Explanatory Statement
Issued by Authority of the Minister for Finance
Australian River Co. Limited Act 2015
Australian River Co. Limited Commencement Proclamation 2015
Item 2 of the table in subsection 2(1) of the Australian River Co. Limited Act 2015 (the Act) provides that Schedule 1 to the Act will commence on a day to be fixed by proclamation. However, if any of the provisions of Schedule 1 do not commence within twelve months of the date the Act receives the Royal Assent, then those provisions will be repealed on the day after the end of that twelve month period. A period of 12 months is considered appropriate to ensure that there is sufficient time to address any issues that may arise given the long history of Australian River Co. Limited (ARCo) and its predecessor the Australian National Line (ANL). The Act received the Royal Assent on 1 April 2015.
The purpose of the proposed Proclamation is to fix 24 April 2015 as the day on which Schedule 1 to the Act commences. This date has been chosen so as to enable the Commonwealth’s due diligence into the assets and liabilities of ARCo to be completed and to facilitate completion of ARCo’s winding-up by 30 June 2015.
The Act provides for the Commonwealth to become ARCo successor at law, by effecting the transfer all of ARCo’s assets and outstanding liabilities to the Commonwealth in preparation for, and so as to facilitate, ARCo’s voluntary de-registration under the Corporations
Act 2001. The Act reflects the Government’s 2014-15 Budget decision to wind-up ARCo as part of the smaller government policy.
Schedule 1, Part 1 to the Act defines the terms used throughout the Act that are relevant to the interpretation of its provisions. Schedule 1, Part 2 to the Act contains the transitional provisions associated with the transfer of the assets and liabilities of ARCo by statutory novation to the Commonwealth.
Schedule 1, Part 3 to the Act provides for the transfer of other matters, other than assets and liabilities relating to ARCo, such as the replacement of ARCo by the Commonwealth in certain instruments and the substitution of the Commonwealth for Arco as a party to any pending court proceedings. It also provides the Minister for Finance the powers to make determinations necessary for the effective transfer of ARCo’s relevant responsibilities.
Schedule 1, Part 4 to the Act contains miscellaneous provisions to assist the Commonwealth to manage effectively any issues that may arise on the de-registration of ARCo. This includes matters relating to the delegation of the Minister for Finance’s powers and making rules necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
The wind-up of ARCo has been in planning since 2002 when the then Government wrote to the Board requesting that the company be managed with a view to winding it down at the earliest opportunity. ARCo sold the last of its vessels in August 2012 and has no current staff. It exists today only to administer legacy ANL liabilities from former employees relating mainly to workers’ compensation. The Commonwealth on the transfer of ARCo’s assets and liabilities will manage all these residual liabilities.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.