Samantha Hills
LinkedinPartnerSam provides legal support, licence application assistance and training to a wide range of financial services and credit licensees. She has a particular interest in financial advice, insurance (both life and general) and carbon markets – industries where she sees great capacity for positive human impact. She has considerable input into HN Hub’s compliance templates and its monthly regulatory update, T-REX. Sam has been with Holley Nethercote for over 20 years, including the past few years as Partner.
Favourite Quote
“The world asks of us only the strength we have and we give it. Then it asks more, and we give it.” This is from a poem called “The Weighing” by Jane Hirshfield. I like how it captures the sense that we are stronger than we realise.
My Thoughts
Top concerns for credit licensees and how to manage them
04 Apr 2025We have put together a list of some of the most common compliance concerns raised by credit licensees in our Annual Compliance Trends Survey Report and some suggestions on how to manage them. Although some…
Do I really need to do Responsible Manager (RM) Training?
16 Jan 2025You’re busy. You have a business to run and services to deliver. On top of that, your compliance consultant is saying you need to do Responsible Manager training. Is she joking? Let’s take a…
Advice fees from super – important changes for advice licensees
04 Dec 2024It pays to understand super trustees’ obligations as modified by the DBFO Act when it comes to advice fees. For an advice licensee, this will be useful when it comes to understanding the obligations of…
Insurance commission consent – conflicted remuneration escape hatch
25 Nov 2024Licensees who provide financial product advice in relation to general insurance, life insurance or consumer credit insurance will be familiar with the exemption from conflicted remuneration for commissions on these products. However, from 9 July…
Ongoing fee arrangements – consent, consent, consent
18 Nov 2024The big-ticket item for advice licensees resulting from the DBFO Act is the changes made to ongoing fee arrangements (OFAs). New provisions relating to OFAs come into effect from 10 January 2025.[i] An OFA entered…
Conflicted remuneration – rearranging the shelves
12 Nov 2024The DBFO Act has clarified the conflicted remuneration provisions, with the changes having taken effect from 10 July 2024. Before I explain this, be warned that there were two other important changes introduced by the…
FSG relief – what’s in it for me?
29 Oct 2024From 10 July 2024, advice licensees and their corporate authorised representatives (CARs) and Authorised Representatives (ARs) have been able to take advantage of modest relief in relation to Financial Services Guides (FSGs). Reason for reform…
QAR Tranche 1 – Fact Sheet
24 Sep 2024Date Topic Task Comment 10 July 2024 FSG relief Make FSG readily accessible on website and cease providing link and getting consent to sharing via link, when the only financial service being provided is financial…
What are the compliance requirements for regulated managed investment schemes?
05 Sep 2023In our previous article, Managed investment schemes and when they must be registered, we looked at the definition of managed investment schemes, and what distinguishes a registered from an unregistered managed investment scheme. In this…
Managed investment schemes (MIS) and when they must be registered
01 Sep 2023The term “managed investment scheme” is often used but not always well understood. You might have come across the term while planning a new business venture which will involve attracting investors and having them contribute…
Regulation and risk collide: managing information as an AFS licensee
01 May 2023With the recent spate of data breaches now extending to the financial services industry, Australian financial services licensees are racing to ensure that their information management procedures are up to scratch, fearing that they may…
Our submission in relation to the Quality of Advice Review Consultation Paper – Proposals for Reform
19 Sep 2022Name/Organisation: Holley Nethercote Lawyers Questions Intended outcomes 1. Do you agree that advisers and product issuers should be able to provide personal advice to their customers without having to comply with all of the obligations…
Our feedback to Treasury’s issues paper ‘Quality of Advice Review’
10 Jun 2022Email: [email protected] Dear Ms Levy, RE: Quality of advice review – issues paper Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on Treasury’s issues paper Quality of Advice Review (the Issues Paper). ABOUT US We…
High Court to provide clarity on the meaning of Personal and General Financial Product advice
27 Aug 2020The High Court of Australia is set to provide clarity as to when the line will be crossed between the giving of general financial product advice and the giving of personal financial product advice. Westpac…
I’m a Responsible Manager. What does this mean?
15 Apr 2020We regularly train Responsible Managers (“RMs”) of AFS licensees to help them better understand their role. Many RMs are curious to know what they have to do and whether they are personally exposed. To get a handle…
Regulatory Developments – All that you can’t leave behind
31 Jan 2020As you turned the corner into 2020, you might have been grateful to leave the events of 2019 behind you. But regulatory developments in 2019 will drive the agenda in 2020 and beyond. We asked…
Directors duties of a responsibility entity
05 Sep 2019Need a hand with understanding your duties as director of a responsible entity? Check out this case that made it all the way to the High Court. The case In the case, a responsible entity…
Protecting your AFSL from advisers who breach
04 Sep 2019Being able to sever ties with an adviser who is causing you to breach your AFSL obligations is an important consideration for licensees. AR agreements and internal auditors You should be sure that your authorised…
Essential things you should know about contracts
03 Sep 2019Even if you engage lawyers to draft or review your contracts, there are some essential things you should know. 1. The contract document does not necessarily reflect the whole agreement Even if its heading includes…