Step beyond compliance and take decisive action to strengthen your financial hardship responses. Pinpoint gaps in your current approach, sharpen your processes against ASIC’s latest expectations and implement improvements that stand up to regulatory scrutiny. Learn how to apply general conduct obligations in practice, reduce enforcement risk and respond confidently to emerging pressure points. With real case insights and over $80 million in penalties as the backdrop, you’ll walk away ready to uplift your frameworks, improve customer outcomes and deliver consistent, compliant and compassionate hardship support.
Wednesday, 29 July 2026
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD unit in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
12.00pm to 1.00pm Financial Hardship – From Compliance to Care
ASIC continues to focus on how lenders deal with customers in hardship.
- Unpack the key findings from ASIC's hardship review, including where we have seen significant uplift in lenders’ processes and where there is still room for improvement across the lending industry
- Discuss how the general conduct obligations on credit licensees are becoming an important enforcement tool for the regulator
- With over $80 million in penalties (and counting!) for hardship breaches in recent years, consider lessons from the cases ASIC have run, and what lenders should be focused on when supporting customers in hardship.
Presented by Rachel Walker, Partner, Gilbert & Tobin; Chambers Asia-Pacific 2026
Ranked Up and Coming in Financial Services Regulation, The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2026 Recognised as a Next Generation Partner in Fintech and financial services regulatory, Chambers FinTech Legal 2026 Ranked in FinTech
Chair:
Mark Hosking, Barrister, List A Barristers
Presenters
Rachel Walker, Partner, Gilbert + TobinKnown for her solution-focused approach, Rachel consistently evaluates challenges through both a legal and commercial lens. She has extensive experience advising a diverse range of clients, from major banks and private lenders to banking service providers and aggregators. Her expertise spans a broad spectrum, including National Consumer Credit Protection Act and National Credit Code compliance, BNPL products, commercial credit, and credit-related matters including licensing, compliance with industry codes and regulator engagement. She has significant experience setting up new lenders and conducting regulatory due diligence, including advising on product development, standard form documentation and policies and procedures for both retail and commercial lenders. Rachel is also skilled in advising on regulatory change, origination arrangements, regulatory breaches and remediation programs, and financial services advertising. She regularly assists clients to navigate interactions with regulators including ASIC, APRA, AUSTRAC and the OAIC, and with AFCA disputes. Her work with fintechs, alternative finance providers and on digital transformation projects further underscores her versatility.
Mark Hosking, Barrister, List A Barristers
Mark advises and appears in constitutional and administrative law matters, regulatory proceedings, environmental law matters, and general commercial matters. He has extensive experience appearing in civil penalty proceedings (particularly in the financial services sector), judicial review proceedings (in relation to both Commonwealth and State administrative decisions), and constitutional law proceedings. Before coming to the Bar, Mark was an associate to the Hon Justice Crennan AC at the High Court of Australia and a solicitor at Allens.
