ASIC Corporations and Superannuation (Website Disclosure Deferral) Instrument 2022/808

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2022N00203 In force Notifiable Instrument

Legislation content

ASIC Corporations and Superannuation (Website Disclosure Deferral) Instrument 2022/808

I, Jane Eccleston, delegate of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, make the following notifiable instrument.

 

Date 14 September 2022

 

Jane Eccleston

 

Contents

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Name of notifiable instrument

2 Commencement

3 Authority

4 Definitions

Part 2—Exemptions

5 SIS Act exemption - website information

6 Corporations Act exemption - complaints management documentation

7 Corporations Act exemption – availability of target market determination

8 Corporations Act exemption - product dashboard information

9 Corporations Act exemption - unclaimed monies information

10 Conditions

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Name of notifiable instrument

This is the ASIC Corporations and Superannuation (Website Disclosure Deferral) Instrument 2022/808.

2 Commencement

This instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Note:    The register may be accessed at www.legislation.gov.au.

3 Authority

This instrument is made under:

(a)  in relation to sections 5 and 10 of this instrument, subsection 328(1) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993; and

(b)  in relation to sections 6 to 9 and 10 of this instrument, subsections 926A(2), 994L(1), and 1020F(1) of the Corporations Act 2001.

4 Definitions

In this instrument:

Corporations Act means the Corporations Act 2001.

Deferral Period means the period commencing on the date this instrument commences and ending on the earlier of:

(a) the day that is three months after this instrument commences; and

(b) the business day before the Vanguard Super Fund begins accepting applications for membership from members of the general public.

Expressions of Interest Webpage means the webpage maintained by or on behalf of Vangurd Super at https://www.vanguard.com.au/super/personal-details.

Initial Cohort means the persons invited to participate in a testing phase by becoming the first members of the Vanguard Super Fund, prior to the Vanguard Super Fund being opened to members of the general public.

product disclosure document, in relation to an interest in a regulated superannuation fund, means:

(a) any Product Disclosure Statement for an interest in the fund;

(b)  any document containing the fund information required under Subdivision 5.6 of Division 5 of Part 7.9 of the Corporations Regulations 2001.

Product Disclosure Statement has the same meaning as in the Corporations Act 2001.

Relative means any of the relationships described in the definition of “relative” in section 9 of the Corporations Act.

Regulations means the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994.

Regulatory Guide 271 means ASIC Regulatory Guide 271 Internal Dispute Resolution as published on 2 September 2021.

SIS Act means the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.

Vanguard Super means Vanguard Super Pty Ltd ACN 643 614 386 in its capacity as the trustee of the Vanguard Super Fund.

Vanguard Super Fund means the fund constituted by the trust deed dated 22 July 2022 and of which Vanguard Super Pty Ltd is trustee.

Part 2—Exemptions

5 SIS Act exemption - website information

(1) Vanguard Super does not have to comply with subsection 29QB(1) of the SIS Act to the extent that it requires Vanguard Super to make publicly available, or update, any of the following details, documents or information on the Vanguard Super Fund’s website during the Deferral Period:

(a)    details about a person referred to in item 1 of the table in subregulation 2.37(1) of the Regulations; 

(b)    details referred to in each of items 2 to 4 of the table in subregulation 2.37(1) of the Regulations;

(c) details referred to item in 9 of the table in subregulation 2.37(1) of the Regulations;

(d)    a document referred to in each of paragraphs 2.38(2)(a) to (c) of the Regulations; 

(e)     a product disclosure statement referred to in paragraph 2.38(2)(e) of the Regulations;

(f) information in relation to a person referred to in paragraph 2.38(2)(i) of the Regulations;

(g) information in relation to a person referred to in paragraph 2.38(2)(j) of the Regulations;

(h) a record of attendance for a director referred to in paragraph 2.38(2)(k) of the Regulations; 

(i) a register referred to in paragraph 2.38(2)(l) of the Regulations;  

(j) a summary of the conflicts management policy referred to in paragraph 2.38(2)(m) of the Regulations;

(k)    a policy referred to in paragraph 2.38(2)(n) of the Regulations;

(l) the constitution referred to in paragraph 2.38(3)(a) of the Regulations.

(2) The exemption specified in subsection 5(1) applies where Vanguard Super complies with the conditions in section 10.

6 Corporations Act exemption - complaints management documentation

(1) Vanguard Super does not have to comply with the standard and requirement made by ASIC for the purposes of subsection 912A(2) of the Corporations Act in paragraph 172 of Regulatory Guide 271 as made and approved in subparagraph 5(1)(m)(i) of ASIC Corporations, Credit and Superannuation (Internal Dispute Resolution) Instrument 2020/98, to make publicly available its complaint management documentation for the Vanguard Super Fund during the Deferral Period.

(2) The exemption specified in subsection 6(1) applies where Vanguard Super complies with the conditions in section 10.

7 Corporations Act exemption – availability of target market determination

(1) Vanguard Super does not have to comply with subsection 994B(9) of the Corporations Act in relation to the Vanguard Super Fund during the Deferral Period.

(2) The exemption specified in subsection 7(1) applies where Vanguard Super complies with the conditions in section 10.

8 Corporations Act exemption - product dashboard information

(1) Vanguard Super does not have to comply with section 1017BA(1) of the Corporations Act in relation to the Vanguard Super Fund during the Deferral Period.

(2) The exemption specified in subsection 8(1) applies where Vanguard Super complies with the conditions in section 10.

9 Corporations Act exemption - unclaimed monies information

(1) Vanguard Super does not have to comply with the condition set out in section 6(2) of ASIC Corporations (Unclaimed Superannuation – Former Temporary Residents) Instrument 2019/873 to make certain statements and information available on the website for the Vanguard Super Fund during the Deferral Period.

