Commonwealth Consolidated ActsPart 1Transitional provisions relating to transfer from State and
Territory regulatory regimes
Division 1Interpretation
1 Definitions
(1) In this Part:
"AFIC Code "means any of the following Codes of a State or Territory:
"APRA Act" means the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 .
"APRA employee "means a person appointed under section 45 of the APRA Act.
"ASIC "means the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
"FIC body" means a body that is a society, or a special services provider, as defined in section 3 of any of the Financial Institutions Codes.
"Financial Institutions Code" means any of the following Codes of a State or Territory:
"SSA "means any of the following:
"transfer agreement" means an agreement entered into:
that provides for matters connected with the transfer of staff, assets or liabilities from AFIC or an SSA to APRA or ASIC.
"transferring body "means a body that, immediately before the transfer date, was:
(2) In this Part, a reference to a transfer agreement determining or specifying a person, thing or other matter includes a reference to a person or persons determining or specifying that person, thing or matter, as permitted by that transfer agreement.
Division 2Transitional provisions relating to
staff
2 Transfer of State or Territory employees to APRA
(1) A transfer agreement may determine that specified State or Territory employees become APRA employees on a specified date, not being a date before the transfer date. In this Division, the date so specified is the agreed date in relation to the employees concerned.
Note: Employees may be specified by name, by inclusion in a specified class, or in some other way.
(2) The agreement has effect accordingly, to the extent that it is within the Commonwealth's legislative power to give the agreement that effect.
3 Terms and conditions of transferred staff
(1) APRA is to determine the terms and conditions applying
to a person who becomes an APRA employee as mentioned in item 2 as if the
person had actually been appointed under section 45 of the APRA Act. The terms
and conditions of employment must not be less favourable than those that
applied to the person immediately before the agreed date.
(2) The person is
entitled to retain, as an APRA employee, all the benefits that had accrued to
the person in respect of his or her length of State or Territory service up to
the agreed date, as if those benefits had accrued in respect of the person's
position as an APRA employee. For this purpose, the person's State or
Territory service is:
(3) The person's service as an APRA employee is taken, for all purposes, to have been continuous with the person's service, immediately before the agreed date, as a State or Territory employee.
4 Statement of accrued benefits
(1) A transfer
agreement may determine that APRA is to be given a statement of the benefits
to which a person who becomes an APRA employee as mentioned in item 2 has an
accrued entitlement in respect of his or her position as a State or Territory
employee.
(2) In any proceedings relating to subitem 3(2), the statement is
prima facie evidence of the matters set out in the statement.
(3) Item 2 has
effect in relation to the person even if the statement is not given as
required.
Division 3Transfer of assets and liabilities
5 Transfer of
assets
(1) A transfer agreement may determine that all or any of the following things happen on a specified date, not being a date before the transfer date:
Note: Assets or instruments may be specified by description, by inclusion in a specified class or in some other way.
(2) The agreement has effect accordingly, to the extent that it is
within the Commonwealth's legislative power to give the agreement that effect.
(3) This item does not prevent assets being transferred to APRA or ASIC
otherwise than in accordance with a transfer agreement.
(4) In this item:
6 Transfer of liabilities
(1) A transfer agreement may determine that all or any of the following things happen on a specified date, not being a date before the transfer date:
Note: Liabilities or instruments may be specified by description, by inclusion in a specified class or in some other way.
(2) The agreement has effect
accordingly, to the extent that it is within the Commonwealth's legislative
power to give the agreement that effect.
(3) This item does not prevent
liabilities being transferred to APRA or ASIC otherwise than in accordance
with a transfer agreement.
Division 4Transitional provisions relating
to operation of the Banking Act 1959
7 Certain bodies taken to have
authorities to carry on banking business
(1) This item applies to the following bodies:
Note: The Cairns Cooperative Weekly Penny Savings Bank Limited is a body incorporated under the Financial Intermediaries Act 1996 of Queensland.
(2) APRA may, in writing, determine
that this item applies to CCWPSBL, but only if the Treasurer and the
Queensland Minister responsible for the administration of the Financial
Intermediaries Act 1996 of Queensland have agreed that CCWPSBL should be
covered by the Banking Act 1959 from the transfer date.
(3) On the
transfer date, a body to which this item applies is taken to have been granted
an authority under subsection 9(3) of the Banking Act 1959 .
(4) APRA may, in
writing, determine conditions to which the authority is subject. The
determination has effect accordingly.
(5) The authority may be dealt with
under the Banking Act 1959 as if it had actually been granted under subsection
9(3) of that Act.
