Transitional Registry Data Standards and Disclosure Frameworks (Repeal) Instrument 2023

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2023L00119 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

Explanatory Statement

Transitional Registry Data Standards and Disclosure Frameworks (Repeal) Instrument 2023

 

 

General outline of instrument

  1. This instrument repeals five data standards and five disclosure frameworks made under the Business Names Registration Act 2011, Commonwealth Registers Act 2020, Corporations Act 2001 and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.
  2. The instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
  3. 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.

 

Date of effect

4.             This instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.

 

What is the effect of this instrument

5.             This instrument repeals the ten legislative instruments listed in paragraph 11 below.

 

Compliance cost assessment

6.             Minor – there will be no additional regulatory impacts as the instrument is minor and machinery in nature OBPR22-03092.

 

Background

7.             The Treasury Laws Amendment (Registries Modernisation and Other Measures) Act 2020 (Registries Modernisation Act) provides for the transfer of registry functions and powers from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Registrar of the Australian Business Register (ABR Registrar) to the Commonwealth Registrar, as well as other changes to modernise the registry law. The amendments in the Registries Modernisation Act commenced on 22 June 2022.

8.             The inclusion of an auto-commencement date in the Registries Modernisation Act was a technical requirement designed to ensure that laws passed by Parliament are actually commenced if the amendments were never commenced by proclamation.

9.             However, it was intended that the Commonwealth Registrar would assume legal responsibility for registry functions and powers with the progressive transfer of the registers onto the new Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) platform in line with the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) program delivery.

10.         The Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Tax Integrity and Supporting Business Investment) Bill 2022 (Bill) was introduced in the previous parliament to defer the auto-commencement date until 1 July 2024 (or an earlier date specified by proclamation) and to enable the progressive transfer of registers. However, the Bill lapsed when the Parliament was prorogued prior to the federal election in 2022.

11.         To ensure business continuity, the following instruments were made by the Commonwealth Registrar:

(a)          Australian Business Register—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022

(b)          Australian Business Register—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022

(c)           Business Names Registration—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022

(d)          Business Names Registration—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022

(e)          Corporations Act—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022

(f)            Corporations Act—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022

(g)          National Consumer Credit Protection—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022

(h)          National Consumer Credit Protection—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022

(i)             SMSF Approved Auditor—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022

(j)             SMSF Approved Auditor—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022.

(referred to below as the ‘transitional instruments’)

12.         The transitional instruments provided for:

(a)          disclosure frameworks relating to the continued disclosure of registry information under current practices i.e. through the Australian Business Register (ABR) and ASIC forms and systems, and

(b)          data standards relating to the functions and powers of the Commonwealth Registrar in respect of registry operations and the continued operation of registry services under current practices i.e. through ABR and ASIC forms and systems.

13.         The transitional instruments were temporary in nature, to allow:

(a)          actions to be taken through ASIC and ABR notices, forms, or systems or any other means by which the action would have been done by ASIC and the ABR prior to the commencement of the transitional instruments, and

(b)          for consideration to be given to legislative options to align the commencement of relevant law with the delivery of the MBR program.

14.         The transitional instruments operated until legislative changes to support the delivery of the MBR program were in place, at which time it was anticipated that these instruments would be repealed.

15.         Relevant legislative changes were given effect by the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Act 2022 (Treasury Laws Amendment), which commenced on 9 August 2022. The Treasury Laws Amendment retrospectively delayed the automatic commencement of various provisions relating to the MBR program until 1 July 2026 (or an earlier date if specified by Proclamation). The effect of this change is that the Registries Modernisation Act did not automatically commence on 22 June 2022. This enables the law to be commenced when IT systems supporting the MBR program are ready.

 

Consultation

16.         Subsection 17(1) of the Legislation Act 2003 requires that the rule-maker undertake an appropriate level of consultation that is reasonably practicable to undertake before making a legislative instrument.

17.         Targeted consultation on the draft of this instrument and the explanatory statements was undertaken for a period of 2 weeks with the MBR Business Advisory Group.[1]

18.         The explanatory statements for the transitional instruments highlighted the transitional nature of the these instruments and indicated that they would be repealed once legislative changes to support the delivery of the MBR program were in place.

19.         Relevant legislative changes have now occurred via the Treasury Laws Amendment and as anticipated, this instrument now seeks to repeal the transitional instruments.

20.         As such, further targeted consultation was not required for this instrument; it is of a minor or machinery nature and does not affect pre 22 June 2022 arrangements now restored by the Treasury Laws Amendment.

