EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Select Legislative Instrument 2010 No. 293
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation
Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997
Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)
The Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (the CAC Act) contains reporting, accountability and other rules for Commonwealth authorities and Commonwealth companies.
Subsection 49(1) of the CAC Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters required or permitted by the CAC Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the CAC Act.
The Regulations amend the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Regulations 1997 (the Principal Regulations) to remove Australian Technology Group Limited (ATG) and Tuggeranong Office Park Pty. Limited (TOP) from the list of companies for which the Finance Minister is the responsible Minister.
Legislative Instruments Act 2003
The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
No consultation was undertaken in relation to these Regulations. In accordance with paragraph 18(2)(a) of the Legislative Instrument Act 2003, consultation was considered unnecessary because the instrument is machinery in nature.
Best Practice Regulation Preliminary Assessment
A Best Practice Regulation Preliminary Assessment was undertaken in accordance with the guidance issued by the Office of Best Practice Regulation. This assessment indicated that a regulation impact statement was not required, as the Regulations only affect Commonwealth authorities and Commonwealth companies under the CAC Act, and do not affect the private or not-for-profit sectors.
Commencement
The Regulations commence on the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Details of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)
Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations
- This regulation provides that the title of the Regulations is the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1).
Regulation 2 – Commencement
2. This regulation provides for the commencement of the Regulations to be the day after they are registered.
Regulation 3 – Amendment of Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Regulations 1997
3. This regulation provides that Schedule 1 amends the Principal Regulations.
Schedule 1
4. Item [1] omits ATG from the list of companies that the Finance Minister is prescribed as the responsible Minister for in subregulation 4A(1). ATG can be removed as it was deregistered as a company by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on 9 March 2010.
5. Item [2] renumbers item 4 of the list in subregulation 4A(1) as item 3 to keep the list in sequential order.
6. Item [3] omits TOP from the list of companies that the Finance Minister is prescribed as the responsible Minister for in subregulation 4A(1). TOP can be removed as it was deregistered as a company by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on 2 September 2010.
7. Item [4] is a table of amendments to the headings of 10 existing regulations. The regulations are expressed in the form:
X Heading of regulation (Act s Y)
Where X is the regulation number and Y is the relevant section of the CAC Act.
The amendments involve:
- deleting commas in the headings; and/or
- replacing references to subsection or paragraph numbers of the CAC Act with references to section numbers of the CAC Act.
These are technical drafting style amendments that have no impact on the operations of the Principal Regulations.
Overview
The Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1) were introduced to amend the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Regulations 1997 in order to update the list of companies for which the Minister for Finance is the responsible Minister. Enacted under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997, these regulations were issued by the Authority of the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, and they serve to streamline the administration of Commonwealth authorities and companies by removing entities that are no longer in operation or have been deregistered. The regulations specifically address the removal of Australian Technology Group Limited and Tuggeranong Office Park Pty Limited from the list due to their deregistration by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The policy objective of these amendments is to ensure that the regulations accurately reflect the current status of Commonwealth companies, thereby maintaining clarity and efficiency in regulatory oversight.
Scope and Application
The Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1) amends the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Regulations 1997 to update the list of companies for which the Finance Minister is the responsible Minister under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997. The regulation removes Australian Technology Group Limited (ATG) and Tuggeranong Office Park Pty. Limited (TOP) from this list, as both companies were deregistered by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on 9 March 2010 and 2 September 2010, respectively. The Regulations also include technical amendments to the headings of certain regulations for consistency and clarity, without affecting the operation of the Principal Regulations. These Regulations apply to Commonwealth authorities and companies governed by the CAC Act, and they are a machinery instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which does not require consultation as it only affects entities under the CAC Act and not the private or not-for-profit sectors.
Key Provisions
The Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1) primarily amend the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Regulations 1997 (the Principal Regulations) by removing two companies from the list of those for which the Minister for Finance is the responsible Minister. Specifically, Australian Technology Group Limited (ATG) and Tuggeranong Office Park Pty Limited (TOP) have been deregistered and are no longer subject to the regulations. This is detailed in Regulation 3 of the Amendment Regulations, which amends the Principal Regulations as set out in Schedule 1 (Items [1] and [3]). The changes are effective from the day after the Amendment Regulations are registered, as stipulated in Regulation 2.
Under the amended regulations, the obligations and requirements imposed on the relevant Commonwealth authorities and companies are altered to reflect the removal of ATG and TOP from the list of companies overseen by the Finance Minister. This includes administrative duties, reporting obligations, and other compliance measures as outlined in the CAC Act. The regulations ensure that the responsible Minister's oversight is accurately aligned with the current status of the companies, maintaining the integrity of the reporting and accountability framework established by the Act.
The Amendment Regulations do not introduce new offences or penalties but ensure the existing legal framework is updated to reflect the current registration status of the companies. Breaches of the CAC Act's requirements could still result in legal consequences, including fines and other penalties as prescribed by the Act. The maximum penalties for non-compliance with the CAC Act depend on the specific breach and could include substantial fines for individuals and companies, reflecting the seriousness of the violations.
The Regulations are considered machinery in nature, meaning consultation was deemed unnecessary as they do not impact the private or not-for-profit sectors, as confirmed by the Best Practice Regulation Preliminary Assessment. The Regulations are consistent with the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, which governs the creation and operation of legislative instruments in Australia. The amendments are purely technical and do not affect the operations of the Principal Regulations, ensuring that the reporting and accountability requirements remain clear and effective for the remaining entities subject to the Act.