(6) Conditions determined under subitem (4) may be dealt
with under the Banking Act 1959 as if they were imposed under subsection 9(4)
of that Act.
(7) Subsection 9(7) of the Banking Act 1959 does not apply to:
(8) APRA must give the body written notice of the following:
(9) APRA may also give notice of a matter referred to in paragraph (8)(a) or (b) in such other way as APRA considers appropriate.
8 Bodies taken to have consent for use of certain expressions
(1) A body that, immediately before the transfer date:
is taken, on the transfer date, to have been granted a consent under section 66 of the Banking Act 1959 covering the body trading or carrying on business under that name or title. The consent may be dealt with under that Act as if it had actually been granted under section 66 of that Act.
(2) An exemption in force under subsection 144(4) of a Financial Institutions Code immediately before the transfer date continues to have effect from that date, and may be dealt with, as if it were a consent under section 66 of the Banking Act 1959 . Any conditions to which the exemption was subject immediately before the transfer date are to be taken, from that date, to be, and may be dealt with as if they were, conditions applying under section 66 of the Banking Act 1959 .
9 Unclaimed money
(1)
This item applies to each body that is taken by subitem 7(3) to have been
granted an authority under subsection 9(3) of the Banking Act 1959 .
(2) An
amount of money in respect of which notification action has been taken before
the transfer date by a body to which this item applies under an
unclaimed money law is not unclaimed moneys for the purposes of section 69 of
the Banking Act 1959 .
(3) For the avoidance of doubt, it is declared that,
subject to subitem (2), an amount of money that, on the transfer date,
satisfies the description of unclaimed moneys in section 69 of the Banking Act
1959 is unclaimed moneys for the purposes of that section even though, for any
reason, the amount was not, immediately before that date, unclaimed money, or
unclaimed moneys, within the meaning of an unclaimed money law.
(4) If, but
for this item, a body to which this item applies would be required to deliver
a Commonwealth unclaimed money statement on or before the 31 March next
following the transfer date, then:
(5) The Treasurer, or an authorized officer (within the meaning of section 69 of the Banking Act 1959 ), may, in relation to a specified body to which this item applies, determine in writing that subsection 69(5) of the Banking Act 1959 has effect in relation to the first Commonwealth unclaimed money statement delivered by the body after the transfer date as if it required the amount shown in the statement to be paid to the Commonwealth:
Note: A body may be specified by name, by inclusion in a specified class or in some other way.
(6) A person must not, under subitem (5), make a determination that
would result in an amount being required to be paid to the Commonwealth more
than 5 years after the date on which the amount would otherwise have had to be
paid to the Commonwealth.
(7) A determination under subitem (5) has effect
accordingly.
(8) In this item:
"notification action" means:
Note: For the transitional provisions relating to the operation of the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998 , see the amendment made by item 45 of Schedule 7 to this Act.
Division 5Transitional provisions
relating to operation of the Life Insurance Act 1995
10 Definitions
In this Division:
"eligible benefit fund" means a fund:
"health insurance business" has the same meaning as in section 67 of the National Health Act 1953 .
"old Act" means the Life Insurance Act 1995 as in force immediately before the transfer date.
"transferring friendly society" means a company that is taken, by subitem 11(1), to have been granted registration under section 21 of the amended Act.
11 Companies taken to be registered etc.
(1) A company (within the meaning of the amended Act) in relation to which all the following conditions are satisfied is taken, on the transfer date, to have been granted registration under section 21 of the amended Act:
For the purposes of paragraph (c), a company was in winding up immediately before the transfer date if, at that time, an appointment of a liquidator of the company was in force in accordance with Part 9 of the Friendly Societies Code of a State or Territory.
Note 1: A company may be specified by name, by
inclusion in a specified class or in some other way.
Note 2: If the company
was in winding up immediately before the transfer date, the winding up will
continue in accordance with Schedule 4 to the Corporations Law (see in
particular clause 11 of that Schedule).
(2) APRA must, as soon as practicable
after the transfer date, issue to the company a certificate under subsection
21(5) of the amended Act.
(3) The registration may be dealt with under the
amended Act as if it had actually been granted under section 21 of that Act.
(4) The regulations may provide for the company to cease to be registered.
Regulations for this purpose have effect in addition to the provisions in
sections 26 and 27 of the amended Act about cancellation of a company's
registration.
(5) If, immediately before the transfer date, the company
carried on business:
APRA is taken, on the transfer date, to have made a declaration under section 12A of the amended Act that the business is to be treated as if it were life insurance business.
