Variation of List of Names and Categories of Registered Entities - 1925 (Insurance Premium Funding) Pty Limited

Overview

The Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 was enacted to provide a legislative framework for the collection of data by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) from entities within the financial sector, ensuring the stability and efficiency of the financial system. The Act enables APRA to maintain a register of entities and a list of names of registered entities, facilitating the supervision and regulation of these entities. The purpose of the Act is to enable APRA to gather necessary data to effectively monitor and regulate entities to maintain financial stability. This legislative instrument, issued under the authority of the Act, demonstrates the practical application of the Act by removing a corporation that has ceased to be a registrable entity from the list maintained by APRA. The policy objective of the Act is to ensure that APRA has up-to-date and accurate information to effectively perform its regulatory functions.

Scope and Application

The Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 applies to entities within the financial sector that are required to register and provide data to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). This legislation mandates APRA to maintain a Register of Entities and a List of Names of Registered Entities, which includes corporations and other entities that are subject to regulatory oversight. The Act applies nationally across Australia, with APRA having the authority to remove the names of entities from its records once they no longer meet the criteria for registration. In this specific instance, the 1925 (Insurance Premium Funding) Pty Limited has ceased to be a registrable corporation and, as such, has been removed from both the register and the list by a delegate of APRA. This demonstrates the Act’s capacity to adapt the list of registered entities in accordance with changes in the entities' status or operations, ensuring that the data collected remains relevant and accurate.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of this legislation pertain to the variation of the list of names and categories of registered entities under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001. Section 11 of the Act provides that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) maintains a list of the names of registered entities. The list is amended by the removal of the name of 1925 (Insurance Premium Funding) Pty Limited, as stated in the Notice issued by John Hotham, a delegate of APRA, dated 4 June 2014 (subsection 11(2) of the Act). This amendment follows the corporation ceasing to be a registrable corporation under section 7 of the Act, and its removal from the register under paragraph 10(c) of the Act (section 8 of the Act). The obligations imposed by this legislation on the parties and entities it governs primarily involve maintaining accurate and up-to-date records of registered entities. APRA, as the regulator, has a responsibility to ensure that the list of registered entities is current and reflects any changes in the status of these entities. This includes removing entities from the register when they no longer meet the criteria for registration, as demonstrated in the case of 1925 (Insurance Premium Funding) Pty Limited. The Act mandates that APRA must cause the name and particulars of the corporation to be removed from the register once it ceases to be a registrable corporation. In terms of offences, penalties, or consequences for breach, the Notice itself does not specify any criminal or civil penalties for failure to comply with the Act's provisions. However, non-compliance with the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 could lead to various consequences depending on the nature and severity of the breach. For instance, under section 14 of the Act, a person who contravenes the Act may be subject to a pecuniary penalty of up to $210,000 for a corporation and $42,000 for an individual, reflecting the regulatory importance of maintaining accurate records and ensuring compliance with the Act's requirements. Furthermore, more severe breaches could potentially lead to criminal charges, depending on the specific circumstances and the discretion of the courts.