Introduction
The Financial Services Industry in Australia is dominated by many players, both local and international (Tomasic, Bottomley and McQueen 34-37). However, all the players, in this sector are supposed to operate by the rules set by the regulator. This paper specifically outlines the importance of industry guidelines, procedures that are involved in the industry, government legislation and codes of practice. In addition, the paper explores the approach of the Westpac financial institution to sustainability and community.
Industry Guidelines
The Australian industry guidelines are not designed to have some legal force. Instead, they spell out some binding responsibilities of a financial institution on an individual basis (Pearson 550). Specifically, this industry guideline in Australia has been developed to give some form of guidance to financial institutions on how to fully satisfy or abide by the existing industry standards and legal obligations. In the context of financial abuse, the industry guideline details how consumers are protected from any financial fraud, and also explain how varied arrangements work legitimately across the country (Pearson 553). Moreover, it explains how they are used by bank clientele and financial institutions for the benefit of their customers.
Procedures that are involved within the industry
Industry procedures are many, but this part explores the procedures of deregistration. A company that wants to deregister voluntarily, must meet all the requirements (procedures) set under the Corporations Act 2001 ( Lyon and Plessis 87). For instance:
- For a company to deregister, all members must agree, in writing, to commence the process of deregistration
- The registrar of companies must be sure that the company is not actually carrying on some businesses
- The company must indicate that its asset base has dropped below $1000
- The company must also show that it has no debts pending
- The company must not be a party to any legal proceedings
- Lastly, if the company still holds a license given by Australian financial services, it must apply to revoke it before commencing to deregister.
The importance of these procedures and associated regulations is to ensure that all the stakeholders have been involved. Most importantly, this procedure safeguards the interests of all the stakeholders right from investors to ensure they have been paid their money back, to ensure all legalities have been met.
Government Legislation
For the Australian financial industry to function properly, the Australian government has passed a number of legislations to facilitate the process ( Lyon and Plessis 88). Some of these acts include:
- Anti-discrimination legislation (Commonwealth and State)
- Financial Services Reform Act (FSRA)
- Commonwealth Criminal Code
- Banking Act
- Financial Transaction Reports Act
- Consumer Affairs Act
- Contract law
- Income Tax Assessment Act
- Consumer Credit Code
- Industrial legislation
- Corporations Act
The importance of these regulations is to instill work ethic and also to ensure compliance with related laws applyed to the Australian financial services industry (Tomasic, Bottomley and McQueen 278).
Codes of Practice
There are many codes of practice, but the accepted codes of practice in the Australian financial service industry include:
- Declaring a conflict of interests
- Compliance with reasonable direction
- Ethical behavior
- Duty of care
- non-discriminatory practices
- Maintaining confidentiality
- Relevant Australian Standards
The codes of practice are important as they define the relationship between financial partners or financial institutions with their customers. These may relate to how partners share information or disclose clients’ information ( Davidson 46). Their main work is to bring sanity to the entire Australian financial sector.
Organization’s approach to sustainability and community
Westpac Institutional Bank has a number of initiatives that are geared towards sustainability and for the good of the local community (Westpac Banking Corporation par. 2). For instance, in terms of carbon trading, Energy team at Westpac has actually been trading in the country for last fifteen years. In addition, the company is the only large financial institution to participate in carbon trading (Westpac Banking Corporation par. 7). The organization supports employees to adopt sustainable work practices through mentoring, coaching, feedback and development programs.
The organizations’ approach to corporate governance and of how the structure supports the organization to incorporate sustainable work practices.
The main approach to corporate governance entails promoting fairness, accountability and transparency by vividly spelling out the responsibilities and rights of the shareholders, the board, and most importantly, the management. The structure supports sustainable work practices in totality (Westpac Banking Corporation par. 7). In fact, sustainability and community section falls under the general management of the company. In addition, the company is designed in such a way that all aspects of their systems, especially health care, are in line with Australian Standards and Occupational Health & Safety.
The methods used by the organization to report its performance
The company uses different methods to report its performance; however the company mostly uses sustainability reports. Annual Review, as well as Sustainability Report, usually outline both the financial and non-financial performance of the company for the entire year (Westpac Banking Corporation par. 9). In addition, these reports emphasize or highlight the momentum at the company is achieving the objectives set in its sustainability strategy (Westpac Banking Corporation par. 6). The annual review report is always accompanied with an interactive report. The interactive report entails extra stories that attempt to show the strategy of the company over a period of time.
Works Cited
Davidson, Colin. Managed funds for dummies. Milton, Qld.: Wiley, 2011, Print.
Lyon, Gregory and Jean Du Plessis. The law of insider trading in Australia. Annandale, N.S.W. : Federation Press, 2005. Print.
Pearson, Gail. Financial services, law and compliance in Australia. Port Melbourne, Vic.: Cambridge University Press, 2009, Print.
Tomasic, Roman, Stephen Bottomley and Rob McQueen. Corporations law in Australia, Sydney: Sydney Federation Press, 2002. Print.
Westpac Banking Corporation. Westpac. 2014. Web.