(6) If, immediately before the transfer date, the company carried on business:
APRA is taken, on the transfer date, to have made a declaration under section 12B of the amended Act that the business is to be treated as if it were life insurance business.
(7)
The eligible benefit funds of the company are taken to be benefit funds
established by the company in accordance with the requirements of the amended
Act (as it applies subject to Part 2A of that Act).
(8) The existing benefit
fund rules for the eligible benefit funds of the company are taken, on the
transfer date, to have been approved under section 16L of the amended Act and
to have come into force under section 16N of the amended Act on that date.
This approval has effect subject to subitem (10).
(9) A provision of the
existing benefit fund rules as so taken to be approved is not effective to the
extent that the provision is inconsistent with:
(10) If the existing benefit fund rules for an eligible benefit fund of the company are taken to have an approval by subitem (8), APRA may determine, in writing, that the approval ceases to have effect if:
A determination under this subitem can only be made during the period beginning on the day that is 18 months after the transfer date and ending on the day that is 30 months after the transfer date.
(11) If APRA
makes a determination under subitem (10) in relation to an approval, the
approval that those rules are taken to have by subitem (8) ceases to have
effect on the day the determination is made.
(12) A reference in section 236
of the amended Act to a reviewable decision includes a reference to a decision
to make a determination under subitem (10).
(13) Subject to subsection 77(6)
of the amended Act, for the purposes of the amended Act, the financial year of
the company is the period that, immediately before the transfer date, was the
financial year of the company for the purposes of the Friendly Societies Code
under which the company was then registered.
(14) APRA may give notice of any
of the following matters in such way as APRA considers appropriate:
12 Transitional provision relating to assignment of interests in benefit funds
If:
that assignment is taken, for the purposes of the amended Act, to have been made in accordance with subsection 200(2) of the amended Act.
13 Transitional provision relating to registration of policies
Nothing in section 227 of the amended Act applies to a policy issued before the transfer date that was not a life policy for the purposes of the old Act when it was issued.
14 Continued effect of declarations under section 12 of the old Act
(1) A declaration in force immediately before the transfer date for
the purposes of paragraph 12(2)(a) of the old Act continues to have effect on
and after the transfer date as if it were a declaration under subsection 12(2)
of the amended Act.
(2) A declaration in force immediately before the
transfer date for the purposes of paragraph 12(2)(b) of the old Act continues
to have effect on and after the transfer date as if it were a declaration
under subsection 12A(1) of the amended Act.
15 Transitional provisions relating to auditors
(1) An approval of a person that is in force under
subsection 85(1) of the old Act immediately before the transfer date continues
to have effect on and after the transfer date as if it were an approval of the
person under paragraphs 85(1)(a) and (b) of the amended Act.
(2) If an
appointment (including an appointment that is taken to have been made) of a
person as an auditor of a friendly society is in force under any of the
Friendly Societies Codes immediately before the transfer date and that
friendly society is a transferring friendly society, the person is taken, on
the transfer date:
Note: For appointments that are taken to have been made, see in particular subsections 340(6) and (7) of the various Friendly Societies Codes (dealing with appointment of firms).
(3) At any time while 2 or more persons
are taken by subitem (2) to have been appointed as auditors of the same
transferring friendly society, the amended Act applies in relation to the
transferring friendly society as if any reference to the auditor, or the
approved auditor, of a life company were instead a reference to any of the
persons so taken to have been appointed.
(4) An approval or appointment that
is taken by subitem (2) to have been granted or made may be dealt with under
the amended Act:
(5) Subsection 87(1) of the amended Act does not apply to an appointment that is taken by paragraph (2)(b) to have been made.
16 Transitional provisions relating to actuaries
(1) If an appointment of a person as an actuary to a friendly society is in force under any of the Friendly Societies Codes immediately before the transfer date and that friendly society is a transferring friendly society, the person is taken, on the transfer date:
(2) An approval or appointment that is taken by subitem (1) to have been granted or made may be dealt with under the amended Act:
(3) Subsection 95(1) of the amended Act does not apply to an appointment that is taken by paragraph (1)(b) to have been made.
17 Unclaimed money
(1) An
amount of money in respect of which notification action has been taken before
the transfer date under an unclaimed money law is not an amount of unclaimed
money for the purposes of section 216 of the amended Act.
(2) For the
avoidance of doubt, it is declared that, subject to subitem (1), an amount of
money that, on the transfer date, satisfies the description of unclaimed money
in section 216 of the amended Act is unclaimed money for the purposes of that
section even though, for any reason, the amount was not, immediately before
the transfer date, unclaimed money, or unclaimed moneys, within the meaning of
an unclaimed money law.
