think it is necessarily a bad thing that we ve had all this happen to the financial planning industry, it s just unfortunate that only the bad stuff has been highlighted, says Schodel. Increasingly wealth coaches are achieving scale for their businesses by selling e-books, online courses, mobile financial goal apps and video webinars and distributing those to a Continued Page 3

58 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: Bianca Hartgehazelman Section: Money Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 52,533 Words: 773 Item ID: Page 2 of 3 18 Traditional advice firms are pitching wealth coaching as a way to attract younger clients.

59 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: Bianca Hartgehazelman Section: Money Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 52,533 Words: 773 Item ID: Page 3 of 3 Advisers eye transition to coaching role From Page 1 maximum number of paying clients or subscribers. It is also being used by some advice businesses to attract new clients, particularly people in their 20s and 30s, before steering them to the traditional advice model of strategy and selling product. There is an element of buyer beware here, said Wealth Planning Partners adviser Amanda Cassar, who is looking to make the move to wealth coaching. People need to do some research on who is offering the coaching and check whether they are qualified to do so. Companies offering wealth or goal coaching include AMP Financial Planning, Pivot, Evalesco, Experience Wealth, Firefly Wealth, Mindful Wealth and Fortify Financial. Since the global financial crisis, the number of financial advisers working in Australia has grown from 18,000 in 2009 to 25,000, which includes the transition of roughly 3000 accountants who provide advice to self managed super funds (SMSFs). This is despite high-profile scandals; conflicts of interest and examples of inappropriate and poor advice have repeatedly damaged client trust and the public image of the planning industry. The sector is now faced with challenging industry conditions and increasing education and professional requirements including a proposed requirement for all advisers to hold a degree. There are predictions that the number of advisers could decline by a third as a result of these education measures and in light of the fact that a large proportion of advisers are in their 50s and may not wish to undertake additional training. Lea Schodel: New education framework needed. Bianca Hartge-Hazelman is the founder of women s money website Financy and the Financy Women s Index.

60 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: John Collett Section: Money Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 16,735 Words: 471 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Life insurance sector must earn consumers trust Super & funds John Collett Life insurers who have faced the royal commission into misconduct in the financial services sector have had a torrid time. But the discomfort of the life insurance executives in the witness box pales in comparison to the experiences of those who believed they were covered and were not. The commission heard how Commonwealth Bank-owned CommInsure would do almost everything it could to deny claims; premiums were taken from the accounts of dead people by AMP; and about high-pressured selling of dud policies over the phone. Life insurance is bought on the promise that, should the unthinkable happen, the policy will pay out as expected. It is one of the most complex financial products most consumers buy and it is little wonder consumers have few options rather than to place a lot of trust in the insurer to do the right thing. Revelations before the commission show insurers cannot be taken at their word and consumers need to be on their guard. A major take-home from evidence before the commission is consumers need to be particularly careful when buying life insurance directly. Policies sold directly tend to have lots of exclusions, because those selling directly don t what to ask too many questions, as it makes the sale harder to close. Insurance sold or bought directly can more often than not be junk insurance. That s particularly with accidental death insurance where the commission heard most claims are denied. One of the largest super funds, the not-forprofit REST fund, which covers those working in the retail sector, came under examination by the commission. And it is fair to say it came through relatively unscathed. There were no sharp practices identified, but the fund could better communicate with members as to how the the life insurance coverage continuance operates after a member leaves their job and there is no more superannuation being paid into the fund. Many super funds offer automatic acceptance on life insurance, at least up to a certain level of default cover, without the need to provide medical history or undergo a medical exam. On the evidence before the commission, life insurance accessed through not-forprofit super funds looks to be one of the more reliable ways to access life insurance. But for those with complex circumstances, such as small business owners or those with complex family arrangements, where a more tailored policy is needed, the advice of a qualified adviser can be valuable. However, even with life insurance provided through super funds there are some areas of differences in coverage. One of biggest is with the definition of total and permanent disability. A payout can depend on whether the disability stops you from doing your own or any occupation. The best policy definitions say the member is covered by total and permanent disability if they cannot work in their own profession. 1HERSA1 E001

61 Age, Melbourne Author: Bianca Hartgehazelman Section: Money Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 83,229 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 37,371 Words: 765 Item ID: Page 1 of 3 From adviser to coach Client behaviour is the new advice field, writes Bianca Hartge- Hazelman. Financial planners are repositioning themselves as personal trainer-like wealth coaches in what s tipped to become the biggest trend for the embattled industry over the next decade. The Association of Financial Advisers national president, Marc Bineham, says advisers are increasingly changing their service offering to appeal to younger and more financially literate clients, with many moving into wealth coaching. People need to feel accountable, they ve got money stress, they ve got money concerns that keep them up at night, so they need to get their money under control, and having a money coach or wealth coach fits perfectly with what financial advisers do and how they are transitioning, Bineham says. It doesn t matter if you are the best tennis player in the world, you still have a coach... and it s that coaching side of it which I see as the biggest trend over the next 10 years. But unlike traditional financial advice, wealth coaching doesn t necessarily require an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) because it doesn t have to involve selling tailored financial advice or products. The emerging trend comes as the industry waits to hear from the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) on what incoming education standards for their profession will look like and whether it will involve a requirement for advisers to hold a degree. The move to wealth coaching, which is focused on providing accountability and goal tracking behaviour for clients, presents an opportunity for many advisers to break away or reposition their business from an industry tarnished by massive reputational damage dating to the global financial crisis. Lea Schodel is an award-winning financial adviser who recently abandoned her licence to focus on wealth coaching through her business Mindful Wealth. I believe wealth coaching is a new offering that will broaden the current services of advisers, but not replace them, Schodel says. Traditionally advisers have never really looked at the behavioural side of things when it comes to people and money. Wealth coaches do this and shouldn t need to have an AFSL. But certainly there needs to be a new education framework that recognises this emerging profession to ensure clients are protected. The royal commission into financial services has highlighted numerous examples of poor advice. Before that Fairfax Media uncovered the CBA financial planning scandal, followed by scandals at Macquarie, NAB, ANZ and IOOF. In some organisations incentivised advisers were caught forging signatures to access customer money, and in many cases clients were deliberately put into inappropriate and costly products. I don t think it is necessarily a bad thing that we ve had all this happen to the financial planning industry, it s just unfortunate that only the bad stuff has been highlighted, says Schodel. Increasingly wealth coaches are achieving scale for their businesses by selling e-books, online courses, mobile financial goal apps and video webinars and distributing those to a maximum number of paying clients or subscribers. It is also being used by some advice businesses to attract new clients, particularly people in their 20s and 30s, before steering them to the traditional advice model of Continued Page 3

62 Age, Melbourne Author: Bianca Hartgehazelman Section: Money Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 83,229 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 37,371 Words: 765 Item ID: Page 2 of 3 18 Traditional advice firms are pitching wealth coaching as a way to attract younger clients.

63 Age, Melbourne Author: Bianca Hartgehazelman Section: Money Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 83,229 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 37,371 Words: 765 Item ID: Page 3 of 3 From adviser to coach From Page 1 strategy and selling product. There is an element of buyer beware here, said Wealth Planning Partners adviser Amanda Cassar, who is looking to make the move to wealth coaching. People need to do some research on who is offering the coaching and check whether they are qualified to do so. Companies offering wealth or goal coaching include AMP Financial Planning, Pivot, Evalesco, Experience Wealth, Firefly Wealth, Mindful Wealth and Fortify Financial. Since the global financial crisis, the number of financial advisers working in Australia has grown from 18,000 in 2009 to 25,000, which includes the transition of roughly 3000 accountants who provide advice to self managed super funds. This is despite high-profile scandals; conflicts of interest and examples of inappropriate and poor advice have repeatedly damaged client trust and the public image of the planning industry. The sector is faced with challenging industry conditions and increasing education and professional requirements including a proposed requirement for all advisers to hold a degree. There are predictions that the number of advisers could decline by a third as a result of these education measures and in light of the fact that a large proportion of advisers are in their 50s and may not wish to undertake additional training. Bianca Hartge-Hazelman is the founder of women s money website Financy and the Financy Women s Index.

64 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: Ross Gittins Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 24 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 45,912 Words: 935 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 The great outsourcing failure Placing government services such as aged care into private hands has been damaging, writes Ross Gittins. How will the era of neoliberalism end with a bang or a whimper? With a royal commission or three. But don t worry. Royal commissions always make a lot of noise. With the memory of the government s embarrassing delay in yielding to public pressure for a royal commission into banking still fresh, Scott Morrison got in before the Four Corners expose to announce a royal commission into aged care. Who s to say this will be the last? A royal commission into electricity and gas prices is mooted. Maybe some time in the future we ll see a royal commission into problems with the National Disability Insurance Scheme. To Morrison, the aged care commission has the advantage of kicking a political hot potato into the long grass of the next parliamentary term. How can you claim we re doing nothing? We ve called an inquiry. Actually, the neglect and mistreatment of old people in nursing homes has been the subject of so many inquiries and reports going to the kerosene baths in 1997 that only an inquiry of the status of a royal commission could have satisfied the many complainants. But I wonder if the increasing resort to royal commissions has a deeper economic and political significance. A key part of the era of what we used to call micro-economic reform has been to take services formerly provided by governments and sometimes charities and pay profitmaking businesses to provide them. Among the first of these outsourcing schemes was the Howard government s decision to abolish the Commonwealth Employment Service and contract a network of charitable and for-profit firms to help the jobless find work. Then came the expansion of childcare to for-profit providers, the move by successive federal and state governments to make technical and further education contestable by private providers, and the decision to open the provision of aged care to forprofit providers. Plus the decision to turn five state electricity monopolies into a single, competitive national electricity market. The reformers were sure these changes would lead to big improvements. As everyone knows, the public sector is lazy and wasteful, whereas competition and the profit motive make the private sector very efficient. The reforms would allow governments to reduce their spending on the services they subsidised, even while the public got better service. Competition from private providers would oblige church and charitable providers to lift their game. And introducing market forces meant the providers of governmentsubsidised services didn t need to be closely regulated. As any economics textbook tells you, it would be irrational for providers to mistreat their customers because they d soon lose them to their many rivals. It hasn t worked out the way the reformers hoped. We won t know whether non-government provision of job-search services is working well until unemployment surges in the next recession. But we do know that childcare was thrown into crisis when one private provider, ABC Learning, which had been allowed to acquire abouthalf thenation s childcare centres, went belly up. We know that making vocational education and training contestable was a costly disaster, as many private providers conneddyoungsterst intot signingi up for unsuitable courses (and debt). We know that turning electricity from government monopolies to a national market has seen the retail cost of power double in a decade. And now it s aged care where mounting complaints about neglect and abuse can no longer be fobbed off. Providers have been required to make public so little evidence of staffing ratios and other performance indicators that we don t yet know whether neglect and abuse is greater among for-profit or non-profit providers. The notorious Oakden nursing home in South Australia, after all, was state-government run. But our experience of private operators gaming government subsidies and cutting quality to increase profits in other areas of outsourcing makes me think I know where the greatest problems lie. And the way the announcement of the commission prompted steep falls in the share prices of four listed agedcare companies suggests investors share my suspicions. According to research by the Tax Justice Network, if you measure it by number of beds, non-profit providers make up about half the market, with the six biggest for-profit providers accounting for more than 20 per cent. The biggest is Bupa (owned by a British mutual), followed by Opal (part owned by AMP), Regis, Estia and

65 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: Ross Gittins Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 24 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 45,912 Words: 935 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 Japara (all ASX listed) and Allity. We do know that the number of serious-risk notices given to providers jumped by 170 per cent in the past financial year, and significant noncompliance increased by 292 per cent. This says there s been a sudden increase not in misbehaviour but in vigilance by the authorities. Why are unannounced visits and compliance audits only now in vogue? Good question. Aged care is just the latest instance of the failure of contestability and marketisation to deliver government services satisfactorily a great embarrassment to econocrats and governments of both colours. The chickens are coming home to roost and the uproar is threatening the Coalition s survival. Calling a royal commission with all its shock revelations may be the answer to the politicians problem. It changes the question from how could you have been so naive as to believe competition would save customers from being abused? to what are you doing to punish these bastards and stop it happening?. It also tells generous donors to party coffers the government s had no choice but to let them go. Ross Gittins is the Herald s economics editor. The chickens are coming home to roost.

