EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1989 No. 295
Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General
Companies Regulations (Amendment)
Subsection 577(1) of the Companies Act 1981 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters that are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act. Subsection 577(2) of the Act provides that the power of the Governor-General to make regulations shall be exercised only in accordance with advice that is consistent with resolutions of the Ministerial Council for Companies and Securities (the Council).
2. The Council was established under an Agreement between the Commonwealth and the States, executed on 22 December 1978 (the Agreement), that provides the framework for a co-operative Commonwealth-State scheme for a uniform system of law and administration in relation to company law and the regulation of the securities and futures industries in the six States, the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory of Australia.
3. Under subclause 45(1) of the Agreement, the Council may consider a proposal for the amendment of regulations made under the Commonwealth Acts enacted for the purpose of the co-operative companies and securities scheme. Should the Council approve any draft amending regulation which gives effect to such a proposal, the Commonwealth is then required,
under subclause 45(2) of the Agreement, to submit the draft regulations to the Federal Executive Council for making by the Governor-General.
4. The accompanying Regulations are in accordance with a resolution made by the Council.
5. The purpose of the Regulations is to amend the Companies Regulations by including in the list of authorised trustee corporations two new corporations that have been approved by Council, by amending the list of authorised trustee corporations to include the current names of two corporations that have changed their names and by amending the lists of prescribed universities and prescribed institutions to reflect the fact that an institute of technology has changed its status to that of a university.
6. Details of the accompanying Regulations are as follows.
Regulation 1: Commencement
This regulation prescribes 1 November 1989 as the date on which the amendments to the Companies Regulations (the Regulations) came into operation.
Regulation 2: Definition of “authorised trustee corporation”
This regulation amends regulation 14 of the Regulations by including “Eagle Star Trustees Limited” and “R & I Trustees Limited” in the list of corporations approved by Council as authorised trustee corporations.
The regulation also amends regulation 14 to take account of changes of name by two authorised trustee corporations: “National Trustees Executors and Agency Company of Australasia Limited” has changed its name to “National Mutual Trustees Limited” while “Queensland Trustees Limited” has changed its
name to “Perpetual Trustees Queensland Limited”.
Regulation 3: Prescribed universities
This regulation amends regulation 21 of the Regulations by inserting “Queensland University of Technology” in the list of prescribed universities.
Regulation 4: Prescribed institutions
This regulation amends regulation 22 of the Regulations by omitting “Queensland Institute of Technology” from the list of prescribed institutions. The institute has changed its status to that of a university and, as a consequence, it has been included in the list of universities prescribed under regulation 21 of the Regulations.