The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry has effectively opened for business, almost two months after its draft terms were announced by the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.Turnbull also named former High Court Judge Kenneth Hayne as Royal Commissioner.Yesterday, the Royal Commission secretariat confirmed what some industry pundits had already predicted: that the invitation for public submissions would be launched this week, with a three-week lead-time ahead of its first public hearing.In a brief announcement on its website the Commission said that its initial public hearing will be held in Melbourne on 12 February 2018. The session will be open to the public and streamed live through the Royal Commission's website.At this hearing the Commissioner and senior counsel assisting will make short opening statements. No witnesses will be called. In this regard, the first Royal Commission practice guideline - also issued yesterday - stated that [the Commission] "proposes to issue a further Practice Guideline in relation to leave to appear" on 12 February.The Commission's announcement yesterday also invited submissions from "any individual or entity wishing to tell the Commission about misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation or Financial Services Industry". Not everyone who makes a submission will be contacted, however, and the Commission warned that it cannot resolve individual disputes, fix or award compensation, or make orders requiring a party to a dispute to take or not take any action.