ASIC Class Order [CO 14/1249]

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2014L01690 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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ASIC CLASS ORDER [CO 14/1249]

 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Prepared by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission

 

Corporations Act 2001

 

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) makes ASIC Class Order [CO 14/1249] under subsection 1020F(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act).

 

Subsection 1020F(1) of the Act provides that ASIC may exempt a person or class of persons from all or specified provisions of Part 7.9 of the Act.

 

  1. Background

 

A trustee of a superannuation fund must provide, at least annually or when a member leaves the fund, a periodic statement to a member of the fund to help the member understand their investment in the fund.  

 

The Superannuation and Corporations Legislation Amendment (Low Income Superannuation Contribution) Regulation 2013 introduced paragraph 7.9.20(2A) of the Corporations Regulations 2001 which requires that superannuation trustees must state separately in periodic statements given to members:

 

a)      the amount of Government co-contributions received; and

b)     the amount of low income superannuation contributions (LISC) received. 

 

The exemption set out in ASIC Class Order [CO 13/1420] provides interim relief from paragraph 7.9.20(2A) so that trustees are not required to separately report the amount of Government co-contributions and LISC received, but can instead group those amounts together as a total amount, so long as certain conditions are met.

 

In October 2013, the Government released an exposure draft of the Minerals Resources Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2013 (Bill) which proposed to abolish payment of the LISC from 1 July 2014.

 

In anticipation of the impending abolition of the LISC from 1 July 2014, CO 13/1420 was issued to facilitate business given the short length of time trustees would have to implement systems changes necessary to comply with paragraph 7.9.20(2A), mitigate trustee's costs of complying and provide certainty pending the outcome of the Bill. 

 

Relief under ASIC Class Order [CO 13/1420] was therefore provided to apply to periodic statements with a reporting period ending on or before 31 December 2014. 

 

However, the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Act 2014 now

retains the LISC until 30 June 2017.  This means that trustees will have to separately report Government co-contributions and LISC in respect of reporting periods covering a relatively short period of time (1 January 2015 - 1 July 2017). 

 

2.      Purpose of the class order

 

The purpose of this class order is to extend the exemption in CO13/1420 for a further six months so that it now applies to periodic statements with reporting periods ending on or before 30 June 2015.  This six months extension of time will provide further time to make appropriate changes to deal with the ongoing reporting of LISC.

 

3.      Operation of the class order

 

This class order operates to extend the relief given from the requirement to separately report Government co-contributions and LISC in periodic statements so that it applies to periodic statements with reporting periods that end on or before 30 June 2015. 

 

4.      Consultation

 

ASIC undertook an informal consultation process with respect to extending the operation of [CO 13/1420], even though the extension is only minor in nature.  The purpose of extending the interim relief is to enable further consideration as to how best to deal with the ongoing obligation to separately report LISC in periodic statements.  To this end, we consulted with the Australian Government Treasury and with the relevant industry bodies, and those that responded had no objection to a six months extension. 


Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
 

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
 

ASIC Class Order [CO 14/1249]

 

This class order is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

 

Overview of the class order

 

The Superannuation and Corporations Legislation Amendment (Low Income Superannuation Contribution) Regulation 2013 introduced paragraph 7.9.20(2A) of the Corporations Regulations 2001.  This requires that superannuation trustees must state separately in periodic statements given to members:

 

a)      the amount of Government co-contributions received; and

b)     the amount of low income superannuation contributions (LISC) received. 

 

ASIC Class Order [CO 13/1420] provides interim relief from the requirement in paragraph 7.9.20(2A) to separately report these payments on certain conditions including a requirement to report an aggregate amount.  The interim relief applies to periodic statements for reporting periods ending on or before 31 December 2014.

 

The purpose of this class order is to extend the exemption in [CO 13/1420] for a further six months so that it now applies to periodic statements for reporting periods ending on or before 30 June 2015.

 

Human rights implications

 

This class order does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

 

Conclusion

 

This class order is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

Overview

The ASIC Class Order [CO 14/1249], enacted in 2014, was introduced by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) under the Corporations Act 2001 to address the transitional challenges faced by superannuation trustees in complying with new reporting requirements for periodic statements. The Superannuation and Corporations Legislation Amendment (Low Income Superannuation Contribution) Regulation 2013 had mandated that trustees must separately report the amount of Government co-contributions and low income superannuation contributions (LISC) in periodic statements to fund members. However, anticipating the abolition of the LISC, ASIC Class Order [CO 13/1420] provided interim relief allowing trustees to report these amounts together, provided certain conditions were met. With the subsequent retention of the LISC until 30 June 2017, ASIC Class Order [CO 14/1249] was enacted to extend the interim relief period by six months, to periodic statements with reporting periods ending on or before 30 June 2015, allowing trustees additional time to adjust to the ongoing reporting requirements.

Scope and Application

The ASIC Class Order [CO 14/1249] applies to trustees of superannuation funds who are required to provide periodic statements to their members, detailing the members' investments within the fund. This class order extends the exemption provided under a previous class order [CO 13/1420], which initially applied to periodic statements for reporting periods ending on or before 31 December 2014. By virtue of this new class order, the exemption now applies to periodic statements with reporting periods ending on or before 30 June 2015, offering an additional six months of relief. This extension allows trustees to report an aggregate amount of Government co-contributions and low income superannuation contributions (LISC) received, instead of separately reporting each component. The class order is made under the Corporations Act 2001, and its reach is national, applying across Australia. The exemption does not apply to any specific exclusions or exemptions mentioned in the text, and no thresholds are specified. The application of the class order may be extended or restricted through subordinate instruments, although no such provisions are mentioned in this context.

Key Provisions

The ASIC Class Order [CO 14/1249] under subsection 1020F(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 provides an extension to the interim relief given in ASIC Class Order [CO 13/1420]. This relief pertains to the requirement for superannuation trustees to separately report Government co-contributions and Low Income Superannuation Contributions (LISC) in periodic statements. The extension applies to periodic statements for reporting periods ending on or before 30 June 2015, rather than the original 31 December 2014. This extension is intended to allow trustees additional time to adjust their reporting processes in light of the ongoing obligation to separately report LISC, as the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Act 2014 has retained the LISC until 30 June 2017. Under this class order, trustees are permitted to group the amounts of Government co-contributions and LISC together as a total amount in their periodic statements, provided they also report an aggregate amount. This exemption aims to alleviate the burden on trustees during a transitional period. Trustees must still ensure that the total amount is clearly reported, thus maintaining transparency for superannuation members. The order is designed to be operationally flexible while ensuring that the fundamental requirement of clear reporting is not compromised. The obligations imposed on trustees by this class order include ensuring that periodic statements for the specified reporting periods adhere to the exemption. Trustees must report an aggregate amount of Government co-contributions and LISC, even though they are not required to separately state each amount. They must also ensure that all other disclosure requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 and related regulations are met. This includes providing accurate and timely information to superannuation members about their investments. There are no specific offences or penalties outlined in the class order itself. However, trustees who fail to comply with the Corporations Act 2001 or other related regulations could face civil or criminal penalties. For instance, under section 1317E of the Act, individuals who are officers of a corporation and fail to discharge their duties with the care and diligence expected of a reasonable person in similar circumstances may be subject to penalties. The maximum penalties for these offences can include fines of up to $210,000 for individuals and $1,050,000 for corporations, depending on the severity and nature of the breach. Additionally, officers found in breach may be disqualified from managing corporations.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.