66 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: Clancy Yeates Ruth Williams Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 27 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 19,354 Words: 502 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 How Allianz staff approached their compliance duties ROYAL COMMISSION Clancy Yeates Ruth Williams Allianz employees viewed compliance training as having to cascade crap to others, and compliance breaches at the insurer were handled in a bandaid fashion, according to an internal Allianz workshop document, revealed at the Hayne royal commission. It was also revealed that, in July, Allianz s chief risk officer Lori Callahan demanded professional services firm Deloitte retract another report highly critical of the company s compliance operations, while an independent report by EY in 2017 was revised to be more favourable to Allianz after company representatives pushed the consultants. Ms Callahan was questioned on Tuesday by senior counsel assisting the commission, Rowena Orr QC, over the documents. Ms Callahan said she disagreed with some of the criticisms from the workshop and the Deloitte report, because they did not reflect the work the company had already done to improve its compliance. This was why she asked for the report to be retracted, she said, later admitting it was not her finest moment. The commission also heard that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) asked Allianz to look at its governance standards earlier this year in the wake of a critical report into governance and culture at the Commonwealth Bank. Commissioner Kenneth Hayne grilled Ms Callahan on whether the matters flagged in the retracted Deloitte report related to the same issues APRA had asked Allianz to examine following the CBA report questions of governance, culture and accountability. She agreed it did. Yet you asked for that report to be withdrawn? the commissioner asked. I did, she replied, adding that it was withdrawn and that the whole process would now form part of the reply to APRA. Earlier, the commission heard how Allianz s processes for ensuring its website content complied with the law were deficient and it was still working on a review of years of previous website incidents. As well as containing misleading information about travel insurance, as revealed on Monday, its website included incorrect links to product disclosure statements, or no such documents at all, because of failings in its internal processes. The travel insurance errors, some from as far as 2012, were mostly detected in late 2015, but the company failed to report the matter to the watchdog until this year. Ms Orr took Ms Callahan to a string of internal reports that illustrated the flaws in its compliance systems that led to the misleading information being published. Ms Orr also tabled a letter to ASIC that revealed there had been another seven compliance incidents relating to online content. These included misleading statements from 2011 on the website of Auto Club, 1 Cover Travel Insurance and Petplan pet insurance. A separate internal report also showed there had been problems with customers being sent to the wrong product disclosure statement when buying insurance online, because of incorrect hyperlinks on its website. This breach was reported to ASIC. Ms Callahan said these compliance incidents were part of an increase in its reporting to ASIC this year. Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan. Photo: AAP

67 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: Nassim Khadem Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 10 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 12,151 Words: 394 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Horror tales spark calls for industry changes Nassim Khadem Aged care lobby groups say establishing minimum staff-to-resident ratios to protect the elderly in care won t be enough to end neglect and abuse, and have demanded immediate changes to lift the quality of staff. Some also want issues of mistreatment of the elderly at retirement villages looked at as part of Prime Minister Scott Morrison s royal commission into the aged care sector, even if regulation falls under the state and territories. Mr Morrison held an aged care roundtable yesterday after an investigation by ABC s Four Corners on Monday revealed facility staff were failing to meet the needs of elderly people. While the sector, under pressure on profits, is likely to face further volatility under the microscope of a royal commission, advocacy groups say elderly people should not have to wait for change it could take up to two years for the royal commission to be completed. What we saw last night (on Four Corners) was... a form of elder abuse, said Older Persons Advocacy Network (OPAN) chief executive Craig Gear. There is no minimum legal ratio of staff to residents, no minimum training requirement and no statutory requirement to have a nurse on duty at all times. OPAN did not have a specific position on whether retirement living a focus of state and territories should be included in the inquiry but said the elderly faced similar issues in those facilities, so it is worth looking at from an elder abuse perspective. Ian Yates, chief executive of the Council on the Ageing (COTA), said examples of residents being left alone for hours, failure to provide basic needs such as showering, incontinence pads and food; and the overuse of antipsychotic drugs, are disturbing and unacceptable, but not new. We don t just need more aged care staff ratios of poor staff will make matters worse we need people working in aged care who want to be there, who care about the residents, who have proper training and support, and are ed by proper clinical management, Mr Yates said. In relation to having the royal commission look at stateregulated retirement living, Mr Yates said, we think they probably should but we don t want this to become so broad that this takes three years. Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association (CPSA) policy coordinator Paul Versteege said he supported higher staff to patient ratios.

68 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: Matt O'Sullivan Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 9 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 19,936 Words: 488 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA Leaked report raises doubts on light rail project Matt O Sullivan Transport Australia s peak infrastructure body had major doubts about the stated benefits of Sydney s light rail following a plea by the state government for $500 million in federal funding for the project, a leaked assessment reveals. The analysis of the project by Infrastructure Australia in 2013, obtained by the Herald and the ABC, raised questions about the benefits to commuters and whether the proposed light rail line would lead to an effective increase in the capacity of Sydney s transport system. It cited modelling that traffic congestion in Sydney s central business district could worsen by 12 per cent due to a light rail line, and be worse along Anzac Parade in the south-east. The light rail system does not generate time saving for commuters. Infrastructure Australia report The assessment also warnedthe light rail line would not cut travel times for commuters, and that many intersections along Anzac Parade would deteriorate from freeflowing conditions to congested. In relation to the value to transport users, the light rail system does not generate time saving for commuters, it said. Hence the merits of the project to users will rest on their preferring to travel via light rail instead of buses. At the time, the state government was seeking $500 million in funding from the Commonwealth for the 12-kilometre line from Circular Quay to Randwick and Kingsford. One of the challenges had been covering a shortfall in funding, which internal docug diverting money from a parking space levy to light rail. Other options canvassed included special rates levied on businesses in the Sydney City and Randwick council areas, a development levy or raising ticket prices for trams. The federal government did not stump up money for the project and the other options were not taken further, leaving the project to rely on the state and a $220 million contribution from the City of Sydney. A year after Infrastructure Australia s assessment, tthecost ofthe project blew out by $549 million to $2.1 billion. The government faces the risk of further increases to the cost of the project following a $1.1 billion lawsuit against it by the Spanish subcontractor building the light rail line. The leaked assessment also shows Infrastructure Australia questioned findings of consultants commissioned by Transport for NSW in 2012 that the project would have a benefit-cost ratio of one the point at which it is deemed to be of viable economic value to taxpayers. The advisory body s assessment cited a number of significant problems in the consultants appraisal that meant the benefit-cost ratio is not robust. That included failing to account for a cut in road capacity and disruption caused by the project. The disturbance costs of Sydney light rail are likely to be substantial and are not included in the current economic appraisal, it said. Transport for NSW said Infrastructure Australia s response from early 2013 predated final planning reports and the final business case for the project.

69 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: David Crowe Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 76,253 Words: 766 Item ID: Page 1 of 3 Shorten s super pitch to women Labor will unveil a $400 million plan today to narrow the gap between women and men s superannuation savings. Leader Bill Shorten will outline the policy to deliver a top-up payment to thousands of super accounts every year for those on parental leave, addressing one of the factors that leave women with about 60 per cent of the retirement savings of men. EXCLUSIVE PAGE 4 OPPOSITION PLAN Labor s $400m super pitch to women David Crowe Chief political correspondent Labor will pledge a financial boost for more than 160,000 women in a policy that aims to narrow the gap between women and men s superannuation savings for retirement. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will outline the $400 million plan today with a vow to make economic security for women one of his priorities at the next federal election. The Labor scheme would deliver a top-up payment for thousands of super accounts every year for those on parental leave, addressing one of the factors that leaves women with about 60 per cent of the retirement savings of men. Mr Shorten told the Herald the measure to improve economic security should be an election priority because of the gap in the average super balances between men and women at their retirement. The move comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison tries to contain a Liberal Party row over the number of women in Parliament and concerns about intimidation of MPs during the leadership spill that toppled Malcolm Turnbull. Mr Shorten is expected to announce the policy alongside Labor shadow treasurer Chris Bowen, in their first major policy initiative since the leadership turmoil at the top of the government. Many women are forced to halt contributions to their superannuation accounts when they have children, with the federal government s parental leave scheme paying $ a week but not offering anything towards super. A Labor government would add a super contribution to be paid directly to the recipient s super fund or paid to an employer who would make the contribution. Mr Shorten said that every day a woman looked after a child under the federal scheme was a day her super balance was on hold. This isn t fair and it s contributing to the growing superannuation gap between men and women, he said. Superannuation paid on parental leave is an investment in a better and fairer retirement for Australian women. The payments would go to about 167,000 recipients of the Commonwealth paid parental leave scheme and another 80,000 recipients of the dad and partner payments scheme. The new payments would be targeted at the same parents who qualify for the Commonwealth s paid parental leave scheme, which offers $ a week for 18 weeks for those who meet a work test and earn less than $150,000 a year. While women are expected to be the main beneficiaries, the policy will also help men who choose to take parental leave. There are inequities in our super system which disadvantage women, Mr Bowen said. Labor s changes will see thousands of women benefit from tens of thousands of dollars more in retirement income. The average addition to a single super fund could be about $400 a year, enough to add significantly more over time as a result of fund earnings. The Labor scheme would start in July 2020 if Mr Shorten wins the next election and would be accompanied by other measures including an annual women s budget

70 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: David Crowe Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 76,253 Words: 766 Item ID: Page 2 of 3 statement to make gender equity a factor in all policy decisions. In a significant move for employers, Labor would also phase-out a rule that means people earning less than $450 a month do not get any super guarantee levy. The threshold will fall by $100 every year and cease to exist by 2024, which would gradually add 400,000 people to the ranks of millions of workers who get the super guarantee levy paid by their employers. The levy is currently 9.5 per cent of salaries and is scheduled to rise to 12 per cent. Labor calculates that a woman who is 26 and earning about $46,000 would be able to build a super balance about 4.6 per bigger by the time she retired at the age of 66 with the help of the top-up payments. This assumes the woman had two children by the age of 30. Under the existing scheme, the woman would gain a super balance of about $525,000 upon retirement at 66. That would rise to almost $550,000 under the Labor policy. Unbalanced $157,000 Super fund balances for women upon retirement. $270,000 Super fund balances for men upon retirement.

71 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: David Crowe Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 76,253 Words: 766 Item ID: Page 3 of 3 Opposition Leader Bill Shorten with female members of the shadow cabinet in Canberra yesterday. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen Opposition Leader Bill Shorten with female members of the shadow cabinet in Canberra yesterday. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

72 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: Clancy Yeates Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 15 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 18,918 Words: 505 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 TECHNOLOGY Smart move: voice-activated banking at your fingertips Clancy Yeates It wasn t that long ago that moving money with the touch of a mobile phone button was considered cutting edge. From this week, consumers will be able to pay someone simply by talking to their smart phone s digital assistant and taking a scan of their face. After rapid growth in the use of smart phones for banking, Westpac is betting that the next step for many customers will be what it calls conversational banking managing their finances by speaking to a smart phone or similar device. The bank will allow customers to check their account balance and move money to other people s accounts using Apple iphone s digital assistant, Siri. The change will remove the need to have any physical contact with a phone such as providing a fingerprint to make a transaction. It is the latest sign of banks grappling with the rise of smart phone banking, with ANZ Bank this week saying it would allow customers to access ATMs with a phone, rather than a card. It already lets customers tap their phone on credit card terminals to make purchases via Apple Pay. ING allows customers to check their balance by talking to their phone but Westpac is the first in the local industry to offer voiceactivated transactions. Westpac s chief executive of consumer banking, George Frazis, said the move was a response to the surge in smart phone banking. Four-fifths of the bank s digital transactions now took place through mobiles, he said, predicting conversational banking would also take off. The future of banking is conversational banking, Mr Frazis said. If you look at smart phone users, about half of them now are using voice assistants, so you can see that this trend is just going to increase. Westpac says its change will allow customers with a sufficiently advanced iphone to move money by saying a command such as Hey Siri, pay John Citizen $20 for dinner. The phone s assistant will then confirm the payment and ask the customer to prove their identity by allowing the phone to take a finger print or a face scan before the cash is transferred. The bank says moving money in this way is more secure than entering a password on a phone because the newer methods use biometric information to verify a customer s identity. To use this feature, the iphone will need to be running Apple s operating system ios11 or a more recent version. Under the change, customers will initially only be able to check account balances and move money to other people s accounts via Siri. But Mr Frazis said there was clear potential to expand the service so it could be used to pay other bills in future or give customers simple advice. The opportunities for this down the track are quite immense, he said. The bank s research has found almost half of Australians use a voice assistant on their phone. Cutting edge Westpac believes that the next step for customers will be managing their finances by speaking to a smart phone.

73 Age, Melbourne Author: David Crowe Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 83,229 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 58,070 Words: 791 Item ID: Page 1 of 3 PAY GAP $400 million super top-up ALP cash to boost women s savings EXCLUSIVE David Crowe Chief political correspondent Labor will pledge a financial boost for more than 160,000 women in a new policy that aims to narrow the gap between women s and men s retirement savings. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will outline the $400 million plan today with a vow to make economic security for women one of his priorities at the next federal election. The Labor scheme would deliver a top-up payment for thousands of super accounts every year for those on parental leave, addressing one of the factors that leaves women with about 60 per cent of the superannuation savings of men. Mr Shorten told The Age the measure to improve economic security should be an election priority because of the gap in the average super balances between men and women at their retirement. Labor s move comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison tries to contain a Liberal row over the number of women in Parliament and concerns about intimidation of MPs during the leadership spill that toppled Malcolm Turnbull. Mr Shorten is expected to announce the new policy alongside Labor shadow treasurer Chris Bowen today in their first major policy initiative since the Liberal leadership turmoil at the top of the government. Many women are forced to halt contributions to their superannuation accounts when they have children, with the federal government s parental leave scheme paying $ a week but not offering anything towards super. A Labor government would add a super contribution to be paid directly to the recipient s super fund Continued Page 4

74 Age, Melbourne Author: David Crowe Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 83,229 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 58,070 Words: 791 Item ID: Page 2 of 3 Labor s super pitch to women Bill Shorten with Labor s female frontbenchers yesterday. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen From Page 1 or paid to an employer who would make the contribution. Mr Shorten said that every day a woman spent looking after a child under the federal scheme was a day her super balance was on hold. This isn t fair and it s contributing to the growing superannuation gap between men and women, he said.