(2) The exemption specified in subsection 9(1) applies where Vanguard Super complies with the conditions in section 10.

10 Conditions

Maximum number of participants in Initial Cohort

(1) During the Deferral Period Vanguard Super must not offer membership of the Vanguard Super Fund to anyone other than a person in the Initial Cohort.

(2) The Initial Cohort must not consist of more than:

(a)  50 employees of Vanguard Super or its related bodies corporate operating within Australia; and

(b) three additional natural persons, each of whom are a Relative of a person referred to in paragraph (a).

Requirement to provide copies of complaint management documentation

(3) Vanguard Super must provide each person in the Initial Cohort with a copy of the complaint management documentation for the Vanguard Super Fund mentioned in section 6(1) before that person becomes a member of the Vanguard Super Fund, and if those documents are updated during the Deferral Period, Vanguard Super must provide persons in the Initial Cohort with the updated documents within 5 business days of the update taking effect.

Details, documents and information to be made available to members of the Initial Cohort directly

(4) Before Vanguard Super accepts an application to become a member of the Vanguard Super Fund from a person in the Initial Cohort each person in the Initial Cohort must be provided with the details, documents and information required to be publicly available on the Vanguard Super Fund website (including the details, documents and information referred to in subsection 5(1)) during the Deferral Period in hard copy format or by electronic means (at the election of the member of the Initial Cohort).

(5) If updates to the details, documents and information made available to the Initial Cohort under to subsection (4) are required during the Deferral Period, Vanguard Super must ensure that members of the Initial Cohort who become  members of the Vanguard Super Fund are provided with updated details, documents or information in hard copy format or by electronic means (at the election of the member)  within five business days of the relevant occurrence or change taking effect.

Restrictions on marketing to retail clients

(6) Vanguard Super must not, and must ensure that its service providers do not undertake any marketing of the Vanguard Super Fund to retail investors, other than the maintenance of the Expressions of Interest Webpage during the Deferral Period.

(7) Vanguard Super must ensure that the Expressions of Interest Webpage complies with section 1018A of the Corporations Act and only contains statements which are factual and accurate. 

 

Overview

The ASIC Corporations and Superannuation (Website Disclosure Deferral) Instrument 2022/808 was enacted to address specific disclosure requirements for Vanguard Super, a superannuation fund, during its initial operational phase. This instrument was made under the authority of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and the Corporations Act 2001 by Jane Eccleston, a delegate of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The policy objective is to provide a temporary deferral for Vanguard Super in disclosing certain information on its website and other documents to protect the fund during its initial operational phase and to allow for internal testing and adjustments before the fund is fully opened to the general public. The instrument outlines a "Deferral Period," during which Vanguard Super is exempt from certain disclosure obligations, provided it meets specific conditions such as limiting membership to an initial cohort and ensuring that members of this cohort receive necessary documents and information directly.

Scope and Application

The ASIC Corporations and Superannuation (Website Disclosure Deferral) Instrument 2022/808 pertains specifically to Vanguard Super, operating as the trustee for the Vanguard Super Fund, and exempts it from certain disclosure requirements under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and the Corporations Act 2001. This exemption applies solely during the Deferral Period, which starts on the day the instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation and ends three months later or when Vanguard Super begins accepting applications from the general public, whichever comes first. The exemptions cover various types of information that Vanguard Super would otherwise need to make publicly available on its website, including details about specific individuals, documents such as product disclosure statements, and information related to conflicts management and unclaimed monies. However, these exemptions are conditional on Vanguard Super adhering to specific conditions, such as limiting the Initial Cohort to no more than 50 employees and three relatives of those employees, providing updated documents to the Initial Cohort, and directly supplying required information to the Initial Cohort in hard copy or electronically. Additionally, Vanguard Super must not market the Vanguard Super Fund to retail investors except through a maintained Expressions of Interest Webpage, which must comply with relevant Corporations Act requirements.

Key Provisions

The ASIC Corporations and Superannuation (Website Disclosure Deferral) Instrument 2022/808 provides a set of exemptions and conditions for Vanguard Super, a superannuation fund, during a specific period referred to as the "Deferral Period" (section 4). These exemptions pertain to certain disclosure requirements under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS Act) and the Corporations Act 2001. For instance, Vanguard Super is exempt from making publicly available certain details and documents about the fund, such as information on directors, product disclosure statements, and the fund’s constitution, during this period (section 5). Similarly, the fund is exempt from publishing complaints management documentation, target market determinations, product dashboard information, and unclaimed monies information on its website (sections 6 to 9). Vanguard Super is subject to specific conditions during the Deferral Period to ensure the exemptions are utilised appropriately. The fund is limited to offering membership only to the Initial Cohort, which consists of up to 53 individuals, including employees of Vanguard Super and their relatives (section 10(1)). Additionally, Vanguard Super must provide the Initial Cohort with copies of the complaint management documentation and any updates within five business days (section 10(3)). Members of the Initial Cohort must also be given all details, documents, and information that would normally be available on the fund’s website, either in hard copy or electronic format (section 10(4) and (5)). Marketing to retail investors is restricted to the maintenance of an Expressions of Interest Webpage, which must comply with relevant Corporations Act requirements and contain only factual and accurate statements (section 10(6) and (7)). Failure to comply with the conditions outlined in section 10 may result in serious consequences. Although the specific offences, penalties, or consequences for breach are not detailed within the text provided, non-compliance with the requirements of the SIS Act and the Corporations Act could potentially lead to enforcement actions by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Such actions may include fines, legal proceedings, and other regulatory sanctions. It is essential for Vanguard Super to adhere strictly to the conditions to avoid these potential repercussions.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Corporate Law & Governance
Instrument
Notifiable instrument
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Exemptions & Exclusions
Conditions

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

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.