Variation of List of Names and Categories of Registered Entities - Australian Finance & Leasing Ltd

Overview

The Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 was enacted to address the need for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to collect and manage data related to financial sector entities. This legislation aims to enhance the oversight and regulation of financial institutions and their associated entities by ensuring that APRA has the necessary information to perform its functions effectively. The Act empowers APRA to maintain a Register of Entities and a list of the names of these registered entities. The Variation of List of Names and Categories of Registered Entities instrument of 1 March 2013, issued under the authority of the Act, updates the list to include Australian Finance & Leasing Ltd, reflecting its status as a registrable corporation. This update ensures that APRA's register accurately represents the current entities subject to its regulatory purview, thereby supporting the policy objective of effective financial sector oversight and regulation.

Scope and Application

The Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 applies to entities within the financial sector of Australia, specifically those regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). This Act mandates APRA to maintain a Register of Entities and a list of the names of these registered entities. This legislation is primarily concerned with the registration and data collection processes related to entities in the financial sector, ensuring that APRA has up-to-date information on entities subject to its oversight. The Act applies on a national level across Australia, covering entities that are required to be registered under the provisions of the Act. The inclusion of a corporation in the register and the list of names is triggered when it becomes a registrable entity as defined under section 7 of the Act. The Act allows for the variation of the list of names through subordinate instruments, such as the one issued by Barton Ashcroft, a delegate of APRA, who, under the authority of subsection 11(2) of the Act, can add the names of corporations to the list once they have been added to the register. This ensures that the list remains current and reflective of all entities required to be registered under the Act.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of this legislation concern the registration and listing of entities under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (the Act). Under section 8 of the Act, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) maintains a Register of Entities, which is a comprehensive record of entities that are required to be registered under the Act (section 8). The list of names of these registered entities is maintained under section 11 of the Act (section 11). The addition of Australian Finance & Leasing Ltd (ABN 77 080 524 689) to the register is detailed under paragraph 10(a) of the Act, where APRA includes the corporation's name and other relevant details in the register (section 10(a)). Once added to the register, the corporation is recognised as a registered entity as per subsection 5(3) of the Act (subsection 5(3)). The obligations and requirements imposed by this legislation on the entities it governs include the necessity to be registered with APRA if they fall under the definition of a registrable corporation as specified in section 7 of the Act. The Act mandates that APRA must maintain a current and accurate register of such entities and update this register as required. This includes the addition of new entities such as Australian Finance & Leasing Ltd to the register. Once an entity is registered, it must comply with all the provisions of the Act that pertain to registered entities, ensuring that all necessary data is collected and reported to APRA as stipulated. There are potential consequences for entities that fail to comply with the Act's requirements. While the specific offences and penalties are not detailed in the provided text, breaches of the Act can generally lead to enforcement actions by APRA. Such actions might include the imposition of fines, legal proceedings, or other regulatory measures aimed at ensuring compliance. The severity of the consequences would depend on the nature and extent of the breach, and the maximum penalties could be significant, reflecting the importance of compliance with financial sector regulations.