(3) If, but for this item, a transferring friendly
society would be required to deliver a Commonwealth unclaimed money statement
on or before the 31 March next following the transfer date, then:
(4) ASIC may, in relation to a specified transferring friendly society, determine in writing that subsection 216(3) of the amended Act has effect in relation to the first Commonwealth unclaimed money statement delivered by the transferring friendly society after the transfer date as if it required the amount worked out under subsection 216(6) of that Act to be paid to the Commonwealth:
Note: A transferring friendly society may be specified by name, by inclusion in a specified class or in some other way.
(5) ASIC must not,
under subitem (4), make a determination that would result in an amount being
required to be paid to the Commonwealth more than 5 years after the date on
which the amount would otherwise have had to be paid to the Commonwealth.
(6)
A determination under subitem (4) has effect accordingly.
(7) In this item:
"notification action" means:
18 Effect of amendments etc. on treatment of business that is not currently eligible insurance business for the purposes of Division 8A of Part III of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936
If, immediately before the transfer date, a kind of business was not eligible insurance business for the purposes of Division 8A of Part III of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 , then business of that kind that is carried on after the transfer date is not to be taken to be eligible insurance business for the purposes of that Division merely because of all or any of the following:
Division 6Other transitional provisions
19 Transitional
provision relating to completion of transfers of engagements and mergers under
State and Territory laws
(1) This item applies if a law of a State or
Territory (a State or Territory transitional law ) provides for a transfer of
engagements, or a merger, commenced before the transfer date under the
Financial Institutions Code or the Friendly Societies Code of the State or
Territory to be completed, or to be given effect, after the transfer date in
accordance with that law.
(2) A transfer of engagements or a merger to which
a State or Territory transitional law applies may be completed, or be given
effect, after the transfer date in accordance with that law despite anything
in the Banking Act 1959 , the Life Insurance Act 1995 or any other law of the
Commonwealth prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subitem.
(3) Regulations for the purposes of this subitem may deal with how specified
laws of the Commonwealth apply in relation to the situation resulting from a
transfer of engagements, or a merger, that is completed or given effect in
accordance with a State or Territory transitional law.
Note 1: For example,
if the resulting situation would otherwise constitute a breach of a particular
law of the Commonwealth, regulations may provide that the situation is taken
not to constitute a breach of that law (either for a limited period or
indefinitely).
Note 2: This subitem has effect in addition to section 49 of
the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998 .
(4) For the purposes of this item, a transfer of engagements was commenced before the transfer date if, before that date:
(5) For the purposes of this item, a merger was commenced before the transfer date if, before that date, one of the following conditions was satisfied in relation to each transferring body involved:
20 Treatment of determinations under section 29 of the Social Security Act 1991
A determination in force immediately before the transfer date for the purposes of section 29 of the Social Security Act 1991 as then in force is to be taken, on and after the transfer date, to be an approval for the purposes of section 29 of that Act as amended by this Act.
Part 2Transitional provisions relating to other amendments
21 Treatment
of approvals of banks and authorisations of persons under
subsection 4(1) of the High Court of Australia Act 1979
An approval of a bank, or an authorisation of a person, that is in force immediately before the commencement of item 21 of Schedule 6 for the purposes of the definition of approved bank in subsection 4(1) of the High Court of Australia Act 1979 as then in force is to be taken, after that commencement, to be an approval of the bank or an authorisation of the person for the purposes of the definition of ADI in subsection 4(1) of that Act as amended by this Act.
Part
3Regulations
22 Regulations may deal with transitional, saving or
application matters
(1) The regulations may deal with matters of a transitional, saving or application nature relating to:
(2) Without limiting subitem (1), the regulations may provide for a matter to be dealt with, wholly or partly, in any of the following ways:
(3)
Without limiting subitems (1) and (2), the regulations may provide for the
continued effect, for the purposes of a provision of a law of the
Commonwealth, of a thing done or instrument made, or a class of things done or
instruments made, before the transfer date under or for the purposes of a
provision of a law of a State or Territory. In the case of an instrument or
class of instruments, the regulations may provide for the instrument or
instruments to continue to have effect subject to modifications.
(4) Without
limiting subitem (3), regulations providing for the continued effect of things
done or instruments made may permit all or any of the following matters to be
determined in writing by a specified person, or by a person included in a
specified class of persons:
(5) Despite subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 , regulations for the purposes of this item:
(6) In this item, a reference to a law , whether
of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory, includes a reference to an
instrument made under such a law.
(7) In this item:
23 Power to make regulations
The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed.