ASIC Corporations (Trading Suspensions Relief) Instrument 2020/289

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2020L00377 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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ASIC Corporations (Trading Suspensions Relief) Instrument 2020/289

 

About this compilation

 

Compilation No. 2

 

This is a compilation of ASIC Corporations (Trading Suspensions Relief) Instrument 2020/289 as in force on 24 September 2020. It includes any commenced amendment affecting the legislative instrument to that date.

 

This compilation was prepared by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

 

The notes at the end of this compilation (the endnotes) include information

about amending instruments and the amendment history of each amended provision.

 

 

Contents

Part 1—Preliminary

1  Name of legislative instrument

2A Repeal

3  Authority

4  Definitions

Part 2—Declaration

5 Quoted securities: rights issues that do not need disclosure

6 Quoted securities: sale offers that do not need disclosure

7 Quoted financial products: rights issues for which a Product Disclosure Statement is not required

8 Quoted financial products: Product Disclosure Statement not required for sale amounting to indirect issue

Endnotes

Endnote 1—Instrument history

Endnote 2—Amendment history

 

Part 1—Preliminary

1 Name of legislative instrument

This is the ASIC Corporations (Trading Suspensions Relief) Instrument 2020/289.

2A Repeal

This instrument is repealed on 1 January 2021.

3 Authority

This instrument is made under subsections 741(1) and 1020F(1) of Corporations Act 2001.

4 Definitions

In this instrument:

Act means the Corporations Act 2001.

regulated person has the meaning given by section 1011B of the Act.

relevant product has the same meaning as in subsections 1012DAA(1) and 1012DA(1) of the Act.

relevant securities has the same meaning as in subsections 708AA(1) and 708A(1) of the Act.

Part 2—Declaration

5 Quoted securities: rights issues that do not need disclosure

(1) Chapter 6D of the Act applies to all persons as if paragraph 708AA(2)(c) of the Act were modified or varied by omitting “5 days” and substituting “10 days”.

(2) This section 5 applies in relation to an offer of relevant securities for issue in a class of securities on a prescribed financial market on which they are quoted where the relevant securities in the class of securities in relation to which trading in the class was not suspended for more than 5 days during the period commencing on the day that is 12 months before the day on which the offer is made and ending on 19 March 2020.  

 

6 Quoted securities: sale offers that do not need disclosure

(1) Chapter 6D of the Act applies to all persons as if paragraph 708A(5)(b) of the Act were modified or varied by omitting “5 days” and substituting “10 days”.

 (2) This section 6 applies in relation to a sale offer of relevant securities in a class of securities on a prescribed financial market on which they are quoted where the relevant securities in the class of securities in relation to which trading in the class was not suspended for more than 5 days during the period commencing on the day that is 12 months before the day on which the relevant securities were issued and ending on 19 March 2020.  

7 Quoted financial products: rights issues for which a Product Disclosure Statement is not required

(1) Part 7.9 of the Act applies in relation to regulated persons as if paragraph 1012DAA(2)(c) of the Act were modified or varied by omitting “5 days” and substituting “10 days”.

(2) This section 7 applies in relation to an offer of a relevant product for issue in a class of financial products on a prescribed financial market on which they are quoted where the relevant product in the class of financial products in relation to which trading in the class was not suspended for more than 5 days during the period commencing on the day that is 12 months before the day on which the offer is made and ending on 19 March 2020.

8 Quoted financial products: Product Disclosure Statement not required for sale amounting to indirect issue

(1) Part 7.9 of the Act applies in relation to regulated persons as if paragraph 1012DA(5)(b) of the Act were modified or varied by omitting “5 days” and substituting “10 days”.

(2) This section 8 applies in relation to a sale offer of a relevant product in a class of financial products on a prescribed financial market on which they are quoted where the relevant product in the class of financial products in relation to which trading in the class was not suspended for more than 5 days during the period commencing on the day that is 12 months before the day on which the relevant product was issued and ending on 19 March 2020.