75 Age, Melbourne Author: David Crowe Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 83,229 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 58,070 Words: 791 Item ID: Page 3 of 3 Superannuation paid on parental leave is an investment in a better and fairer retirement for Australian women. The payments would go to about 167,000 recipients of the Commonwealth paid parental leave scheme and another 80,000 recipients of the dad and partner payments scheme. The new payments would be targeted at the same parents who qualify for the Commonwealth s paid parental leave scheme, which offers $ a week for 18 weeks for those who meet a work test and earn less than $150,000 a year. While women are expected to be the main beneficiaries, the policy will also help men who choose to take parental leave. Women have super fund balances of about $157,000 upon retirement on average, compared with $270,000 for men. There are inequities in our super system which disadvantage women, Mr Bowen said. Labor s changes will see thousands of women benefit from tens of thousands of dollars more in retirement income. The average addition to a single super fund could be about $400 a year, enough to add significantly more over time as a result of fund earnings. The Labor scheme would start in July 2020 if Mr Shorten wins the next election and would be accompanied by other measures including an annual women s budget statement to make gender equity a factor in all policy decisions. In a significant move for employers, Labor would also phase out a rule that means people earning less than $450 a month do not get any super guarantee levy. The threshold will fall by $100 every year and cease to exist by 2024, which would gradually add 400,000 people to the ranks of millions of workers who get the super guarantee levy paid by their employers. The levy is currently 9.5 per cent of salaries and is scheduled to rise to 12 per cent. Labor calculates that a woman who is 26 and earning about $46,000 a year would be able to build a super balance about 4.6 per cent bigger by the time she retired at the age of 66 with the help of the top-up payments. This assumes two children by the age of 30. Under the existing scheme, the woman would gain a super balance of about $525,000 upon retirement at 66. That would rise to almost $550,000 under the Labor policy, an addition of about $25,000. How the superannuation of a woman on themedianwagewouldbeaffected (based on a pre-tax 7.1% rate of return) One child before 30 (ie: give birth at 29) Two children before 30 (ie: at age 27 and 29) Three children before 35 (ie:at27,29and31) No Super Guarantee on Paid Parental Leave Super Guarantee on Paid Parental Leave and no $450 threshold $Difference $553,030 $571,200 $18,170 $525,330 $549,680 $24,350 $513,500 $544,150 $30,650 SOURCE: INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA

76 Age, Melbourne Author: Eryk Bagshaw Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 83,229 Page: 4 Printed Size: cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 14,545 Words: 517 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Infrastructure Australia hits out at proposal to cut discount rates on projects Eryk Bagshaw The infrastructure watchdog has savaged a key recommendation of a parliamentary committee, warning that it risks saddling the economy with C-grade investments and allowing sub-par projects through the gate. A six-month inquiry by Parliament s standing committee on infrastructure this week recommended reducing the discount rate on infrastructure investment from 7 per cent to 4 per cent, effectively adding millions of dollars in future value to projects that would otherwise be considered of marginal value. The move would have a significant impact on the cost-benefit analysis of future projects such as Sydney s light rail or Melbourne s airport link opening the door to a wider array of approvals as infrastructure struggles to keep up with a population that will double by In a spray at the findings of the committee led by Liberal MP John Alexander and Labor s Sharon Bird, Infrastructure Australia s acting chief executive Anna Chau said reducing the discount rate to 4 per cent would be a form of intergenerational theft. We wouldn t do this for kids in our schools, just as we wouldn t lower the standards in our hospitals, so why should we do it for our major infrastructure projects? she said. Infrastructure development has high initial capital costs but longterm benefits. Applying a discount rate puts present and future costs and benefits on an equal footing to help governments understand which projects are most worthwhile. Lowering the discount rate, however, won t make this process any more rigorous, said Ms Chau. It s like lowering the passing grade from 50 per cent to 25 per cent. A swathe of announcements are expected before the next federal election due before May next year, raising the prospect expensive but worthy projects will be cast aside in favour of pork barrelling in key electorates. There is always a desire to lower the pass mark, said Ms Chau. We really need to be aware of the risks of doing that. Lowering the discount rate doesn t increase the bucket of money that is eligible for funding. You are just increasing the number of projects that are eligible for funding. A secret report from Infrastructure Australia completed in 2013 but revealed on Tuesday questioned the benefit-cost ratio of 1 for Sydney s light rail, the score it must meet to be considered economically viable. It warned the appraisal was not robust, had significant problems and failed to account for the inevitable disturbance caused by the project. Former Infrastructure Australia chief Philip Davies used his last address to warn that Australia s standard of living was being put at risk by policy short-sightedness. After three years in the job, my observation is that governments and oppositions need to be more disciplined around proper planning, evaluating all available options, and seeking the solutions with positive cost-benefit ratios prior to a funding announcement, he said. The committee s 476-page report, released on Monday evening, ed Mr Davies call for a national population plan, and challenged Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to act on its 37 recommendations including appointing a national chief planner to drive regional infrastructure and settlement.

77 West Australian, Perth Author: Peta Rasdien Section: Health Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 147,676 Page: 4 Printed Size: cm² Market: WA Country: Australia ASR: AUD 14,306 Words: 496 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Picture: Getty Images By law, we are not allowed to provide any benefits for out-of-hospital services where Medicare is payable. HBF Worth every cent Fertility assistance can add up, writes PETA RASDIEN Making babies can be an expensive business when you need a helping hand. With one in six couples likely to experience difficulties, many want-to-be parents are turning to fertility treatment to help them conceive. The financial impost, though, can be considerable depending on the provider and the extent of help required. While many fertility treatments attract a rebate from Medicare, there can be significant out-of-pocket costs. For example, one IVF cycle can set patients from $1000-$7000. However, chances are that they will need more than one cycle, with one clinic estimating patients require on average 2.5 cycles. They can spend many tens of thousands of dollars to achieve their dream of having a child, with no guarantees of success and Out-of-pocket costs for IVF Fertility North $2690 Hollywood Fertility $2944-$3285 Concept (standard) $1200-$4000 (tailored) $6000-$7000 Primary IVF $800-$1000 Pivet (IVF Lite) $2000-$3000 taking a hit to their personal finances in the process. Liz Beadle, Concept Fertility Centre s administration director, said more and more people were choosing to dip into their superannuation to fund their fertility treatment. People can apply to the Australian Tax Office to withdraw superannuation on compassionate grounds. Applications to fund IVF expenses are made in relation to acute or chronic mental illness and must be supported by reports from medical specialists. We have been doing a lot more of that in the last 12 months after the tax office made it a lot easier for people, Ms Beadle said. She said Concept was one of the few clinics that did not ask for up-front fees, instead clients took their bill to Medicare to get the rebate, then paid off the difference in regular weekly or fortnightly interest-free payments. Once patients reach the Medicare Safety Net, additional rebates on selected items are provided for those people with big medical expenses, which can also bring costs down. Private health insurance was worth considering, Ms Beadle said, with some providers better than others, so it was wise to shop around. Most insurers only cover IVF and assisted reproductive services under their top cover options and require a 12-month waiting What you need to pay for Consultations with a fertility specialist. Investigations or tests such as semen analysis or Anti-Mullerian Hormone tests which indicates ovarian reserve. Fertility treatment and the medications involved. Day hospital or hospital admission. Other services such as access to a donor program, pre-implantation genetic screening or diagnosis. period before patients can apply to receive benefits. An HBF spokesperson said cover was only provided for in-hospital fertility treatments. By law, we are not allowed to provide any benefits for out-of-hospital services where Medicare is payable. Given this, there will likely be significant out-of-pocket expenses. This is the same for all health insurers. Of course, the quicker you achieve a pregnancy the less money it will cost, so decisions about which clinic to choose should take into account other factors including expertise, technology and success rates.

78 Daily Mercury, Mackay QLD Author: Tracey Johnstone Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 7,738 Page: 12 Printed Size: cm² Market: QLD Country: Australia ASR: AUD 521 Words: 702 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 Don t clock off at 65 Compton vows to fight on for later retirement TRACEY JOHNSTONE EVERALD Compton controversially remains an enthusiastic supporter of retirement at 70 as Australia s politicians down on the planned change in the pension age. The outspoken champion of senior rights and past chairman of National Seniors has plenty to say about the recent vote-grabbing decision by newly appointed Prime Minister Scott Morrison to scrap the plan to increase the pension age to 70 by When it was first proposed in 2014, Mr Compton said he pushed for the age to be increased to 70 and his attitude hadn t changed. Australia simply can t afford people retiring at 65 unless they are physically unable to do the work that is required, he said. Nor does the gravelly voiced 86-year-old think 65 is old. Back when the pension was introduced by Deakin and Fisher in 1909, they chose 65 because that was the age when most people died, he said. Therefore they said, Anyone who lives beyond that age, we better look after them. A hundred years later, life span has increased by 20 years so the equivalent of 65 in 1909 is 85 so I don t know why we are getting terribly excited about having to raise it to 70. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare s Older Australians at a Glance report, released this month, notes: In , Australian men aged 65 could expect to live another 20 years and women another 22 years. Dollars and sense Mr Compton believes older Australians shouldn t be a financial burden on younger generations. He notes the rising pension cost as more Australians live longer and adds that another five years of work means another five years of superannuation contributions. His solution is twofold. Raise the retirement age to 70 to slow down the cost of the pension and create more job opportunities for older workers. It s up to governments to create work for people in their senior years instead of denigrating seniors who want to work or simply declaring seniors as a burden, Mr Compton said. There have been very little efforts by governments to create work suitable for senior Australians rather than be on the dole. Starbucks recent announcement about introducing coffee shops run by oldies has Mr Compton excited. Governments have to ensure that older people who want to work can get a job, he said. Ditch retirement He even suggests removing the word retirement, which he deems repugnant, from our vernacular. And getting rid of the hard and fast age at which people are expected to stop working. I think it would be better talking about an age at which you can access your pension and your superannuation, if you want to, but you are entitled to work beyond that, Mr Compton said. There is then no such thing as employers thinking there is a retirement age. They have to look at all their employees and say, Are these fellows healthy enough to continue? Future change While Mr Compton is committed to keeping the retirement age discussion alive and will keep stirring decision-makers across Australia, he is concerned Bill Shorten also opposes the age increase. I hope that sometime in the future we have a prime minister who is willing to face up to the fact that the retirement age has got to increase to 70, he said. Just keep going Mr Compton emphatically argues that working for longer delivers a better quality of life. There are all sorts of benefits of staying in the workforce, he said. He uses himself as an example as he approaches his 87th birthday while still active in business. I think my brain is working all right and my old body is getting a bit more arthritic but I reckon if I stop working I would die quickly, so I am not going to do that, Mr Compton said. You condemn yourself to a quicker exit simply by stopping your brain working and not having your body active as it was before and not being as productive as you can.

79 Daily Mercury, Mackay QLD Author: Tracey Johnstone Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 7,738 Page: 12 Printed Size: cm² Market: QLD Country: Australia ASR: AUD 521 Words: 702 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 KEEP WORKING: Seniors rights champion and past National Seniors chairman Everald Compton (inset) is all for moving the retirement age from 65 to 70. Photo: istock

80 Courier Mail, Brisbane Section: Letters Article type : Letter Classification : Capital City Daily : 135,007 Page: 24 Printed Size: cm² Market: QLD Country: Australia ASR: AUD 4,935 Words: 606 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 HOT TOPIC Compassion and empathy are lacking in aged care IT SADDENS me to read of the ongoing abuse, neglect and don t care attitude to our most vulnerable in aged care (C-M, Sep 18). Perhaps the authorities should put stringent guidelines in place for those wanting to work with the elderly. Passion and empathy should be top of the list. Having worked in aged care for more than 40 years, I am appalled and disgusted with the way our elderly are treated. At the entrance to each aged care facility should be a huge photo of an elderly person with the words: You, too, will become like me. Helen Holdey, Brighton I HOPE Australians see Prime Minister Scott Morrison s royal commission into aged care for what it is crass political opportunism. Setting aside that such action is long overdue, Morrison has cynically used this as a way to deflect attention from the recent vengeance-fuelled, ego-driven actions of individuals and gender-bullying culture of the Liberal Party. This is Morrison s get over it attempt to show he is a man of action and deep compassion. Lawrence Di Bartolo, Kedron THE majority of aged people did not have the opportunity to save for their care. We had no compulsory superannuation, and endured world wars, depression and stay-at-home motherhood. We had no fancy cars, homes, luxuries, and now in our old age, we struggle just to exist. The Government wants people to stay in their own homes for as long as they can. Who can afford to keep up with the cost of maintenance, rates, insurance, electricity, etc? And now we are being slugged with home care. Who can afford to pay that out of an aged pension? From what I am seeing, the only ones to benefit are the large number of care provider agencies that have sprung up. Most of their home-care workers are only casual, and you take what and who you are sent. Don t dare complain, as you might be penalised. Elder abuse is not just by relatives and care workers, but by governments. We worked hard all our lives and paid our taxes. For what? You are better off renting and getting all the benefits that come with it, such as rental assistance, no maintenance or rates, insurance and someone else having the stress. I now wish I had wasted my money and enjoyed myself instead of going without to own my home. Go into a nursing home? No, thanks. I have seen what has happened to friends and relatives. It is about time families stepped up and took more notice of what is happening with their so-called loved ones. Just remember, you all will be old one day. Diane Styles, Childers IT IS easy to look for and find fault in others, often due to an inadequacy or shortcoming on the part of the complainant. If one wants grandma to be better looked after, perhaps it would be wiser if a son or grandson visited her more often? I was married to a nurse who worked in an aged facility. She once told me that many times it had been her pleasant duty to titivate elderly clients by doing their faces up with a bit of lipstick and rouge because the dear soul had told everybody that her son/daughter was coming to visit. At the appointed time, the little old lady, looking as pretty as a picture, was wheeled in her chair to the reception room. There she waited and waited. Then, late in the day, the nurse wheeled her to her lonely room where she cried herself to sleep. Old age is only for the brave. Merv C. Bartlett, Pallara

81 Courier Mail, Brisbane Author: Vanda Carson Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 135,007 Page: 16 Printed Size: cm² Market: QLD Country: Australia ASR: AUD 3,671 Words: 296 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Realty mogul faces ban Fallen agent accused of trading while insolvent VANDA CARSON COURT REPORTER ONE of the state s top real estate agents who has boasted of selling $370 million worth of prime Brisbane real estate could be banned from directing companies, after his real estate empire went bust. Brett Greensill, from the riverside suburb of Newstead, is founder and former principal of LJ Hooker New Farm and well known in the industry. His companies which sold residential properties and managed an extensive rent roll were wound up on August 28 after a vote by creditors, according to ASIC records. Mr Greensill has been accused of trading his companies while insolvent for up to three years, and he may also be personally insolvent, according to a report to creditors by liquidators Jonathan McLeod and Bill Karageozis, from McLeod and Partners. Mr Greensill has recently moved to work in nearby LJ Hooker Paddington Ashgrove. The winding up of Mr Greensill s property empire comes four months after the ATO sued him personally for $791,451 in unpaid taxes, penalties and interest allegedly owed by two of his companies Greensill Family Investments (GFI) and TCG project services (TCG), which trades as LJ Hooker Development Services. GFI, which ran sales at LJ Hooker New Farm, has been wound up owing about $6.8 million to 144 creditors, including $1.5 million to the ATO, ASIC documents state. Mr Greensill s company Rappara Pty Ltd, which ran a rent roll for 750 rental properties, owes $2.7 million to Macquarie Bank, $190,429 to the ATO mostly in unpaid superannuation guarantee charges and $146,000 to employees. Mr Greensill told the pair that he blamed the failure of Rappara on insufficient attention provided to the business and the failure of leadership and too much debt. Mr Greensill declined to comment yesterday.

