Transfer Rules Variation Determination No. 1 of 2005
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (‘APRA’)
Financial Sector (Transfers of Business) Act 1999, subsection 46(1)
Acts Interpretation Act 1901, subsection 33(3)
Under subsection 46(1) of the Financial Sector (Transfers of Business) Act 1999 (‘the Act’), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (‘APRA’) has the power to make (in writing) rules prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed by transfer rules. Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that where an Act confers a power to issue an instrument the power shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to amend or vary any such instrument.
Transfer Rules Variation Determination No. 1 of 2005 (‘the Determination’) varies the Transfer Rules No. 1 of 2004 (‘the Rules’). The Rules were originally determined on 30 November 2004 with effect from 8 December 2004.
APRA has determined that the variation will come into effect from the date of registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Variation to Transfer Rules No. 1 of 2004
The Act requires the Rules to prescribe the relevant application form for a voluntary transfer and one or more acceptable modes of adoption for the transfer.
In relation to most transfers, the transferring and receiving bodies’ members must be given an information document. The form of the draft information document (which must be approved by APRA) is set out in rule 8.
Subparagraph 8(c)(i) provided that the draft information document must include ‘particulars of… the financial position of the transferring body and the receiving body (including a copy of the latest audited financial statements for each body)’. The Determination amends subparagraph 8(c)(i) to remove ‘(including a copy of the latest audited financial statements for each body)’, so the draft information document will only need to include information about the financial position of the transferring body and the receiving body, not the audited financial statements. This reflects the practice that existed before the determination of the Rules.
The Office of Regulation Review has determined that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required for the amendment to the Rules.