Endnotes

Endnote 1—Instrument history

Instrument number

Date of FRL registration

Date of commencement

Application, saving or transitional provisions

2020/289

1/4/2020 (see F2020L00377)

2/4/2020

 

2020/565

12/6/2020 (see F2020L00697)

13/6/2020

-

2020/862

23/9/2020 (see F2020L01198)

24/9/2020

-

Endnote 2—Amendment history

ad. = added or inserted     am. = amended     LA = Legislation Act 2003    rep. = repealed     rs. = repealed and substituted

Provision affected 

How affected

Section 2

rep. s48D LA

Section 2A

ad. 2020/565

rs. 2020/862

 

 

Overview

The ASIC Corporations (Trading Suspensions Relief) Instrument 2020/289 was enacted to provide relief in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing disruptions in trading activities that were exacerbated by the suspension of trading on financial markets. This legislative instrument was made under the authority of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and is based on the Corporations Act 2001. The policy objective was to alleviate certain disclosure and regulatory burdens on companies and financial product issuers during the period of market instability, thereby supporting the continuity of financial activities and investor confidence. This instrument specifically modifies the Corporations Act to extend the timeframes for certain disclosure requirements, ensuring that companies and financial product issuers could operate with less regulatory constraint during a period of heightened market volatility.

Scope and Application

The ASIC Corporations (Trading Suspensions Relief) Instrument 2020/289 applies to the Corporations Act 2001 and modifies certain conditions regarding trading suspensions for securities and financial products. This instrument applies to all persons dealing with quoted securities or financial products on prescribed financial markets, as well as regulated persons who offer these products for issue or sale. The modifications extend to specific types of rights issues and sales of securities and financial products, altering the required disclosure periods from five to ten days. The instrument has a Commonwealth reach, being made under the authority of the Corporations Act 2001. The modifications cease to apply from 1 January 2021, as the instrument itself is repealed on this date. This legislative instrument may be extended or restricted through subordinate instruments, which would be detailed in any subsequent amendments or notes provided by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Key Provisions

The ASIC Corporations (Trading Suspensions Relief) Instrument 2020/289 primarily focuses on modifying certain provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 to provide relief in the context of trading suspensions, specifically for quoted securities and financial products. Section 5 (1) modifies Chapter 6D of the Act by extending the period from five days to ten days for the disclosure requirements associated with rights issues for quoted securities. This change is contingent on the securities not having been subject to a trading suspension for more than five days within the 12 months leading up to the offer, and before 19 March 2020. Similarly, Section 6 (1) adjusts the timeframe for sale offers of quoted securities by substituting ten days for the five-day period, again subject to the same conditions regarding trading suspensions. For quoted financial products, Section 7 (1) extends the disclosure period for rights issues from five to ten days, while Section 8 (1) does the same for sales amounting to an indirect issue, both subject to the same conditions. The Act imposes specific obligations on parties and entities it governs, primarily by extending the permissible timeframes for certain disclosures. For quoted securities and financial products, the Act requires that if a trading suspension of more than five days has not occurred in the past 12 months, certain disclosure requirements can be extended to ten days. This applies to rights issues and sales of securities or financial products. These provisions are designed to provide relief in the context of trading suspensions, ensuring that companies can continue to operate without undue regulatory burden under certain conditions. The instrument outlines potential consequences for non-compliance with its provisions. Although specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences are not explicitly stated within the text, breaches of the Corporations Act 2001, which this instrument modifies, can lead to significant penalties. For corporations, the penalties can include fines of up to $1.65 million, while individuals may face fines of up to $330,000 and/or imprisonment for up to five years. These penalties reflect the seriousness of non-compliance with corporate laws and the potential impact on the integrity of financial markets.

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Area of Law
Corporate Law & Governance
Instrument
Legislative Instrument
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Regulatory Standards
Reporting & Disclosure Obligations

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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.