82 Gladstone Observer, Gladstone QLD Author: Sophie Elsworth Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 3,301 Page: 7 Printed Size: cm² Market: QLD Country: Australia ASR: AUD 98 Words: 274 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Cut your home loan and credit card bills DEBT-laden Australians trying to pay off mortgages and credit cards can wipe both more quickly by breaking up with the Big Four banks. Westpac, the Commonwealth, NAB and ANZ are all offering variable home loan packaged deals in the mid four per cent rage, new analysis shows one percentage point more than the best deals on the market. The financial services Royal Commission has shone a light on the bad behaviour in the sector and experts say this should force customers to seek out cheaper deals. Financial comparison website Mozo found Australians can save as much up to $3000 per year just by switching from the highest Big Four variable home loan rate of 4.87 per cent to the cheapest on the market at 3.44 per cent. This is on a $300, year home loan. With the average credit card debt sitting at $4200, these mortgage savings could be used to erase a customer s plastic debt in less than two years. Realestate.com.au s head of home loans Andrew Russell has urged mortgage holders to begin by checking to see what their interest rate is before taking any action. If your rate doesn t have a 3 in front of it go and speak to your mortgage broker, he said. From there you can refinance or possibly go to your current lender if you re happy with their service and ask for a better deal. The Reserve Bank of Australia board has kept the cash rate on hold at 1.5 per cent since August Sophie Elsworth BACK TO YOUR CURRENT LENDER...GO IF YOU RE HAPPY WITH THEIR SERVICE AND ASK FOR A BETTER DEAL ANDREW RUSSELL

83 Queensland Times, Ipswich QLD Author: Tracey Johnstone Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 6,256 Page: 15 Printed Size: cm² Market: QLD Country: Australia ASR: AUD 457 Words: 702 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 Don t clock off at 65 Compton vows to fight on for later retirement TRACEY JOHNSTONE EVERALD Compton controversially remains an enthusiastic supporter of retirement at 70 as Australia s politicians down on the planned change in the pension age. The outspoken champion of senior rights and past chairman of National Seniors has plenty to say about the recent vote-grabbing decision by newly appointed Prime Minister Scott Morrison to scrap the plan to increase the pension age to 70 by When it was first proposed in 2014, Mr Compton said he pushed for the age to be increased to 70 and his attitude hadn t changed. Australia simply can t afford people retiring at 65 unless they are physically unable to do the work that is required, he said. Nor does the gravelly voiced 86-year-old think 65 is old. Back when the pension was introduced by Deakin and Fisher in 1909, they chose 65 because that was the age when most people died, he said. Therefore they said, Anyone who lives beyond that age, we better look after them. A hundred years later, life span has increased by 20 years so the equivalent of 65 in 1909 is 85 so I don t know why we are getting terribly excited about having to raise it to 70. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare s Older Australians at a Glance report, released this month, notes: In , Australian men aged 65 could expect to live another 20 years and women another 22 years. Dollars and sense Mr Compton believes older Australians shouldn t be a financial burden on younger generations. He notes the rising pension cost as more Australians live longer and adds that another five years of work means another five years of superannuation contributions. His solution is twofold. Raise the retirement age to 70 to slow down the cost of the pension and create more job opportunities for older workers. It s up to governments to create work for people in their senior years instead of denigrating seniors who want to work or simply declaring seniors as a burden, Mr Compton said. There have been very little efforts by governments to create work suitable for senior Australians rather than be on the dole. Starbucks recent announcement about introducing coffee shops run by oldies has Mr Compton excited. Governments have to ensure that older people who want to work can get a job, he said. Ditch retirement He even suggests removing the word retirement, which he deems repugnant, from our vernacular. And getting rid of the hard and fast age at which people are expected to stop working. I think it would be better talking about an age at which you can access your pension and your superannuation, if you want to, but you are entitled to work beyond that, Mr Compton said. There is then no such thing as employers thinking there is a retirement age. They have to look at all their employees and say, Are these fellows healthy enough to continue? Future change While Mr Compton is committed to keeping the retirement age discussion alive and will keep stirring decision-makers across Australia, he is concerned Bill Shorten also opposes the age increase. I hope that sometime in the future we have a prime minister who is willing to face up to the fact that the retirement age has got to increase to 70, he said. Just keep going Mr Compton emphatically argues that working for longer delivers a better quality of life. There are all sorts of benefits of staying in the workforce, he said. He uses himself as an example as he approaches his 87th birthday while still active in business. I think my brain is working all right and my old body is getting a bit more arthritic but I reckon if I stop working I would die quickly, so I am not going to do that, Mr Compton said. You condemn yourself to a quicker exit simply by stopping your brain working and not having your body active as it was before and not being as productive as you can.

84 Queensland Times, Ipswich QLD Author: Tracey Johnstone Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 6,256 Page: 15 Printed Size: cm² Market: QLD Country: Australia ASR: AUD 457 Words: 702 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 KEEP WORKING: Seniors rights champion and past National Seniors chairman Everald Compton (inset) is all for moving the retirement age from 65 to 70. Photo: istock

85 Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton QLD Section: Letters Article type : Letter Classification : Regional : 9,376 Page: 17 Printed Size: cm² Market: QLD Country: Australia ASR: AUD 260 Words: 756 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 TEXTS TO THE EDITOR SMS the editor on with the word ROCK and a space in front of your message. BM. I can t believe that State Labor is trying to take the credit for Rookwood Weir. We aren t fools. But for the tenacity of Michelle Landry it would never have happened. BE TARANGANBA. Regarding Livingstone Shire s bid for cityhood: its private hospital, the Mater, closed several years ago. JEPA. Even cartoonists make spelling mistakes! RM, ROCKY. How we treat our most vulnerable says a lot about who we are as a society. After watching 4 Corners last night I am afraid we should hang our heads in shame. I was not shocked at what I saw as I have had first-hand experience with my own dear mother and her treatment at a Rockhampton nursing home. Greed is one of the main issues. Profits come before people. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME! CLARENCE JR, ETNA. Capricorn Coast City Council would be an appropriate name for Livingstone as that s where the shire focus seems to be. As normal the outer areas are forgotten and we see very little for our rates money compared to the coast. RAMP. Great to see the spread of winners in the local secondary schools rugby league finals. Got so used to just seeing Brendan s as the winners. IATTA. Read what people are saying SH. This girl is just a pawn for her parents radical views and any attempt to justify her actions is just stupid. Like a previous texter said. If you do not like it then leave. BBAU. Good on the tennis umpires who apparently are refusing to umpire Serena Williams games. Never seen such a disgraceful display. Then to play the victim and ask that the crowd do not boo the graceful young lady who defeated her, well that just takes the bloody cake. TARJ. Ya kidding me. Rename Yeppoon as a city? I think a lot of Poonies will object to that. SABF. All a bit strange this wave pool caper. What happens if it is not viable as a commercial enterprise? Do they pull it down again? MOOSE, DEPOT HILL. 17/ pm. Fair dinkum how brain dead is that 62-year-old woman actually caught putting a needle in a banana in the free fruit for kids at a Maryborough supermarket? CO, GRACEMERE. So the duplication of Capricorn Highway from Rocky to Gracemere has been budgeted for, when is that supposed to happen? RM ST LAWRENCE. Little red flying foxes the only pollinators of the hardwood forests, Lyn Laskus? What are the bees doing then, lazy little tykes? ANON. We have a soft govt there for we are a soft country, it s time to get tough or get out. ANON. Black Triton, P-plate, failing to maintain lane, texting away as you drive down Yamba Rd. Condolences in advance to your parents. No doubt they will be placing you in a box well before your time. JB BAJOOL. These field goals in the rugby league are getting a bit boring to watch. Almost as bad as watching AFL. RM ROCKY. Thank you Scott Morrison PM for announcing a royal commission into the aged care sector. Prime ministers have come and gone and not one of them has bothered to look into the appalling treatment of our dear and much-loved elderly. This neglect has gone on for too long. Watch ABC Monday night. At last a Prime Minister that s got some fortitude. Thanks. BM. Why can t we have a royal commission into the politicians past and present? Now wouldn t we see some fraud and deceit come out of that. Would make the banks and insurance companies smell like roses. MOOSE, DEPOT HILL. The Kenmore School has opened up a big can of worms by allowing that girl not to stand during the playing of the anthem. Beware of copy-cat students thinking they can emulate her. CLIMATE CHANGE. If it s real and a life-ending issue for this planet, why doesn t the ALP make it compulsory for every new house built to have solar panels on it with a battery up? Instead of giving $15k straight in the pockets of builders and property developers. Practice what you preach ALP, not just when it is convenient to do so. ANON. Well said RM on thursday re women rugby league players and tatts. It is degrading, your right, they want to be tough like the men.

86 Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Author: Carolyn Cummins Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 88,634 Page: 29 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 17,899 Words: 440 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 CBA hunting for new office space COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Carolyn Cummins The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is on the hunt for office space in the Sydney and North Sydney CBDs to potentially quarantine its wealth-management business before its sale, after the fallout from the banking royal commission. The bank has issued a mandate to the office-leasing market for space of between 10,000 square metres to 30,000 sq m in the North Sydney and Sydney CBD, for unidentified purposes, with the timing starting from the fourth quarter of 2018 until the fourth quarter of It is understood the mandate will not include the existing Aussie John Home Loans office space at 225 George Street, Sydney. A CBA spokesman confirmed the office space mandate had been issued. The businesses are housed across the CBA Darling Park and Darling Quarter sites in the Sydney CBD. CBA is also relocating staff from Parramatta to Mirvac s Australian Technology Park from about mid We re seeking expressions of interest for property, and will review submissions with a view to approaching shortlisted parties with a request for proposal, the spokesman said. The bank neither confirmed nor denied the space was for the wealth-management business. In June, CBA said it would split off its wealth-management and mortgage-broking businesses into a separate company. The new entity will be called CFS Group. Included under its banner is: the Aussie Home Loans, CBA s mortgage broking business; Colonial First State, its superannuation, investment and retirement business, which manages more than $135 billion in funds; Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM); Count Financial and Financial Wisdom, its financial advice businesses, and CBA s minority stakes in Mortgage Choice and investment advice company CountPlus. According to the latest Property Council of Australia data, North Sydney s office vacancy rate is 6.3 per cent, which is close to equilibrium. Marcus Pratley, director at Cadigal, said North Sydney was about to undergo one of the biggest changes seen since the development boom of the late 1980s. The quality and scale of the new commercial developments combined with the infrastructure initiatives under taken by the state government will change the North Sydney commercial landscape, attracting new industry sectors and ensure it is not just an alternative to the Sydney CBD but a genuine option with benefits, he said. Paul Lynch, the national director, head of office leasing North Sydney for JLL, said the renaissance of North Sydney continued. The continued construction of 100 Mount Street and 1 Denison Street, will provide about 100,000 sq m of premium building stock to the North Sydney CBD in the next two years, he said. Key points CommBank may need premises for its wealth businesses. North Sydney s office space renaissance is continuing.

87 Warrnambool Standard, Warrnambool VIC Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 8,274 Page: 9 Printed Size: 32.00cm² Market: VIC Country: Australia ASR: AUD 118 Words: 56 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 ASIC HEAD RESIGNS THE deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has resigned after seven years at the corporate watchdog. Peter Kell will leave on December 6, after also working at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. ASIC has been under increased scrutiny at the banking royal commission over the way it has handled bad behaviour.

