Australian Securities and Investments Commission Class Order [Co 02/0143] (Cth)

Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Corporations Act 2001 — Paragraph 1020F(1)(a) — Exemption

Under paragraph 1020F(1)(a) of the Corporations Act 2001 (the “Act”), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”) hereby exempts the class of persons specified in Schedule A in the case specified in Schedule B from subsection 1018A(2) of the Act for so long as and on condition that:

1          the offeror does not in aggregate publish more than 5,000 advertisements and statements of the type referred to in Schedule B;

2          the offeror does not permit an organisation which it engages for the purpose of market research of the type permitted by this exemption (“the market research organisation”) to reveal to the offeror the names or addresses of any of the persons contacted for the purpose of such market research; and

3          the offeror provides, and permits the market research organisation to provide, information (“prescribed matter”) to which subsection 1018A(2) would apply in relation to a particular financial product or proposed financial product to persons only to the extent necessary to enable:

(a)        the market research organisation to conduct market research as mentioned in Schedule B; and

(b)        those persons to answer questions asked of them by the market research organisation for the purposes of that research.

SCHEDULE A

A corporation (an “offeror”) and an organisation in the business of conducting market research being an organisation engaged by (but not otherwise associated with) the offeror for the purpose of conducting market research (a “bona fide market research organisation”).

SCHEDULE B

An advertisement or statement which:

(a)        is published by the offeror or the bona fide market research organisation;

(b) contains prescribed matter in relation to a financial product which is not available for acquisition by persons as retail clients but is reasonably likely to become so available (whether or not it is, or will also become, available for acquisition by persons as wholesale clients) by way of issue, or pursuant to sale offers to which section 1012C of the Act will apply, to be made pursuant to a Product Disclosure Statement which will state that the product is, or will be, able to be traded on a financial market operated by Australian Stock Exchange Limited; and

(c)        is published solely for the purpose of market research by a bona fide market research organisation to ascertain:

(i)         the number of copies of the Product Disclosure Statement which should be printed in order to meet demand;

(ii)        to whom the intended offer should be marketed; and

(iii)       the type and extent of marketing which should be undertaken.

Commencement

This instrument takes effect on the commencement of Schedule 1 to the Financial Services Reform Act 2001.

Dated the 6th day of February 2002

Signed by Brendan Byrne
as a delegate of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission