• COVID -19: The cost of the government's JobSeeker scheme has been revised down to $70bn
• COVID-19: 'JobMaker' plan announced: The Prime Minister outlines the COVID-19 recovery plan
• COVID-19: 155 business leaders have signed a statement calling on governments globally to commit to putting the transition to a low carbon economy at the centre of COVID-19 recovery plans
• COVID-19 has underlined the importance of transitioning to a more sustainable economic footing? WEF CEO Action Group commits to advocate for, and support the implementation of, the European Green Deal
• In Brief | Most businesses think the implementation of WFH because of COVID-19 has negatively impacted productivity? A joint Australia-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce report ranks loss of productivity (59% of businesses said WFH arrangements have had a negative impact on productivity and only 8% reported productivity improvements) as one of the three top impacts of the pandemic
  
   

• COVID-19: No time to deprioritise diversity? The AICD's latest progress report on board (gender) diversity has found that there has been no improvement since January 8
• ECB sets gender diversity targets to increase female staff numbers at all levels within the organisation to between 40% and 51 % by 2026

• COVID-19: Temporary short selling bans have been lifted in Austria, Belgium, France, Greece and Spain
•  In Brief | A group of 12 academics have petitioned the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to tighten the current regulatory framework (including disclosure requirements) to address the issue of 'manipulative short selling'
•  As You Sow has welcomed the level of investor support for the climate resolution at the JP Morgan AGM 

• COVID-19: 'No free pass' for companies on ESG issues during the pandemic says LAPFF

• COVID-19: Directors to be temporarily insulated from 'opportunistic class actions'
•  A possible breach of continuous disclosure requirements? Labour senator Tony Sheldon has reportedly called on ASIC to investigate a possible breach of continuous disclosure requirements by Rex
• The European Central Bank is consulting on draft guidance setting out its expectations for factoring in, monitoring and reporting on ESG risk 16

FINSIA Forum – coverage of regulators' opening remarks

• COVID-19: APRA's position on capital buffers, dividends and loan deferrals, and the rationale behind it 
• RBA says current measures appear to be working and has called for a 'reinvigorated economic reform agenda'
• ASIC to release a revised set of strategic priorities in the next few months

Other Developments 

• FRC Chair to step down at the end of May to return to the private sector

• Top Story | Foreign financial services regime – your questions answered
• Ban on conflicted remuneration extended to LICs from 1 July 2020
• Litigation funders will be regulated under the Corporations Act
• Deferral of retirement income framework legislation announced to allow more time for consultation
• Coalition MP Tim Wilson has reportedly called for ASIC and APRA to review conflicts of interest arising from 'vertical integration' in industry superannuation funds
• Early Access to Superannuation Scheme: Treasury confirms it is not aware of any evidence that superannuation funds have encountered liquidity issues as a result of the scheme
• Early Access to Superannuation Scheme: $1.7bn worth of applications paid in the week to 17 May 24
• In Brief | Early Access to Superannuation Scheme – arrest announced.  The Department of Foreign Affairs has announced that a woman has been charged with fraudulently seeking to gain early access to other people's superannuation savings by submitting several false claims on behalf of other people. DFAT says that the arrest follows a referral by the ATO
• In Brief | The AIST has advised that the ATO has temporarily suspended the ATO's Supermatch tool due to identity fraud concerns.  The AIST quotes the ATO as saying that the service has been suspended 'until such time as the industry can work with the ATO to provide increased certainty that they have mitigated the risk of weak online account creation controls'
• In Brief | APRA has released superannuation statistics for March 2020.  According to APRA, total superannuation assets decreased 7.7% over the March quarter.  The SMH reports that the quarter is the worst on record for the sector
• In Brief | Another step towards the launch of Open Banking in July: The ACCC has launched the Consumer Data Right Register and Accreditation Application Platform (RAAP) which the Treasurer and Assistant Minister for Financial Services and Financial Technology describe as 'a portal where businesses can apply to be accredited to be able to transmit data under the CDR regime. It also represents the core IT infrastructure that will support the delivery of the CDR ensuring that consumers' data is only shared securely between parties that are accredited by the ACCC'
• In Brief | Modelling bushfire insurance on Medicare?  With 1 in 20 Australian homes estimated to be uninsurable by the end of the century, a UNSW report argues that an alternative fire insurance model, based on fairness as social justice, rather than the current market driven model, would deliver better outcomes

• In Brief | COVID-19: ASIC has released FAQs on financial reporting and audit.  Among other things, the guidance sets out ASIC’s focus areas for companies, directors and auditors for financial reporting in light of the pandemic
• In Brief | COVID-10: The AASB and AUASB have released joint guidance for directors' and management's on their duties and responsibilities in relation to assessments of solvency and going concern, and to assist auditors by providing an overview of an auditor's obligations in relation to going concern and directors' declarations of solvency
• In Brief | The AUASB has released Frequently Asked Questions on auditing accounting estimates and related disclosures in response to a COVID-19 event

• COVID-19: UK Insolvency and Governance Bill introduced