EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1984 NO. 122
COMMONWEALTH INSCRIBED STOCK ACT 1911
COMMONWEALTH INSCRIBED STOCK REGULATIONS (AMENDMENTS)
Section 58 of the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing fees payable under the Act and all matters and forms required or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or for giving effect to the Act or for the conduct of any business at or in connection with any Registry.
The regulations make provision for:
(i) the legislative basis for the continued use of the terms ‘Australian Savings Bonds’, ‘Treasury Indexed Bonds’, ‘Treasury Bills’, Treasury Bonds’ and ‘Treasury Notes’ when Commonwealth securities are issued in a Stock form only;
(ii) the conditions and terms for the inscription of Stock in the names of trustees and unincorporated bodies;
(iii) the legislative basis for the continuation of the handling facility offered by most banks to investors following the cessation of the issue of Commonwealth securities in bearer form; and
(iv) repeal those regulations and prescribed forms in the Schedule to the Regulations which are rendered redundant as a consequence of amendments to the Act.
The amendments have been introduced to give effect to amendments to the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911 to eliminate the issue of Commonwealth securities in bearer form as a consequence of the use of these securities to evade income tax and the limit on subscriptions to Australian Savings Bonds and the high administrative costs of bearer securities, as well as to expand the range of investors who are eligible to hold their Commonwealth securities in the form of Inscribed Stock.