EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES | 1989 | NO. 83 | |
STATUTORY RULES | 1989 | NO | |
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE TREASURER
Financial Corporations Act 1974
Financial Corporations (Initial Returns) Regulations
(Amendment)
Financial Corporations (Statistics) Regulations (Amendment)
Section 32 of the Financial Corporations Act 1974 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act. Section 11 of the Act provides for the making of regulations to require a corporation registered under the Act to furnish to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and/or the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), statements setting out such information relating to the business of the corporation as is provided for in the regulations.
The Financial Corporations (Initial Returns) Regulations provides that a financial corporation must provide to the RBA and the ABS certain information on its assets and liabilities within a set time after incorporation or becoming a corporation to which the Act applies. The Financial Corporation (Statistics) Regulations requires a financial corporations to provide certain information relating to the business of a corporation. Until now, both institutions seperately have processed and published the data.
The amending regulations delete references in the regulation to the ABS. Hence a corporation would provide information and statistics only to the RBA.
The ABS wished to withdraw from collecting and processing the information and statistics, where this duplicated functions performed by the RBA, to release its staff resources for other purposes. The RBA will now have sole responsibility for these functions although the ABS will continue to publish and distribute the data through its present range of catalogues.
Overview
The Financial Corporations (Initial Returns) Regulations (Amendment) 2004 and the Financial Corporations (Statistics) Regulations (Amendment) 2004 were introduced to streamline the process of collecting and managing financial corporation data by reducing the burden on the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This amendment was enacted by the authority of the Treasurer under Section 32 of the Financial Corporations Act 1974, which empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of carrying out or giving effect to the Act. The policy objective behind these regulations is to ensure that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has sole responsibility for collecting and processing information on financial corporations, thereby allowing the ABS to focus its resources on other critical areas. This change aims to improve efficiency by eliminating the duplication of data collection efforts between the RBA and the ABS.
Scope and Application
The Financial Corporations (Initial Returns) Regulations (Amendment) and the Financial Corporations (Statistics) Regulations (Amendment) pertain to financial corporations that are registered under the Financial Corporations Act 1974. These amending regulations specifically address the reporting requirements of such corporations, ensuring that they furnish certain information on their assets and liabilities to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Previously, financial corporations were obligated to provide this data to both the RBA and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS); however, these regulations now mandate that corporations submit information exclusively to the RBA. This change was made to streamline the process and eliminate redundancy, as the ABS has decided to withdraw from collecting and processing this information, allowing the RBA to assume sole responsibility for these functions. The amendments reflect an administrative efficiency measure aimed at optimizing the use of resources within the ABS, which will continue to publish and distribute the data. These regulations apply nationally and do not include any specific exclusions or exemptions other than those implied by the original scope of the Financial Corporations Act 1974.
Key Provisions
The main operative sections of the amending regulations pertain to the Financial Corporations (Initial Returns) Regulations and the Financial Corporations (Statistics) Regulations. Under the amended Financial Corporations (Initial Returns) Regulations (section 11), financial corporations must now provide certain information regarding their assets and liabilities to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) within a specified time after incorporation or becoming a corporation to which the Act applies (section 3). Similarly, the amended Financial Corporations (Statistics) Regulations (section 3) require financial corporations to furnish specific information about their business operations to the RBA (section 11). These sections mandate that financial corporations must furnish this information exclusively to the RBA, eliminating the previous requirement to submit it to both the RBA and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The Act imposes obligations on financial corporations to provide accurate and timely information to the RBA. This includes supplying detailed data about their assets and liabilities within a specified timeframe after incorporation (section 3). Furthermore, corporations must submit ongoing business statistics to the RBA as required by the amended regulations (section 11). These obligations ensure that the RBA has up-to-date and comprehensive information to effectively monitor and regulate financial corporations. The amendments reflect the ABS's decision to cease its role in collecting and processing this information, transferring its responsibilities to the RBA to streamline the process and optimise resource allocation.
Failure to comply with the requirements set forth in the amending regulations may lead to various consequences. While the regulations themselves do not explicitly detail the penalties or consequences for non-compliance, the Financial Corporations Act 1974 (the Act) provides a framework for addressing such breaches. Under the Act, non-compliance could result in civil or criminal penalties, depending on the nature and severity of the breach. For instance, section 1311 of the Act allows for the imposition of penalties, including fines, for breaches of the regulations. In more serious cases, individuals or corporations may face criminal charges, which could lead to imprisonment. The exact penalties would depend on the specific provisions of the Act and the discretion of the courts.