Currently trending: Interim stop orders – ASIC's focus on design and distribution

When we think of trending, we think of what's popular on Twitter or TikTok, and these trends generally don't last longer than a couple of days to a week.

When it comes to what's "trending" in terms of regulatory matters, news on design and distribution obligations (DDO) and ASIC's latest round of interim stop orders, appears to be one such trend, with no sign of slowing down.

DDO Regime

Since 5 October 2021, product issuers and distributors have been required to comply with DDO (for more information on this, please refer to our previous articles - What are design and distribution product governance arrangements? and Product Design and Distribution Obligations - What you need to know). Whilst for the first 9 months, it seemed like product issuers were given some leeway from being tested on how they comply with DDO, that has all changed in the last 12 months.Since June 2022, ASIC has been hitting product issuers with interim stop orders due to alleged