88 Newcastle Herald, Newcastle NSW Author: Catherine Henry Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 23,625 Page: 12 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 9,928 Words: 749 Item ID: Page 1 of 3 AGED CARE ROYAL COMMISSION Real reform needed, not window dressing CATHERINE HENRY THE royal commission into aged care announced by the prime minister on Sunday is long overdue and not unwelcome. My hesitation is because we need to know if the commission will focus on clinical care and not delay urgently needed reform on staffing levels and transparency of performance data. Although the terms of reference are yet to be announced, the prime minister s comments suggest it will focus on the quality of care provided in residential aged care facilities and in-home care. The Minister for Aged Care recently ruled out the need for a royal commission. Some commentators suggest that the announcement has a lot to do with a two-part ABC Four Corners program that aired on Monday night. The program highlighted heartbreaking stories of neglect, abuse and negligence in aged care homes that occur across Australia. Next week s program will include a case study from the Hunter. A royal commission will put a spotlight on providers of residential aged care and in-home care. It will allow for a national conversation on what older Australians and their families expect in relation to aged care. This is important because both sides of politics have been relatively silent on the aged care crisis and real reform. The federal government and many peak bodies have continued to assert, in the face of escalating aged care horror stories in the media, that we have a world class residential aged care sector. There is huge variability in the standards of residential aged care. There are many facilities where residents and their families are happy with the quality of care. Like the banking royal commission, this commission will, sadly, unearth many horror stories. What we don t need is a commission that merely points out the obvious there is a crisis in aged care. Over the past two decades there have been numerous reports and inquiries into aged care, but they haven t focused on the critical issue of quality of care. We don t need more window dressing such as the government s recent bureaucratic reform to merge several underperforming and toothless regulatory agencies. Ultimately the quality of aged care comes down to staffing. Numerous international studies demonstrate a clear link between mandatory staff ratios and good quality residential care. Yet providers are currently make staffing decisions without recourse to any regulatory standards. South Australian MP, Rebekha Sharkie, has a Private Member s Bill (Aged Care Amendment (Staffing Ratio Disclosure) Bill 2018) before federal parliament to make providers publish staff-to-resident ratios by job description on the My Aged Care website. The government has referred the bill to a Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport inquiry. The government needs to go further and mandate minimum ratios as is this case in hospitals and child-care centres. Transparency of data needs to be the subject of regulation. Government agencies and aged care

89 Newcastle Herald, Newcastle NSW Author: Catherine Henry Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 23,625 Page: 12 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 9,928 Words: 749 Item ID: Page 2 of 3 providers collect data on staffing levels and other quality indicators including the incidence of pressure sores, falls, and medication errors, but it is hidden from the public. Such data helps people to make informed choices about how to provide the best care to those receiving aged care. I share the Council on the Ageing s worry that the commission could stall urgently needed improvements to the sector. There is no confirmed start date for this proposed commission and these inquiries don t move quickly. There s no reason why the obvious measures of staffing ratios and data transparency should be stalled by the commission. The commission should review of the 1997 Aged Care Act. The act heralded a deregulated aged care sector which led private equity firms, foreign investors, superannuation funds and investment trusts in to the market. The dean of the University of South Australia s law school, Wendy Lacey, correctly points out that under the act there is a complete absence of legal obligation on the part of facilities for minimum staffing requirements or to proactively promote the mental health and wellbeing of their residents. Sensible regulation and transparency will reward good providers and jettison poor providers, who are more focused on profit than care, from the industry. Until we have aged care reform and better care, more older Australians will die before their time or be the victims of appalling neglect. They deserve better. Catherine Henry is an aged care reform advocate andprincipalofahunterbasedlawfirmthat specialises in health and elder law.

90 Newcastle Herald, Newcastle NSW Author: Catherine Henry Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 23,625 Page: 12 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 9,928 Words: 749 Item ID: Page 3 of 3 CARE FIRST, NOT PROFIT: Ultimately the quality of aged care comes down to staffing, the author says.

91 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: John Collett Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 24 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 5,584 Words: 474 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Insurance sector must earn trust of clients Super & funds John Collett L ife insurers who have faced the royal commission on misconduct in the financial services sector have had a torrid time. But the discomfort of the life insurance executives in the witness box pales in comparison to the experiences of those who believed they were covered and were not. The commission heard how Commonwealth Bank-owned CommInsure would do almost everything it could to deny claims; premiums were taken from the accounts of dead people by AMP; and about high-pressured selling of dud policies over the phone. Life insurance is bought on the promise that, should the unthinkable happen, the policy will pay out as expected. It is one of the most complex financial products most consumers buy and it is little wonder consumers have few options rather than to place a lot of trust in the insurer to do the right thing. Revelations before the commission show insurers cannot be taken at their word and consumers need to be on their guard. A major take-home from evidence before the commission is that consumers need to be particularly careful when buying life insurance directly. Policies sold directly tend to have lots of exclusions, because those selling directly don t what to ask too many questions, as it makes the sale harder to close. Insurance sold or bought directly can more often than not be junk insurance. That s particularly with accidental death insurance where the commission heard that most claims are denied. One of the largest super funds, the not-forprofit REST fund, which covers those working in the retail sector, came under examination by the commission. And it is fair to say it came through relatively unscathed. There were no sharp practices identified, but the fund could better communicate with members as to how the the life insurance coverage continuance operates after a member leaves their job and there is no more superannuation being paid into the fund. Many super funds offer automatic acceptance on life insurance, at least up to a certain level of default cover, without the need to provide medical history or undergo a medical exam. On the evidence before the commission, life insurance accessed through not-forprofit super funds looks to be one of the more reliable ways to access life insurance. But for those with complex circumstances, such as small business owners or those with complex family arrangements, where a more tailored policy is needed, the advice of a qualified adviser can be valuable. However, even withlifeinsurance provided through super funds there are some areas of differences in coverage. One of the biggest is with the definition of total and permanent disability. A payout can depend on whether the disability stops you from doing your own or any occupation. The best policy definitions say the member is covered by total and permanent disability if they cannot work in their own profession.

92 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: Bianca Hartge-Hazelman Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 24 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 18,698 Words: 762 Item ID: Page 1 of 3 From adviser to coach Client behaviour is the new advice field, writes Bianca Hartge-Hazelman. Financial planners are repositioning themselves as personal trainer-like wealth coaches in what s tipped to become the biggest trend for the embattled industry over the next decade. The Association of Financial Advisers national president, Marc Bineham, says advisers are increasingly changing their service offering to appeal to younger and more financially literate clients, with many moving into wealth coaching. People need to feel accountable, they ve got money stress, they ve got money concerns that keep them up at night, so they need to get their money under control, and having a money coach or wealth coach fits perfectly with what financial advisers do and how they are transitioning, Bineham says. It doesn t matter if you are the best tennis player in the world, you still have a coach... and it s that coaching side of it which I see as the biggest trend over the next 10 years. But unlike traditional financial advice, wealth coaching doesn t necessarily require an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) because it doesn t have to involve selling tailored financial advice or products. The emerging trend comes as the industry waits to hear from the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) on what incoming education standards for their profession will look like and whether it will involve a requirement for advisers to hold a degree. The move to wealth coaching, which is focused on providing accountability and goal tracking behaviour for clients, presents an opportunity for many advisers to break away or reposition their business from an industry tarnished by massive reputational damage dating to the global financial crisis. Lea Schodel is an award-winning financial adviser who recently abandoned her licence to focus on wealth coaching through her business Mindful Wealth. I believe wealth coaching is a new offering that will broaden the current services of advisers, but not replace them, Schodel says. Traditionally advisers have never really looked at the behavioural side of things when it comes to people and money. Wealth coaches do this and shouldn t need to have an AFSL. But certainly there needs to be a new education framework that recognises this emerging profession to ensure clients are protected. The royal commission into financial services has highlighted numerous examples of poor advice. Before that Fairfax Media uncovered the CBA financial planning scandal, followed by scandals at Macquarie, NAB, ANZ and IOOF. In some organisations incentivised advisers were caught forging signatures to access customer money, and in many cases clients were deliberately put into inappropriate and costly products. I don t think it is necessarily a bad thing that we ve had all this happen to the financial planning industry, it s just unfortunate that only the bad stuff has been highlighted, says Schodel. Increasingly wealth coaches are achieving scale for their businesses by selling e-books, online courses, mobile financial goal apps and video webinars and distributing those to a maximum number of paying clients or subscribers. It is also being used by some advice businesses to attract new clients, particularly

93 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: Bianca Hartge-Hazelman Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 24 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 18,698 Words: 762 Item ID: Page 2 of 3 people in their 20s and 30s, before steering them to the traditional advice model of strategy and selling product. There is an element of buyer beware here, said Wealth Planning Partners adviser Amanda Cassar, who is looking to make the move to wealth coaching. People need to do some research on who is offering the coaching and check whether they are qualified to do so. Companies offering wealth or goal coaching include AMP Financial Planning, Pivot, Evalesco, Experience Wealth, Firefly Wealth, Mindful Wealth and Fortify Financial. Since the global financial crisis, the number of financial advisers working in Australia has grown from 18,000 in 2009 to 25,000, which includes the transition of roughly 3000 accountants who provide advice to self managed super funds (SMSFs). This is despite high-profile scandals; conflicts of interest and examples of inappropriate and poor advice have repeatedly damaged client trust and the public image of the planning industry. The sector is now faced with challenging industry conditions and increasing education and professional requirements including a proposed requirement for all advisers to hold a degree. There are predictions that the number of advisers could decline by a third as a result of these education measures and in light of the fact that a large proportion of advisers are in their 50s and may not wish to undertake additional training. Lea Schodel: New education framework needed; Traditional advice firms are pitching wealth coaching as a way to attract younger clients. Bianca Hartge-Hazelman is the founder of women s money website Financy and the Financy Women s Index.

94 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: Bianca Hartge-Hazelman Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 24 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 18,698 Words: 762 Item ID: Page 3 of 3

95 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: Ross Gittins Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 16 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 17,161 Words: 944 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 Latest of many mistakes The increasing resort to royal commissions may run a lot deeper. Ross Gittins How will the era of neoliberalism end with a bang or a whimper? With a royal commission or three. But don t worry. Royal commissions always make a lot of noise. With the memory of the government s embarrassing delay in yielding to public pressure for a royal commission into banking still fresh, Scott Morrison got in before the Four Corners expose to announce a royal commission into aged care. Who s to say this will be the last? A royal commission into electricity and gas prices is mooted. Maybe sometime in the future we ll see a royal commission into problems with the National Disability Insurance Scheme. To Morrison, the aged care commission has the advantage of kicking a political hot potato into the long grass of the next parliamentary term. How can you claim we re doing nothing? We ve called an inquiry. Actually, the neglect and mistreatment of old people in nursing homes has been the subject of so many inquiries and reports going to the kerosene baths in 1997 that only an inquiry of the status of a royal commission could have satisfied the many complainants. But I wonder if the increasing resort to royal commissions has a deeper economic and political significance. A key part of the era of what we used to call micro-economic reform has been to take services formerly provided by governments and sometimes charities and pay profitmaking businesses to provide them. Among the first of these outsourcing schemes was the Howard government s decision to abolish the Commonwealth Employment Service and contract a network of charitable and for-profit firms to help the jobless find work. Then came the expansion of childcare to for-profit providers, the move by successive federal and state governments to make technical and further education contestable by private providers, and the decision to open the provision of aged care to forprofit providers. Plus the decision to turn five state electricity monopolies into a single, competitive national electricity market. The reformers were sure these changes would lead to big improvements. As everyone knows, the public sector is lazy and wasteful, whereas competition and the profit motive make the private sector very efficient. The reform would allow governments to reduce their spending on the services they subsidised, even while the public got better service. Competition from private providers would oblige church and charitable providers to lift their game. And introducing market forces meant the providers of governmentsubsidised services didn t need to be closely regulated. As any economics textbook tells you, it would be irrational for providers to mistreat their customers because they d soon lose them to their many rivals. It hasn t worked out the way the reformers hoped. We won t know whether non-government provision of job-search services is working well until unemployment surges in the next recession. But we do know that childcare was thrown into crisis when one private provider, ABC Learning, which had been allowed to acquire about half the nation s childcare centres, went belly up. We know that making vocational education and training contestable was a costly disaster, as many private providers conned youngsters into signing up for unsuitable courses (and debt). We know that turning electricity from government monopolies to a national market has seen the retail cost of power double in a decade. And now it s aged care where mounting complaints about neglect and abuse can no longer be fobbed off. Providers have been required to make public so little evidence of staffing ratios and other indicators of performance that we don t yet know whether neglect and abuse is greater among for-profit or non-profit providers. The notorious Oakden nursing home in South Australia, after all, was stategovernment run. But our experience of private operators gaming government subsidies and cutting quality to increase profits in other areas of outsourcing makes me think I know where the greatest problems lie. And the way the announcement of the commission prompted steep falls in the share prices of four aged-care companies listed on the stock exchange suggests investors share my suspicions. According to research by the Tax Justice Network, if you measure it by number of beds, non-profit providers make up about half the market, with the six biggest for-profit providers accounting for more than 20 per cent. The biggest is Bupa (owned by a British mutual), followed by Opal (part owned by AMP), Regis, Estia and Japara (all ASX listed), and Allity. We do know that the number of serious-risk notices given to providers jumped by 170 per cent in the past financial year, and significant noncompliance increased by 292 per cent. This says there s been a sudden increase not in misbehaviour, but in vigilance by

96 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: Ross Gittins Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 16 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 17,161 Words: 944 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 the authorities. Why are unannounced visits and compliance audits only now in vogue? Good question. Aged care is just the latest instance of the failure of contestability and marketisation to deliver government services satisfactorily a great embarrassment to econocrats and governments of both colours. The chickens are coming home to roost and the uproar is threatening the Coalition s survival. Calling a royal commission with all its shock revelations may be the answer to the politicians problem. It changes the question from how could you have been so naive as to believe competition would save customers from being abused? to what are you doing to punish these bastards and stop it happening?. It also tells generous donors to party coffers the government s had no choice but to let them go. Ross Gittins is a Fairfax Media economics editor. Now it s aged care where mounting complaints about neglect and abuse can no longer be fobbed off.

