Corporations Point-in-Time Service Updates

Monday 22 October 2018 @ 3.06 p.m.

The Corporations Point-in-Time Service has been updated to include the Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding for Proprietary Companies) Act 2018 (Cth) (Act 106 of 2018), the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing ASIC's Capabilities) Act 2018 (Act 122 of 2018), the Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Regulations 2018 (Cth), the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Peru - Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Regulations 2018 (Cth), the Treasury Laws Amendment (Professional Standards Schemes No. 2) Regulations 2018  (Cth) and the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation) Regulations 2018 (Cth).

Act 106 of 2018

Crowd-sourced funding (CSF) is an emerging form of funding that allows entrepreneurs to raise funds from a large number of investors. Legislation to create a CSF framework for public companies will commence on 29 September 2017. Extending the CSF framework to proprietary companies will allow these companies to access an alternative form of finance with additional obligations that will protect investors.

This Act will extend the CSF regime to proprietary companies, making a new funding source available for small businesses, whilst maintaining adequate investor protections through additional obligations on companies. These obligations are expected to have compliance costs for proprietary companies that use CSF; however these costs will be lower for CSF proprietary companies than if the company were to transition to public company type under the current regime.

Act 122 of 2018

Schedule 1 of this Act amends the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (ASIC Act) to require ASIC to consider the effects that the performance of its functions and the exercise of its powers will have on competition in the financial systems. Schedule 2 of this Act amends the ASIC Act to allow ASIC to employ staff outside of the Public Service Act 1999 (PSA).

Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Regulations 2018

These regulations amend the Corporations Regulations 2001 to extend the crowd-sourced funding framework to proprietary companies and make further amendments to enhance the crowd-sourced funding framework.

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Peru - Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Regulations 2018

These regulations amend the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulation 2015 to implement Australia’s obligations with respect to the regulation of foreign investment under the Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the Republic of Peru.

Treasury Laws Amendment (Professional Standards Schemes No. 2) Regulations 2018

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Professional Standards Schemes No.2) Regulations 2018 (the Regulations) give effect to the decisions the Professional Standards Councils made to approve or amend professional standards schemes in their respective jurisdictions.

The Regulations prescribe the CPA Australia Ltd Professional Standards (Accountants) Scheme and the Institute of Public Accountants Professional Standards Scheme as new professional standards schemes that have capped civil liability for misleading or deceptive conduct as these schemes have become approved professional standards schemes in New South Wales (NSW).

Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation) Regulations 2018

These Regulations implement Australia’s obligations with respect to the regulation of foreign investment under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The amendments made by these Acts and Regulations have been updated in the Point-in-Time Corporations Service current to 22 October 2018. (NB: subscription required).

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