Macquarie Life Limited, in the matter of Macquarie Life Limited

In the matter of Macquarie Life Limited, the Australian Federal Court considered an application under section 193 of the Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth) for confirmation of a scheme transferring life insurance business. The application also sought an interlocutory dispensation from certain requirements under section 191(2)(c) of the Act, specifically the need to provide an approved summary of the scheme to certain policy owners. The applicants, Macquarie Life Limited and Zurich Australia Limited, sought to transfer life insurance business from Macquarie Life Limited to Zurich Australia Limited. The dispute centred on the interpretation of the term "affected policy owner" under the Life Insurance Act and how it differed from "affected policyholder" under the Insurance Act 1973 (Cth). The court needed to decide whether the term "affected policy owner" referred to a policy affected by the scheme or an owner affected by the scheme.

The court held that the term "affected policy owner" referred to a policy affected by the scheme. The court reasoned that this interpretation was consistent with the legislative intent to protect policyholders who would be directly affected by the scheme. The court also considered the adequacy of the proposed steps to minimise disadvantage to those policy owners who would not receive the scheme summary directly. These steps included mailing out the scheme summary, publishing a notice of intention, maintaining inspection documents for public access, and training contact centre staff. The court found these steps to be adequate and granted the dispensation as sought. Consequently, the court ordered that the requirements of section 191(2)(c) of the Act be dispensed with for certain policy owners, provided the applicants took the specified steps to inform and protect the interests of those policy owners. The application was adjourned, and the applicants agreed to pay the costs of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.