Corporations (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1) 2003 No. 128
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 2003 No. 128
Issued by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer
Corporations (Fees) Act 2001
Corporations (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1)
Section 8 of the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of sections 5 and 6 of that Act. Section 5 provides that, subject to section 6, the regulations may prescribe fees for chargeable matters and that fees prescribed by the regulations for chargeable matters are imposed, and are so imposed as taxes. Section 6 provides, among other things, that the regulations may prescribe a fee for a chargeable matter by specifying an amount as the fee or by specifying a method for calculating the amount of the fee.
The Financial Services Reform Act 2001 (FSRA) commenced on 11 March 2002. It amended the Corporations Act 2001 to introduce a uniform licensing, conduct and disclosure regime for financial service providers. The FSRA also amended related legislation, including the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001.
Under the FSRA, a two-year transition period was established to allow time for existing industry participants to enter the new regime.
The purpose of this regulation is to support the reforms to the regulation of the financial services industry, which are included in the Financial Services Reform Act 2001 and associated legislation.
The regulation relates to fees for lodging particular documents with ASIC, when a financial services licensee changes its name.
Details of the regulation are set out in the Attachment.
The regulation commences on gazettal.
ATTACHMENT
SCHEDULE 1- AMENDMENTS COMMENCING ON GAZETTAL
Item 1 - Waive fee for notification of change of name of licensee - item 1D in schedule 1.
If a company wants to change its name, section 157 of the Corporations Act 2001 requires that this be done by way of a special resolution and that the prescribed form be lodged with ASIC to notify the name change. Furthermore, under Financial Services Reform, section 915A provides that ASIC may vary an Australian Financial Services Licence to take account of a name change, provided the application, is lodged with ASIC.
This regulation waives the $30 default fee that applies to lodgement of a "Notice of particulars of cessation or change in relation to the holder of a licence" on the basis that the licensee would have to pay fees on other documents that are required to be lodged and contain the same information.
Overview
The Corporations (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1) were enacted to address gaps identified in the financial services regulation following the implementation of the Financial Services Reform Act 2001. These regulations were made under the authority of the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 and aim to support the reforms introduced by the Financial Services Reform Act 2001 and associated legislation. The enacting body responsible for these regulations is the Governor-General, who has the power to make regulations as outlined in Section 8 of the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001. The overarching policy objective of these amendments is to facilitate the transition to a uniform licensing, conduct, and disclosure regime for financial service providers by adjusting fees related to specific regulatory actions, such as the notification of a change in the name of a licensee.
Scope and Application
The Corporations (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1) apply to entities within the financial services industry that require the lodging of particular documents with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), specifically concerning changes to a licensee's name. These regulations are in line with the overarching reforms introduced by the Financial Services Reform Act 2001 (FSRA), which established a uniform licensing, conduct, and disclosure regime for financial service providers. The application of these regulations is thus focused on financial service licensees who need to notify ASIC of changes to their legal name as part of the broader financial services regulatory framework. The geographic reach of these regulations is national, affecting all financial service entities operating within Australia. Notably, the regulation waives the $30 fee for the lodgement of a "Notice of particulars of cessation or change in relation to the holder of a licence," as the same information is already subject to fees on other required documents. This amendment supports the transition and implementation of the FSRA by reducing unnecessary administrative burdens on financial service providers.
Key Provisions
The Corporations (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1) (the Regulations) introduce modifications to the fees for certain actions related to financial services licensees under the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001. Specifically, these Regulations waive the $30 default fee for the notification of a change of name of a licensee, which is detailed in item 1D of Schedule 1 of the Regulations. This waiver is intended to align with the broader reforms introduced by the Financial Services Reform Act 2001 (FSRA), which established a uniform licensing, conduct, and disclosure regime for financial service providers.
The obligations imposed by the Regulations on the parties they govern are primarily focused on the administrative process of notifying the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) of changes in the name of a financial services licensee. Under section 915A of the Corporations Act 2001, a licensee must lodge an application with ASIC to vary their Australian Financial Services Licence to reflect any name change. The Regulations, by waiving the fee associated with the notification of such changes, aim to simplify and reduce the administrative burden on licensees who are already required to pay fees on other documents that contain the same information.
Breach of the provisions set out in these Regulations does not inherently constitute an offence or attract specific penalties as the Regulations themselves do not impose criminal or civil penalties for non-compliance. However, failure to comply with the requirements of the Corporations Act 2001 and the FSRA, including the obligation to notify ASIC of a name change, could lead to consequences under those Acts. These could include fines or other penalties as prescribed by the primary legislation, although the specific details and maximum penalties would need to be referred to in the Corporations Act 2001 and the FSRA. The Regulations are designed to support the transition to the new regulatory regime and to ease the administrative load on licensees without creating additional compliance burdens.