Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Enterprise Solutions 2000 Pty Ltd

The appellants, Enterprise Solutions 2000 Pty Ltd, were found to have contravened the Corporations Law by operating what the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) deemed to be a managed investment scheme without the necessary licence. ASIC sought to have the scheme declared unlawful and for the appellants to be enjoined from operating it. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The primary concern of the court was whether the schemes operated by the appellants constituted a "managed investment scheme" as defined by section 9 of the Corporations Law. This involved determining whether the rights acquired by the participants in the schemes were interests other than shares or charges, and whether the contributions made by the participants were pooled and produced benefits.

The court considered the definition of a "managed investment scheme" in section 9 of the Corporations Law, which includes requirements that rights be acquired, contributions be pooled, and that the pooling of contributions produce benefits. The court examined the nature of the rights acquired by participants in the schemes, whether they were interests other than shares or charges, and the extent to which the contributions made by participants were pooled. The court also considered whether the pooling of contributions produced benefits for the participants. The court held that the schemes operated by the appellants did indeed constitute a "managed investment scheme" as defined in section 9 of the Corporations Law, as the rights acquired by participants were interests other than shares or charges, contributions were pooled, and the pooling of contributions produced benefits.

The court further found that the appellants had contravened the Corporations Law by operating the schemes without the necessary licence. The court dismissed the appeal and ordered that the costs of the proceeding be assessed.