Commonwealth Registers (Repeal) Rules 2026

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2026L00872 Rules In force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by authority of the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury

Business Names Registration Act 2011

Commonwealth Registers Act 2020

Corporations Act 2001

National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009

Commonwealth Registers (Repeal) Rules 2026

The following provisions provide that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, make Rules prescribing matters required or permitted by the relevant Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the relevant Act: section 62U of the Business Names Registration Act 2011, section 25 of the Commonwealth Registers Act 2020, section 1270T of the Corporations Act 2001, and section 212U of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (together, the Registries Acts).

The following provisions empower rules to prescribe additional functions for the Registrar under those Acts: paragraph 62B(b) of the Business Names Registration Act 2011, paragraph 7(b) of the Commonwealth Registers Act 2020, paragraph 1270A(b) of the Corporations Act 2001, and paragraph 212B(b) of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. 

Under subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character (including rules, regulations or by-laws), the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend, or vary any such instrument.

The purpose of the Commonwealth Registers (Repeal) Rules 2026 (the Rules) is to repeal the Commonwealth Registers Rules 2021 (the previous rules), which prescribed additional functions for the Registrar. Those functions were to enable the Registrar to carry out various preparatory activities necessary for the transfer of registry functions from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to the Registrar. A separate instrument appointed the Commissioner of Taxation as the Registrar.

The previous rules were prescribed as part of the implementation of the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) Program. On 28 August 2023, following an independent review, the Government announced the MBR program would cease. It was announced that responsibility and resources for business registers would return to ASIC from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

This means the previous rules are redundant. There is no longer any need for the Commissioner of Taxation to exercise the additional functions. Further, subject to the enactment of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Business Registries Stabilisation and Uplift) Bill 2026, the empowering provisions cited above in the Business Names Registration Act 2011 and National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 are also being repealed.  

The Registries Acts do not specify any conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the Rules may be exercised.

The ATO and ASIC were consulted on the Rules. No public consultation was considered necessary, as the Rules are merely a technical repeal of redundant provisions.

Sunsetting is not relevant for the Rules, which are themselves automatically repealed by section 48A of the Legislation Act 2003. The Rules have no function other than to repeal the previous rules in their entirety.

The Rules are subject to disallowance.

The Rules are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.

The Rules commenced on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Details of the Rules are set out in Attachment A.

A statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is at Attachment B.

ATTACHMENT A

Details of the Commonwealth Registers (Repeal) Rules 2026

Section 1 – Name

This section provides that the name of the instrument is the Commonwealth Registers (Repeal) Rules 2026 (the Rules).

Section 2 – Commencement

The Rules commenced on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Section 3 – Authority

The Rules are made under the following Acts:

  • the Business Names Registration Act 2011; and
  • the Commonwealth Registers Act 2020; and
  • the Corporations Act 2001; and
  • the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.

Section 4 – Schedules

This section provides that each instrument that is specified in the Schedules to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedules, and any other item in the Schedules to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Repeals

Item 1 repeals the whole of the Commonwealth Registers Rules 2021, which provided for additional functions of the Registrar that are now redundant with the ceasing of the Modernising Business Registers Program.

ATTACHMENT B

 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Commonwealth Registers (Repeal) Rules 2026

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The Rules repeal the Commonwealth Registers Rules 2021, which provided for additional functions of the Commissioner of Taxation (as appointed Registrar). These were to carry out various preparatory activities necessary for the transfer of registry functions from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to the Registrar. These additional functions are now redundant with the ceasing of the Modernising Business Registers Program.

Human rights implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

Overview

The Commonwealth Registers (Repeal) Rules 2026 were enacted to address the redundancy of the Commonwealth Registers Rules 2021, which had been created to support the transfer of registry functions from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to the Registrar under the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) Program. The enactment of the Rules was authorised by the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury Business under the authority of the Business Names Registration Act 2011, the Commonwealth Registers Act 2020, the Corporations Act 2001, and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. The policy objective was to streamline the regulatory framework by removing outdated provisions that were no longer necessary following the cessation of the MBR program and the return of business register responsibilities to ASIC. The Rules were made under the authority granted by these Acts to prescribe matters required or permitted by the relevant Act and were intended to repeal the previous rules in their entirety, as the additional functions they prescribed had become redundant.

Scope and Application

The Commonwealth Registers (Repeal) Rules 2026 apply to the repeal of the Commonwealth Registers Rules 2021, which previously prescribed additional functions for the Registrar to facilitate the transfer of registry functions from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to the Registrar, initially the Commissioner of Taxation. These functions have become redundant following the cessation of the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) Program and the subsequent return of business register responsibilities to ASIC. The Rules operate within the framework of the Business Names Registration Act 2011, the Commonwealth Registers Act 2020, the Corporations Act 2001, and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. Given their specific purpose of repealing redundant rules, they have a limited scope and do not apply to any other functions or activities outside this context. No consultation was deemed necessary for these Rules as they are purely technical and do not impact the public or any entities beyond the scope of the repealed rules. The Rules are subject to disallowance and are automatically repealed by the Legislation Act 2003.

Key Provisions

The Commonwealth Registers (Repeal) Rules 2026 (the Rules) are a legislative instrument that repeal the Commonwealth Registers Rules 2021, which had provided for additional functions for the Registrar of the relevant Acts (Business Names Registration Act 2011, Commonwealth Registers Act 2020, Corporations Act 2001, and National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009). These additional functions were necessary for the transfer of registry functions from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to the Registrar under the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) Program. However, with the cessation of the MBR Program, these functions are no longer necessary. Section 1 of the Rules establishes the name of the instrument, while Section 2 states that the Rules commenced on the day after their registration on the Federal Register of Legislation. Section 3 identifies the Acts under which the Rules are made, and Section 4 provides that the instruments specified in the Schedules are amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items. The Rules impose no specific obligations on the parties or entities governed by the Registries Acts. Instead, they provide the mechanism for repealing the redundant provisions of the Commonwealth Registers Rules 2021. The repeal of these rules ensures that the Commissioner of Taxation, as the Registrar, no longer exercises the additional functions that were previously necessary for the MBR Program. The Rules also reflect the decision to revert responsibility and resources for business registers back to ASIC from the Australian Taxation Office. There are no offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences specified in the Rules for breach. The Rules are a technical repeal of redundant provisions and are subject to disallowance under the Legislation Act 2003. They are also subject to sunsetting, being automatically repealed by section 48A of the Legislation Act 2003. The Rules were made in consultation with the ATO and ASIC, and no public consultation was considered necessary given their technical nature. The Rules are compatible with human rights as they do not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms, as stated in the Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights.

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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.