St. George Life Limited, in the matter of St. George Life Limited

The case involves an application by St. George Life Limited and Westpac Life Insurance Services Limited for an order under section 193 of the Life Insurance Act 1995 (Cth) for confirmation of a scheme transferring life insurance business. The Federal Court was required to decide whether it should allow the dispensation of providing an approved summary of the scheme to every affected policy owner. The court was also tasked with determining if the proposed notification process for policy owners was adequate.

The court considered the nature of the scheme and the circumstances surrounding its preparation. It noted that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) had approved the application and that the proposed notification process included mailing the summary to policy owners, publishing notices in the media, making the scheme documents available for inspection, providing a toll-free phone number, and setting up a dedicated email address for inquiries. The court found that the proposed process was sufficient to inform affected policy owners about the scheme. Consequently, the court allowed the application and dispensed with the requirement to provide an approved summary of the scheme to every affected policy owner, subject to the specified conditions.

The final orders include dispensing with the requirement to give an approved summary of the scheme to certain policy owners, requiring the plaintiffs to publish notices and make scheme documents available for public inspection and download, setting up a call centre and a dedicated email address for inquiries, and providing copies of the scheme documents upon request. The application was adjourned to a later date for a confirmation hearing, and the plaintiffs were directed to pay APRA's costs of the proceedings.