Re Bellavista Resources Limited

Bellavista Resources Limited (the plaintiff) applied to the Supreme Court of Western Australia for relief under s 1322(4) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Act) in respect of a failure by the company to lodge its first half-yearly reports as required by ss 302 and 320 of the Act. The plaintiff sought an order extending the end of the company’s first half-yearly reporting period under s 302 of the Act, from 31 May 2022 to 30 June 2022. Alternatively, the plaintiff sought an order that a newly prepared addendum be deemed to have been included in the directors’ report for the financial year ending 30 June 2022, together with associated service orders. The relief was sought to bring Bellavista Resources within the relief from compliance permitted by the terms of s 6(2)(b) of ASIC Corporations (Disclosing Entities) Instrument 2016/190. Lundberg J considered that the primary relief sought by the plaintiff was not supported by s 1322(4)(d) of the Act. Instead, the more orthodox manner in which to deal with the plaintiff’s concerns was to permit the plaintiff to secure the relief under ASIC Instrument 2016/190 upon which it would otherwise have sought to rely. Lundberg J made the following orders: (1) Pursuant to s 1322(4)(d) of the Act, the time period within which the plaintiff was required to give notice to the ASX for the purposes of section 6(2)(a)(i)(B) of the ASIC Instrument be extended to 10 February 2023. (2) Pursuant to s 1322(4) of the Act, the giving of notice of these proceedings by the plaintiff to the ASX on 10 February 2023, which included a copy of the addendum, be deemed to be sufficient compliance with the requirement under section 6(2)(a)(i)(B) of the ASIC Instrument to give notice to the ASX. (3) Pursuant to s 1322(4) of the Act, the addendum be deemed to have been included in the plaintiff’s directors’ report for the financial year ending 30 June 2022 and to take effect as sufficient compliance with the requirement under section 6(2)(b) of the ASIC Instrument for the directors’ report to explain and state the matters specified in that section. (4) As soon as reasonably practicable, the plaintiff is to publish an announcement to the ASX in which a copy of these orders is included and place a copy of these orders on its own website to remain there for at least 28 days. (5) For a period of 28 days from the date of publication of these orders on the ASX website, any person who claims to have suffered substantial injustice or is likely to suffer substantial injustice by the making of any or all of these orders has liberty to apply to vary or discharge them within that period. (6) A sealed copy of these orders is to be served on ASIC as soon as reasonably practicable and upon service of these orders on ASIC, ASIC is to include these orders on its database. (7) There be no order as to costs.