 

 

 

Legislative references

Acts Interpretation Act 1901

Business Names Registration Act 2011

Commonwealth Registers Act 2020

Corporations Act 2001

Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Legislation Act 2003

National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009

Treasury Laws Amendment (Registries Modernisation and Other Measures) Act 2020

Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Act 2022


Statement of compatibility with Human Rights

This statement is prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

 

Transitional Registry Data Standards and Disclosure Frameworks (Repeal) Instrument 2023

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

This instrument repeals the following instruments:

(a)          Australian Business Register—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022

(b)          Australian Business Register—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022

(c)           Business Names Registration—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022

(d)          Business Names Registration—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022

(e)          Corporations Act—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022

(f)            Corporations Act—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022

(g)          National Consumer Credit Protection—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022

(h)          National Consumer Credit Protection—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022

(i)             SMSF Approved Auditor—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022

(j)             SMSF Approved Auditor—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022.

 

Human rights implications

This legislative instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms because the new instrument is of a minor or machinery nature. It merely repeals transitional legislative instruments that were made redundant by the enactment of Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Act 2022.

 

Conclusion

This legislative instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

[1] See Modernising Business Registers Business Advisory Group | Australian Taxation Office (ato.gov.au) for complete list.

Overview

The Transitional Registry Data Standards and Disclosure Frameworks (Repeal) Instrument 2023 repeals ten transitional legislative instruments that were previously enacted to facilitate the transfer of registry functions and powers from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Registrar of the Australian Business Register (ABR Registrar) to the Commonwealth Registrar under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Registries Modernisation and Other Measures) Act 2020. These transitional instruments, including the Australian Business Register—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022 and the Corporations Act—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022, among others, were intended to provide continuity of registry operations during the transition to the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS) platform. This instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 and was made by the Commonwealth Registrar, acting under the authority conferred by the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. The repeal of these instruments follows the enactment of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Act 2022, which provided for the retrospective delay of the commencement of various provisions relating to the Modernising Business Registers program, thus rendering the transitional instruments redundant. This instrument is of a minor or machinery nature and is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

Scope and Application

The Transitional Registry Data Standards and Disclosure Frameworks (Repeal) Instrument 2023 repeals ten legislative instruments made under the Business Names Registration Act 2011, Commonwealth Registers Act 2020, Corporations Act 2001, and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. These transitional instruments, which included disclosure frameworks and data standards, were established to ensure business continuity while the Commonwealth Registrar assumed legal responsibility for registry functions and powers. Given the enactment of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Act 2022, which delayed the automatic commencement of various provisions until 1 July 2026, the transitional instruments are now redundant. The instrument is of a minor or machinery nature and therefore does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised in the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. This legislative instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Transitional Registry Data Standards and Disclosure Frameworks (Repeal) Instrument 2023 (F2023L00119) involve the repeal of ten transitional instruments made under various Acts, including the Business Names Registration Act 2011, Commonwealth Registers Act 2020, Corporations Act 2001, and the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. Specifically, the repealed instruments include the Australian Business Register—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022, Australian Business Register—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022, Business Names Registration—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022, Business Names Registration—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022, Corporations Act—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022, Corporations Act—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022, National Consumer Credit Protection—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022, National Consumer Credit Protection—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022, SMSF Approved Auditor—Transitional Registry Disclosure Framework 2022, and SMSF Approved Auditor—Transitional Registry Operations Data Standard 2022. These instruments were designed to provide temporary disclosure frameworks and data standards to ensure the continuity of registry functions and operations during the transition period leading up to the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) program's full implementation. The Transitional Registry Data Standards and Disclosure Frameworks (Repeal) Instrument 2023 imposes obligations on the Commonwealth Registrar to ensure the repeal of the specified transitional instruments. This involves ensuring that the repealed instruments no longer have any legal effect and that all actions previously permitted or required by these instruments are now governed by the new legislative framework established by the Treasury Laws Amendment (2022 Measures No. 1) Act 2022. The repeal is intended to streamline and modernise the registry functions by aligning them with the new IT systems and legal requirements set forth in the MBR program. There are no specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences mentioned for the breach of this instrument as it is of a minor or machinery nature. The instrument itself does not introduce new obligations or prohibitions but rather seeks to clean up redundant transitional provisions that were no longer necessary following the legislative changes. The repeal ensures that there are no gaps or inconsistencies in the legal framework governing the registries, thus maintaining the integrity and efficiency of the registry operations as they transition to the new platform.

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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.