97 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: Daniel Burdon Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 26,971 Words: 959 Item ID: Page 1 of 3 ENOUGH ON THEIR PLATES Canberra s taxi plate owners claim they are facing potential bankruptcy as the ACT government looks to increase the regulated plates cap by almost 40 per cent, to 500. The head of the ACT s Taxi Plate Owners Association, Phil Booth, fears the move could devastate the local industry and is worried about owners mental health. Our people are crying to me on the phone, he said. Report - Pages 6-7 Phil Booth says while all other Labor states have agreed to buy existing plates, the ACT government is refusing compensation. Photo: Jamila Toderas SMALL BUSINESS ACT taxi owners face bankruptcy Daniel Burdon Chief Assembly Reporter Canberra s taxi plate owners are facing potential bankruptcy as the ACT government looks to increase the territory regulated taxi plate cap by almost 40 per cent, to 500, a move that could further devastate the local industry. The situation facing owners is increasingly dire, according to the head of the ACT s Taxi Plate Owners Association, Phil Booth, who is concerned about the state of owners mental health. Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay and Greens leader Shane Rattenbury on Tuesday also confirmed the government would not offer owners of the perpetual licences bought before 1995 any compensation for losses in the value of the plates since the ACT legalised ride-sharing companies in While it is unclear how much value has been stripped from the value of ACT plates, in NSW they have fallen as much as 75 per cent in recent years, as the globe grapples with how to deal with ride-sharing firms disrupting the traditional taxi market. The ministers on Tuesday also released research the government commissioned looking at the effects of the 2015

98 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: Daniel Burdon Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 26,971 Words: 959 Item ID: Page 2 of 3 over the following two years on plate owners, drivers and consumers using taxis in Canberra, as well as a discussion paper on further reforms. While the research by the Centre for International Economics examined a range of scenarios including compensation, it recommended against compensation, partly because the government had made no public comments it had any intention of providing such compensation prior to the research. The research found up to $3.78 million in net benefits for the community, largely for consumers, but the costs of running taxis had not fallen, and network fees and other charges remained higher in the ACT than other jurisdictions. It also found while uberx fares averaged about 10 per cent cheaper [except during surge pricing periods] than taxis in Canberra, the ACT cost of UberX trips was $2.48 per kilometre, slightly higher than the ride-sharing fares in both Sydney [$2.44] and Melbourne [$1.95], partly due to a 55 cents booking fee charged in the ACT. The CIE analysis indicated licence plate owners were still maintaining their incomes from leasing the licences at about $21,000 a year, but also showed rising costs were meaning returns on the licence plates were negative for any plate bought since It showed an owner of a licence bought in 2014 for $244,000 was losing 42 per cent of its returns as at 2017, and while lease rates are static, they could start falling a change that would be hastened by the government issuing more plates. Mr Booth said the territory government was dealing a further blow to existing plate owners with a decision to also raise the ACT s cap on licence plates from the current 358 cap up to 500 plates. He said he believed the CIE research was commissioned with the government s predetermined outcome in mind, to introduce ride-sharing in Canberra without thought to the financial and emotional toll on the existing taxi industry. Mr Booth said the latest decision meant plate owners could go bankrupt to avoid paying loans used to buy the plates, some could lose their homes or be forced onto the aged pension in the absence of the plate income, which many had hoped would provide a nest egg. How is that looking after the families, the operators and drivers already working in the industry? he said. Many people invested in the plates as a future superannuation option, and also bought them as something to be handed on to a family member. Mr Booth said many owners were now thinking their life s work trying to build a financial future for their children was now worthless. Our people are crying to me on the phone, they ve been waiting for good news, but today it hasn t been good news, he said. The government will immediately issue 30 plates to some of those on the 250-odd long waiting list for plates, to meet the current 358 cap, plates which cost just $5000 a year to lease from government, compared to the perpetual licences costing about $20,000 to lease from owners. A further 50 plates will be issued by March next year, while the government seeks submissions on a discussion paper about how to implement the 500 cap, as well as related issues including how much the maximum fares would be for licensed taxis. Despite plans to increase the cap, a government spokeswoman said the government has no plans to reach the new cap, but the extra amount could allow for more flexibility in coming years, which could include the release of additional wheelchairaccessible taxi licences. The government has also announced plans to provide counselling services for taxi industry participants in need. Mr Booth said while all the other Labor-governed states had agreed to buy existing plates for some sort of price, the ACT government was refusing to put forward any compensation. We asked for compensation from the government months ago. All we asked for was some compassion, but this government seems devoid of compassion, he said. We just want our money to move on with our lives. Lifeline:

99 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: Daniel Burdon Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 26,971 Words: 959 Item ID: Page 3 of 3 Head of the ACT s Taxi Plate Owners Association Phil Booth. Photo: Jamila Toderas

100 Launceston Examiner, Launceston TAS Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 17,631 Page: 12 Printed Size: 34.00cm² Market: TAS Country: Australia ASR: AUD 244 Words: 56 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 ASIC HEAD RESIGNS THE deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has resigned after seven years at the corporate watchdog. Peter Kell will leave on December 6, after also working at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. ASIC has been under increased scrutiny at the banking royal commission over the way it has handled bad behaviour.

101 Northern Territory News, Darwin Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 11,279 Page: 18 Printed Size: cm² Market: NT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 2,180 Words: 311 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 Shock Allianz admission INSURANCE group Allianz has no idea how many compliance incidents over the past six years which may include serious breaches of the law it needs to report to the corporate regulator. Allianz chief risk officer Lori Callahan told the royal commission yesterday that the company had not handed over to Kenneth Hayne s inquiry all the information it had about the company s misconduct, or conduct that fell below community standards and expectations, when it was asked to do so. Ms Callahan also revealed that despite numerous breaches that went unreported to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission over six years, the company s overhaul to ensure it complied with changes in the law after an internal audit found its compliance plans were out of date and not taking place were only just starting. She also admitted the insurer s oversight of a sister company that sold its insurance products, AWP, had been inadequate. The royal commission has heard how Allianz misled consumers and the corporate regulator over travel insurance disclosures on its website, which it did not pull down from public access out of fear it would lose revenue. In a taxing opening session for the royal commission yesterday, Commissioner Hayne interjected in proceedings multiple times after Ms Callahan failed to provide concise or direct responses to questions. When asked if Allianz had fixed its lacklustre legal compliance after the internal audit, Ms Callahan said she had established the regulatory and legislative change forum that will have as its basis the ability to address this problem coupled with individual business unit compliance plans. Mr Hayne told Ms Callahan that he would interpret your answer and say it to her. You are at the start of the process, Mr Hayne said.

102 Northern Territory News, Darwin Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 11,279 Page: 18 Printed Size: cm² Market: NT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 2,180 Words: 311 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 NEWS The royal commission has heard how Allianz misled consumers and the corporate regulator over travel insurance disclosures Picture: DAVID GERAGHTY

103 Northern Territory News, Darwin Author: Ashley Manicaros Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 11,279 Page: 12 Printed Size: cm² Market: NT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 5,038 Words: 903 Item ID: Page 1 of 3 Decades of land potential ASHLEY MANICAROS A NEW study has found the availability of commercial and industrial land in the Territory could take 17 years to exhaust, while residential land could sustain more than three decades of demand. The Property Council commissioned The State of Supply, Whole Sector Market Report. It was compiled by local valuation firm Herron Todd White. The report included vacant land under development or expected to be released in the next 12 months. It is the first time that such a report has been released publicly and it will become a baseline for future work. Executive director of the Property Council NT Ruth Palmer, who will use the report to highlight the opportunities at the #FacingNorth event in Canberra today, said the comprehensive report shows the supply and demand for all sectors of property in the Top End. A report of this calibre containing high-level statistics previously did not exist, she said. We recognised a need for such a report to be produced that could be used and accessed by all. There has been a substantial increase in the supply of commercial, residential, industrial and retail stock in the Top End over the last decade. An accurate assessment was needed to determine whether government policy changes are required. One is for sure, though Darwin is ready for a large population influx and investment opportunities, supply is very high in all sectors. The study highlights that vacant land represents more than 21 per cent or about two million square metres of the total supply of land, and is much larger than, say, the suburb of Winnellie. It is clearly evident that the existing supply of land is more than sufficient to meet demand well into the medium term, the report said. For example, if an (optimistic) sales rate of 2 blocks per month is assumed, then the existing supply would be sufficient for 17 years. Exacerbating the problem is the availability of improved properties with older-style improvements which could be sold as development sites. The study area covered Darwin City Council, Palmerston City Council and the Darwin Rates Act area. Litchfield Shire which includes industrial areas such as Spencely Rd at Humpty Doo has been excluded. The land included is land outside the CBD areas of Palmerston and Darwin, zoned for commercial and/or industrial development. Herron Todd White (HTW) reviewed sales of vacant commercial/industrial land over the past 12 months and found that about 30,000 square metres of vacant land had been

104 Northern Territory News, Darwin Author: Ashley Manicaros Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 11,279 Page: 12 Printed Size: cm² Market: NT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 5,038 Words: 903 Item ID: Page 2 of 3 transacted. However, they warned this take-up rate should be treated with caution. Historically, Darwin can endure extended periods (such as is being experienced today) where sales levels are low, however, these are punctuated by periods of strong demand, especially when supported by major projects. In this regard, the take-up rate for smaller blocks appears to be slightly better than for larger blocks. Berrimah Business Park Stage Two includes a number of smaller blocks. There are a number of presales in this subdivision which have been affected due to them making smaller-sized blocks available, especially to owneroccupiers and their related superannuation funds. On the residential front, there are more than 5300 blocks of land available. The report estimates three sales a week in each estate, which is considered aggressive in the current market, would equal 34 years of supply. While it is very difficult to predict long-term trends it would be unlikely to see the level of growth/supply/takeup rates within the market that Darwin has experienced over the past 10 years, the report said. The 10-year rolling average for residential land sales in the greater Darwin area (excluding Litchfield council) has ranged from 315 allotments per annum in 2009 to 427 allotments in This peaked at 460 allotments in This period of growth is accepted as the largest residential growth that the Darwin market has seen. To absorb what is available, HTW estimated five sales a week across all subdivisions would allow for 24 years of supply. An additional sale per week would reduce the 24- year figure by around three years at a time. There has been more than 70,000 square metres of retail space added to the Darwin and Palmerston market over the last two years, according to the report. A total of 250,000 square metres of retail space is in Darwin and Palmerston. The dominant player in the retail market is the GPTowned Casuarina Square Shopping centre with 53,000 square metres. The new major centres in Gateway and Coolalinga have added 24 per cent of supply to the total market. The report found with population in decline in the Greater Darwin area, the newer retail centres have attracted tenants from existing centres to fill the spaces. This has placed pressure on existing centres to upgrade facilities to retain and attract new occupants, the report said. The new supply of space has also resulted in attractive tenant incentives for new operators. The East Arm industrial development. A report has found there is enough vacant commercial and industrial land in the Territory for it to last 17 years Picture: SUPPLIED

105 Northern Territory News, Darwin Author: Ashley Manicaros Section: Business News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 11,279 Page: 12 Printed Size: cm² Market: NT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 5,038 Words: 903 Item ID: Page 3 of 3 The North Crest residential development has about 2000 blocks of land available Picture: SUPPLIED Suburb Area sqm No Average size sqm Winnellie 134, Berrimah 477, EastArm 762, Pinelands 15, Holtze 106, Wishart 163, Tivendale 299, Yarrawonga 95, Total sqm 2,055,379 sqm or hectares

106 Northern Territory News, Darwin Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 11,279 Page: 6 Printed Size: 80.00cm² Market: NT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 452 Words: 207 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 It pays to go past Big Four banks DEBT-LADEN Australians trying to pay off mortgages and credit cards can wipe both more quickly by breaking up with the Big Four banks. Westpac, the Commonwealth, NAB and ANZ are all offering variable home loan packaged deals in the mid 4 per cent range, new analysis shows one percentage point more than the best deals. The financial services royal commission has shone a light on the bad behaviour in the sector and experts say this should force customers to seek out cheaper deals. Financial comparison website Mozo found Australians can save as much as up to $3000 a year just by switching from the highest Big Four variable home loan rate of 4.87 per cent to the cheapest on the market at 3.44 per cent. This is on a $300,000, 30- year home loan. With the average credit card debt sitting at $4200, these mortgage savings could be used to erase a customer s plastic debt in less than two years. Realestate.com.au s head of home loans Andrew Russell has urged mortgage holders to begin by checking to see what their interest rate is before taking any action. If your rate doesn t have a 3 in front of it, go and speak to your mortgage broker, he said.

107 Border Mail, Albury-Wodonga Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 13,519 Page: 12 Printed Size: 34.00cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 119 Words: 56 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 ASIC HEAD RESIGNS THE deputy chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has resigned after seven years at the corporate watchdog. Peter Kell will leave on December 6, after also working at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. ASIC has been under increased scrutiny at the banking royal commission over the way it has handled bad behaviour.

108 Border Mail, Albury-Wodonga Section: Letters Article type : Letter Classification : Regional : 13,519 Page: 17 Printed Size: cm² Market: NSW Country: Australia ASR: AUD 447 Words: 285 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR UNFAIR PENSION CHARGES Prime Minister Scott Morrison came to Albury on September 6 to deliver a speech spelling out his and his party s principles and social values. I believe in a fair go for those who have a go in this country, he said. No argument there. But, what I want to know is how that squares with his treatment of pensioners and battlers when he was Treasurer. The most significant alteration to retirement income this decade occurred on 1 January last year. The asset thresholds and taper rate that applied to the age pension asset test was changed. The harsh regressive effect of the changes resulted in around 91,000 losing their pension entitlement and about 235,000 seeing their part pensions reduced. The changes also had some perverse outcomes. For a retired couple who own their home, the practical effect of the 2017 age pension changes is that you receive more total retirement income (including age pension) with $400,000 than you do with $800,000 in super, or even $1 million in super. Australian couples with more than $400,000 in retirement savings are effectively taxed at 150 per cent for lifetime super savings between $400,000 and $800,000. ScoMo made it financially more attractive for middle Australia to spend, rather than save more for retirement. Brilliant! Whatever the intention may have been, it is quite clear that the greatest impact was on average Australians who have, or are, working hard and saving for their retirement. If the Prime Minister really believes in a fair go he will fix his unfair pension changes and fight with non-hyprocritical vigour against Labor s proposed franking credit changes. Then he just might get re-elected. Len Shefford, Thurgoona

109 Hobart Mercury, Hobart Section: Letters Article type : Letter Classification : Capital City Daily : 28,265 Page: 19 Printed Size: 31.00cm² Market: TAS Country: Australia ASR: AUD 224 Words: 64 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Banking and aged care DO we really need the increasingly desperate ScoMo s surprise royal commission into Australia s aged care system? I m sure if the terms of reference of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry were extended to aged care, the names and actions of some now-familiar players would quickly materialise. Just continue to follow the money. Stephen Jeffery Sandy Bay

110 Cairns Post, Cairns Author: Greta Stonehouse Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Regional : 13,896 Page: 32 Printed Size: cm² Market: QLD Country: Australia ASR: AUD 1,309 Words: 159 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 SORRY: Commonwealth CEO Matt Comyn has written to customers. CEO asks customers for complaints GRETA STONEHOUSE Picture: AAP/JOEL CARRETT COMMONWEALTH Bank chief executive Matt Comyn is sending letters to customers inviting them to contact him personally with their complaints. In a letter to be sent out over the next few weeks, Mr Comyn acknowledges the bank has made mistakes - many of which have been publicly aired at the financial services royal commission. Over the last few months, the banking industry, including the Commonwealth Bank, has been rightly criticised for mistakes we ve made, Mr Comyn wrote. You may have seen examples of this in the news. Mr Comyn, who became chief executive this year after Ian Narev quit following allegations the bank broke money-laundering laws, apologised to customers for mistakes over the years. I m sorry for the mistakes we ve made, he wrote. Revelations from the royal commission have included Commonwealth Bank advisers charging dead clients fees in 2015, plus more than 13,000 criminal breaches of superannuation law.

111 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: Julie Hartley Section: Smart Investor Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 25 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 5,926 Words: 666 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 SMSF nomination may not be so binding DIY super Julie Hartley A recent decision by the Queensland Supreme Court has raised some interesting issues regarding the powers of an enduring attorney to make, vary or revoke a binding death benefit nomination (BDBN) on behalf of a superannuation member. In the case (Re Narumon Pty Ltd [2018] QSC185), the enduring attorneys of a member who no longer had mental capacity purported to extend his lapsed BDBN by signing an "extension of death benefit binding nomination form", which the court upheld as valid. Reasons for the decision included that the trust deed expressly allowed a validly-appointed enduring attorney to exercise any power given to a member in the deed if the member were under a legal disability, the deed permitted a member to make a BDBN, the enduring power of attorney (EPOA) did not place limits on the attorney's authority and, importantly, the purpose of the extension was simply to confirm the member's clear wishes. So what does the decision mean for you as a member of an SMSF? First, consider whether granting your attorney these significant powers is something you are comfortable with. Some people like theflexibility this arrangement provides (if changes in their personal circumstances after loss of capacity warrant a change to their BDBN, the attorney is able to step in) while others are concerned with the potential risk of abuse by the attorney. If you think it is a good idea, your next step is to have a look at your EPOA (or sign one). The scope must be wide enough to include the signing of a BDBN - at the very least it needs to empower your attorney to deal with your financial affairs - and must not include an express limit on the attorney's power in respect of BDBNs. Depending on your circumstances and the jurisdiction of the EPOA the document may need to expressly allow an attorney to enter into conflict transactions (especially if the attorney is to be a beneficiary of the death benefit under the nomination). Even if this is not a statutory requirement, it may be prudent to include such a statement Next check your trust deed. Does it allow you to implement the strategy? If not have it amended. Ideally it should confer an express power on the attorney to make, vary or revoke a BDBN on behalf of a member. Short of the deed saying this, it should permit members to delegate to their attorney. While you are looking atyour trust deed, see if it includes a timeframe after which your BDBN lapses (generally three years) as once a nomination has lapsed, it no longer binds the trustee and your death benefit would be allocated as per the trustee's discretion (including to themselves if eligible). This may be another reason to update your deed. Your EPOA and your trust deed must work together to achieve the intended result so focus on both. Given superannuation may one day make up the bulk of your wealth, think very carefully about who it is you choose as your attorney/s and entrust with those broad powers. Making the wrong choice may cause your intended beneficiaries to miss out Consider making your wishes known -via death benefit nominations (including binding and non-binding ones) or other methods. This may, however, be a double-edged sword, as while this could help a court uphold a BDBN made by your attorney to carry out your wishes as valid, it may also serve as ammunition for a disgruntled party trying to invalidate the latest BDBN where the terms differ (justifiably or not) from your previously stated wishes. Whether a BDBN made by an attorney is valid will be determined on a case-by-case basis. If you want to limit your attorney's authority, then you need to sign a new EPOA containing the necessary limitations and/or vary your trust deed accordingly.ed Julie Hartley is an associate with Townsend Business & Corporate Lawyers.

112 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: Julie Hartley Section: Smart Investor Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 25 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 5,926 Words: 666 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 Making the wrong choice may cause your intended beneficiaries to miss out.

113 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: Sarah Turner And William Mclnnes Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 5 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 8,616 Words: 690 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 Fears grow for future of aged care stocks Sarah Turner and William Mclnnes "The aged care royal commission and negative media coverage is likely to increase investment risk on aged care stocks," according to Macquarie Securities analyst Matt Johnston. The investment community is anxious having spent months hearing horror stories from the Hayne inquiry into the financial services sector. Now there are concerns that there could be a similar stream of bad news emerging from the aged care sector, which is largely government funded. "Average revenue per occupied bed is approximately $280 a day and the government contributes around $200 of that," noted Scott Power, analyst at Morgans Financial. The remaining portion of revenue is derived from the aged care residents and can be paid in two ways. They can choose to pay their contribution to the cost of care though a refundable accommodation deposit [RAD], or a daily accommodation payment [DAP], or a combination of the two. Analysts and fund managers remain cautious over the prospects for aged care stocks, citing concerns about profits and dividends as key reasons to avoid the sector that is set to face a royal commission. The terms of the government probe are not yet clear, with the intention to conduct a royal commission into the sector only announced on the weekend. The listed sector has already reacted to the news, however, with Estia Health, Japara Healthcare and Regis Health all diving on Monday before staging a slight recovery the next day. Macquarie analysts said that the royal commission could see occupancy drop at aged care firms which could hit profits at Estia by 9.1 per cent, by 14.6 per cent for Japara and 9.5 per cent for Regis. In addition, lower occupancy tends to lead to weaker RAD (refundable accommodation deposit) cash flows, they noted, as residents leaving care and receiving RAD refunds are not replaced by new occupants. "We also see scope for a continued trend away from incoming residents parting with large personal wealth due to negative short-term sentiment and preferring daily accommodation payments," they said. Companies could start to use their RAD cash flow to fund capital expenditure on growth and for debt repayments instead of paying dividends, Mr Johnston at Macquarie suggested. The sector is split between listed and unlisted operators, with around 15 per cent of all operators listed, according to Ben Rundle at Naos Asset Management Unlisted, smaller concerns proliferated, he said, as "I think that it used to be a lot easier to enter as compliance was lower. Three to four years ago there was a huge undersupply." But companies now appear to be struggling. 'If you look at the profitability of the unlisted players, it's very low," said Jun Bei Liu, portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners. "Market conditions are pretty tough," she said. "The industry has been trying to incorporate government cuts that happened two years ago. That impact is still to come through and in 2019 it will continue to impact" Convoluted funding processes are another factor for firms. At present "the aged care funding instrument is quite a complex process which these operators have to comply with," noted Mr Power at Morgans. "If you are a small operator it can be difficult to comply with regulation," he added. The government could react to any abuses uncovered by the commission by demanding that the sector lifts staffing levels and/or service quality. It is likely that the cost structures of running these businesses will increase as the government introduces minimum staffing levels per patient and higher wages for staff, for example, TMS Capital fund manager Ben Clark said. Mr Rundle at Naos believes that government funding for the sector will increase as well, as the government has little option but to support the sector. "At the moment there is not really an alternative to aged care. Hospitals cost close to $2000 a night" Consolidation could also take place, he believes, which could see larger operators acquire assets at discounted prices. "You can only sell these assets to an approved provider," of which there are relatively few, he said.

114 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: Sarah Turner And William Mclnnes Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 5 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 8,616 Words: 690 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 Scott Morrison (right) meets, from left, Wendy and Ray White, Lynne McKeough and Louise Josephs, PHOTO: ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN

115 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: James Eyers Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 3 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 7,646 Words: 572 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 Kell quits ASIC before extended term ends James Eyers Australian Securities and Investments Commission deputy chairman Peter Kell has resigned eight months before his extended term was due to end, after a torrid year responding to the financial services royal commission. Mr Kell has been the point man for ASIC at the Hayne inquiry, at which he has appeared twice. He has also led its legal cases against Westpac, alleging responsible lending breaches, and National Australia Bank for charging fees for no service, and formulated the plan for putting ASIC supervisors into banks. Mr Kell was initially due to leave ASIC in May this year, upon expiry of his five-year term as a commissioner. As he was preparing to leave, he was asked by the government to stay on, to assist with the transition of new chairman James Shipton. Mr Shipton was also keen for Mr Kell to lead the royal commission response, given his intimate knowledge of banking and ASIC operations. His term was therefore extended by a further year, meaning he was due to depart in May next year. He will keep working at ASIC until December 6, when the regulator's royal commission response work is expected to be completed. "If s been a privilege being commissioner in an organisation like ASIC, and I was happy to stay on to help the James Shipton transition into the new chair. Now that that has occurred, and the fact we have several additional commissioners which have come on board, the timing is right for me to move on," Mr Kell told The Australian Financial Review. The government has recently announced new ASIC leaders in addition to Mr Shipton. It has a new commissioner, Danielle Press, former chief executive of Equipsuper, starting this week. Another new commissioner, Sean Hughes, a former New Zealand regulator and current Tabcorp general counsel, will start later this year. It also has a new deputy chairman, Daniel Crennan, QC, whose focus is on enforcement Earlier this month, Mr Shipton launched a new four-year corporate plan, including a renewed focus on super, insurance and other parts of the financial service sector. The government has recently committed an addition $70 million in funding. After Mr Kell's departure, ASIC will have six commissioners. If s understood Mr Kell does not have any other job lined up, and is planning on taking a break. This comes after a hectic period for regulators, which have been dealing with an unprecedented amount of new policy as the government has sought to get tough on banks, and then the royal commission. Mr Kell, who has been at ASIC for seven years, has been the key driver of much of its financial sector policy. This has included its recent report criticising credit cards, its comprehensive review of mortgage broker remuneration, its work to improve terms in lending contracts, and its crackdown on payday lending. He has also been the main consumer representative within ASIC, after previously leading consumer group CHOICE and working as deputy chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. He has led ASICs work on the new product intervention power, its design and distribution power and its response to an 'enforcement review', which were all recommendations of David Murray's financial system inquiry in Royal commission p8 Peter Kell has been a key driver of much of ASICs financial sector policy.

116 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: James Eyers Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 3 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 7,646 Words: 572 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 Peter Kell has been the point man for ASIC at the banking royal commission, at which he has appeared twice. PHOTO: AAP

117 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: David Crowe Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 5 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 24,538 Words: 469 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 LABOR S PLAN Shorten s $400m super pitch to women David Crowe Labor will pledge a financial boost for more than 160,000 women in a policy that aims to narrow the gap between women and men s superannuation savings for retirement. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will outline the $400 million plan today with a vow to make economic security for women one of his priorities at the next federal election. The Labor scheme would deliver a top-up payment for thousands of super accounts every year for those on parental leave, addressing one of the factors that leaves women with about 60 per cent of the retirement savings of men. Mr Shorten told Fairfax Media the measure to improve economic security should be an election priority because of the gap in the average super balances between men and women at their retirement. The move comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison tries to contain a Liberal Party row over the number of women in Parliament and concerns about intimidation of MPs during the leadership spill that toppled Malcolm Turnbull. Mr Shorten is expected to announce the policy alongside Labor shadow treasurer Chris Bowen, in their first major policy initiative since the leadership turmoil at the top of the government. Many women are forced to halt contributions to their superannuation accounts when they have children, with the federal government s parental leave scheme paying $ a week but not offering anything towards super. A Labor government would add a super contribution to be paid directly to the recipient s super fund or paid to an employer who would make the contribution. Mr Shorten said that every day a woman looked after a child under the federal scheme was a day her super balance was on hold. This isn t fair and it s contributing to the growing superannuation gap between men and women, he said. Superannuation paid on parental leave is an investment in a better and fairer retirement for Australian women. The payments would go to about 167,000 recipients of the Commonwealth paid parental leave scheme and another 80,000 recipients of the dad and partner payments scheme. The new payments would be targeted at the same parents who qualify for the Commonwealth s paid parental leave scheme, which offers $ a week for 18 weeks for those who meet a work test and earn less than $150,000 a year. While women are expected to be the main beneficiaries, the policy will also help men who choose to take parental leave. There are inequities in our super system which disadvantage women, Mr Bowen said. Labor s changes will see thousands of women benefit from tens of thousands of dollars more in retirement income. Unbalanced $157,000 Super fund balances for women upon retirement. $270,000 Super fund balances for men upon retirement.

118 Canberra Times, Canberra Author: David Crowe Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : Capital City Daily : 17,579 Page: 5 Printed Size: cm² Market: ACT Country: Australia ASR: AUD 24,538 Words: 469 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 Opposition Leader Bill Shorten with female members of the shadow cabinet in Canberra on Tuesday. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

119 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: Nick Lenaghan Section: Property Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 7,302 Words: 491 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 AustralianSuper seals UK property debt deal The country's largest pension fund, AustralianSuper, has teamed up with its long-standing adviser, TH Real Estate, to jointly finance One Crown Place in London with a 280 million development loan, worth about $510 million. AustralianSuper itself has committed 230 million in the first piece of commercial property debt it has issued in Britain. Property p30 AustralianSuper stumps up $420m in debt for prime London project NickLenaghan The country's largest pension fund, AustralianSuper, has teamed up with its long-standing adviser, TH Real Estate, to jointly finance One Crown Place in London with a 280 million development loan, worth about $510 million. AustralianSuper itself has committed 230 million, with the rest to be financed by TH Real Estate's recently launched Global Real Estate Debt Partners Fund II. Significantly, it is the first piece of commercial property debt issued by AustralianSuper in the UK One Crown Place is a mixed-use scheme being developed by Malaysian conglomerate MTD Group. When completed it will comprise 136,000 square feet (12,634 square metres) of office space, along with a 7000 sq ft retail component, a 41-bed boutique hotel and 246 luxury residential units. "The One Crown Place transaction strongly aligns with our real estate debt strategy to target high-quality opportunities secured against institutional assets in top-tier locations in European cities," said the super fund's head of mid risk, Jason Peasley. AustralianSuper's commercial real estate debt mandate targets opportunities in London and other major European cities with a focus on mezzanine and development-refurbishment for investments in excess of 100 million. The debt mandate with TH Real Estate comes in addition to the direct European office and retail sector equity mandate AustralianSuper agreed with the investment house r this year. MTD Group is an infrastructurebased group, established in 1993 and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian company is active in civil engineering, construction, real estate and property development CBRE Capital Advisors debt and structured finance team arranged and structured the transaction for MTD. "We are very pleased with... this transaction and the efficient and successful collaboration between multiple stakeholders across the globe," said MTD's chief executive, Tee Kim Siew. "This is a great milestone for us and we are extremely proud of our team that delivered this result to build relationships with our new partners TH Real Estate and AustralianSuper." Expectations are rising that Australia's super funds will direct more of their property allocation to foreign property markets amid concerns gains for domestic property are shrinking. The path into property debt abroad has also been well prepared, with super funds in this market already stepping in to plug the gap left locally as mainstream banks tighten the purse strings for commercial property lending, especially development debt In one of the largest such deals to date, Jeff Xu's Golden Age last month secured construction finance from AustralianSuper to a $400 million residential project at Macquarie Park in Sydney.

120 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: Nick Lenaghan Section: Property Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 1 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 7,302 Words: 491 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 One Crown Place is being developed by Malaysian conglomerate MTD Group.

121 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: Duncan Hughes Section: Companies and Markets Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 17 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 6,068 Words: 519 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 CBA to dump SMSF lending products Duncan Hughes Commonwealth Bank, the nation's largest mortgage lender, is axing residential and commercial loans for self managed super funds amid growing concerns about regulatory problems, property market weakness and stricter capital adequacy rules squeezing returns. The bank is set to announce it is pulling SMSF lending product SuperGear, in an attempt to "become a simpler, better bank and streamline our product range", from October 12. Westpac Group, the nation's second largest mortgage lender, pulled out of the sector in July making similar claims about wanting to "simplify and streamline" its product range. But the moves will shock mortgage brokers and financial advisers and make nervous property investors more jittery about the outlook amid falling prices, rising costs and oversupply, particularly for apartments in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It is also being done during a period of increased regulatory scrutiny of leveraged superannuation assets, potential reputational risks to lenders and advisers from "high risk" single investment SMSF schemes, and lenders' capital adequacy requirements. "CBA has decided to withdraw its SMSF lending product that allows SMSF trusts to purchase both residentially and commercially secured properties," a spokesman said. "This is part of our strategy to become a simpler, better bank. We are streamlining our product portfolio and have decided to discontinue SuperGear." The bank said it will be writing to customers who hold a SuperGear loan outlining the changes. It will continue to support existing loan accounts. "We are seeing the writing on the wall for leveraged SMSFs," said Sally Tindall, director of research for RateCity, which monitors rates for financial service products. 'This calls into question the viability of the leveraged SMSF sector." Regulators fear problems arising from SMSF investors leveraging their superannuation to invest in a single residential property because of the lack of diversification and increasing dangers of loss in a falling property market where it is difficult tofind tenants. Systemic risk is low because the loans are non-recourse, which means they are secured by the property. The Australian Taxation Office and Australian Securities and Investments Commission are targeting the use of SMSFs to invest in property after a review revealed 90 per cent failed to comply with "best interests" tests and other legal obligations. It warned the strategy of gearing through an SMSF to invest in property, which is heavily promoted by property seminars and "property one-stop shops", is risky. The one-stop shops typically involve real restate agents, developers, mortgage brokers, accountants and financial advisers. A key finding of the David Murrayled financial system inquiry in 2014 was that leverage should be banned in superannuation funds to mitigate the risk of financial instability. The government rejected his advice and Mr Murray said that was a mistake. Mr Murray, who was recently appointed chairman of AMP, the nation's largest financial conglomerate, is expected to launch an internal review of its SMSF lending practices. Banks are also believed to be quitting the sector because of increased capital adequacy requirements by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority are squeezing profits. Smart Investor DIY super p25

122 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: Duncan Hughes Section: Companies and Markets Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 17 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 6,068 Words: 519 Item ID: Page 2 of 2 CBA wants to "simplify and streamline" its products, PHOTO: MICHAEL CLAYTON-JONES

123 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: James Eyers Section: Companies and Markets Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 17 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 4,753 Words: 556 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 Fintechs must follow Prospa on contracts James Eyers The corporate regulator wants all online business lenders to remove unfair terms from their contracts just like Prospa has done, indicating startups that want to compete against banks will be held to similar regulatory standards as community expectations lift following the royal commission. In a letter sent last week to Brad Kitschke, CEO of industry lobby group FinTech Australia, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission declared "action [is] required". ASIC said it "will consider regulatory action where appropriate" if fintechs don't comply with the 2016 laws that prevent lenders using excessive contractual power over business borrowers. Banks have already been forced by ASIC to make the changes, although Hayne royal commission hearings exposed them for taking a long time to do so. "ASIC requests Fintech Australia to ask its members to consider the changes made by Prospa, to assess whether their loan contracts need to be amended to ensure compliance with the unfair contract terms law," said the letter, obtained by The Australian Financial Review. "ASIC considers that the changes made by Prospa are particularly important and relevant for the fintech lending industry, given that Prospa is one of the six online small business lenders to develop the AFIA Online Small Business Lenders Code of Lending Practice aimed at improving transparency and lending standards of the broader fintech lending industry." The Australian Finance Industry Association said, when that code was published in June, that it would appoint an independent "code compliance committee" this year to assess signatories' compliance with unfair contract term laws, and require them all to get sign-off from an independent law firm that they are compliant. Signatories to the code are Prospa, Moula, Spotcap, Capify, GetCapital and OnDeck. Other players in the space include RateSetter, Marketlend, Kikka, CreditSME, Banjo, Sail, Bigstone, ThinCats, Apositive, InvoiceX, Waddle, FundX and Timelio. Prospa said on September 7 it was the first online small business lender to have undertaken a full review of its loan terms after consultation with ASIC. It is understood its standard contracts were written by a major law firm and similar contracts are used by other lenders, including some non-banks, which are also being audited by ASIC, Mr Kitschke said he was sharing ASICs letter with members. "At the heart of the fintech industry is a desire to deliver products and services that meet consumer needs and increase accountability and transparency," he said. "We would urge all providers offinancialservices to take steps to ensure that their products meet these requirements." The clauses removed by Prospa were flagged as being problematic by ASIC in its "Report 565'. Prospa removed a borrower's indemnity clause, meaning they are no longer required to indemnify Prospa for losses or costs incurred due to its fraud, negligence or wilful misconduct ASIC also forced it to amend the 'unilateral variation' clause, limiting its ability to vary contracts; the 'early repayment clause', so borrowers can prepay loans early without Prospa's consent, and clauses defining events of default, to add remediation periods and materiality thresholds. The heightening regulatory scrutiny by ASIC on the fintech business lenders comes as the US Senate's banking committee conducts hearings on fintech, after the US Treasury department issued a report in July that made 80 recommendations, mostly encouraging of fintech innovation within a regulated space. Brad Kitschke is sharing ASIC's letter with FinTech Australia members.

124 Australian Financial Review, Australia Author: John Kehoe Section: Companies and Markets Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 17 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 2,124 Words: 249 Item ID: Page 1 of 1 APRA leadership bolstered in reaction to scandals John Kehoe The banking regulator has had its leadership ranks bolstered by the creation of a second deputy chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), as the Morrison government reacts to damning scandals uncovered by the royal commission. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed on Tuesday that John Lonsdale, a long-time senior Treasury official, would fill the new APRA position. "Strengthening our regulators in the financial services sector is part of the Coalition government's plan for a stronger economy, to ensure consumers get a fair go and our financial institutions are held to account," Mr Frydenberg said. Mr Lonsdale's appointment comes just days after the new Treasurer slammed the past failures of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and promised new powers to speedily compensate victims of misconduct James Shipton succeeded Greg Medcraft as ASIC chair in February. Peter Kell announced his resignation as ASIC deputy chair on Tuesday. At APRA, Mr Frydenberg said the creation of a second deputy chair would strengthen the capabilities of the prudential regulator, including overseeing the new Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR), which requires banks and their senior executives to improve standards of behaviour and accountability. Mr Lonsdale was most recently a deputy secretary at Treasury, overseeing the markets group. The threedecade Treasury veteran was head of the secretariat for David Murray's financial system inquiry in He joins incumbent deputy chair Helen Rowell, who has served in the role since 2015 and was reappointed for a further five-year term from July this year.

125 Australian Financial Review, Australia Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 40 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 7,828 Words: 643 Item ID: Page 1 of 2 Chanticleer For crowing there was not his equal in all the land... ASIC's loss of corporate memory If Treasurer Josh Frydenberg thinks Peter Kell's sudden resignation as deputy chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission will absolve the government of any responsibility for lax enforcement of wayward activity in financial services he should think again. Kell has been the face of ASIC atthe Hayne royal commission over the past few months when counsel assisting Rowena Orr QC exposed less than vigorous enforcement of the law in superannuation, financial advice, life insurance and general insurance. But the less well known issue exposed by the Hayne inquiry is the federal government's abject failure to give ASIC sufficient legal powers to punish bad behaviour, particularly in the insurance sector. The fact is the government has been a soft touch for the powerful lobbying efforts of companies in the life and general insurance sectors. The companies won the argument about the need for a light handed regulatory approach. But as we have seen this week, selfregulation was actually a licence to exploit consumers. Frydenberg"s obvious frustration with ASIC bubbled over last week in a series of interviews attacking its performance under former chairman Greg Medcraft. Frydenberg promised to give new chairman James Shipton the legislative power to act against wrong doing. His government could have acted much earlier. There are a series of reforms in insurance that should be implemented with alacrity. The exemption for insurance claims handling in the Corporations Act should be dumped forthwith. This will ensure ASIC has the power to take action against poor claims handling. The exemption of life and general insurance from the Unfair Contract Terms laws should be dumped as soon as possible. This would outlaw the use of unfair terms in insurance contracts. Deft lobbying has meant there are no monetary penalties for breaches of the"utmost good faith" provision in the Insurance Contract Act The recent ASIC enforcement review recommended civil penalties for breaching this provision. ASIC has always wanted to see more effective disclosure for general insurance, including requiring disclosure of prior year premiums in annual renewal notices. Financial services minister Kelly O'Dwyer had made announcements about many of these issues but there was no sense of urgency in having them implemented. Kell can't be blamed for lack of support from the parliamentary executive. His job would have been a lot easier if the government had delivered on its promise to give ASIC product intervention powers. He would have been better equipped to deal with dodgy activities had the government moved more quickly to increase penalties for breaches of the law, made breach reporting more effective and gave ASIC direction powers enabling it to force companies into remediation programs. Kell would have been in a stronger position if he had been able to force industry codes of practice to be made mandatory and enforceable. Also, he would have been able to wield a big stick if the government had given ASIC the power to ban people from managing financial services businesses. Kell's departure will present a challenge to Shipton because it will mean a significant loss of corporate memory. He knows where AFRGA1A040 NR all the bodies are buried as well as understanding the tactics needed to navigate past companies employing defensive and legalistic approaches to regulatory oversight During his seven years at ASIC Kell led sector reviews into direct life insurance, credit cards, mortgage broker remuneration and vertically integrated firms. His enforcement scorecard includes ASIC's successful action on responsible lending against Westpac Banking Corp, the fees-for-no service action against National Australia Bank, action against payday lender Cash Store and action against the operator of a general store in South Australia for exploiting indigenous customers. After he leaves in December this year residents on Sydney's leafy north shore should get used to seeing a lot more of Kell running through the suburban streets. He deserves a break after doing the hard yards atasic.

126 Australian Financial Review, Australia Section: General News Article type : News Item Classification : National : 44,635 Page: 40 Printed Size: cm² Market: National Country: Australia ASR: AUD 7,828 Words: 643 Item ID: Page 2 of 2