Commonwealth Numbered Acts

AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES COMMISSION ACT 1989 No. 90 of 1989 - SECT 5

5. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"absent from office", in relation to a holder of an office, means:

   (a)  absent from duty or from Australia; or

   (b)  unable, for any reason, to perform the functions of the office;

"Advisory Committee" means the Companies and Securities Advisory Committee
established by section 145;

"affairs", in relation to a body corporate, has the same meaning as in section
260 of the Corporations Act 1989;

"agency" means an agency, authority, body or person;

"appropriate officer", in relation to a State or Territory, means:

   (a)  in the case of a State-an appropriate Minister of the Crown of that
        State;

   (b)  in the case of the Capital Territory-the Minister administering the
        Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910;

   (c)  in the case of the Northern Territory-an appropriate person holding
        Ministerial office within the meaning of the Northern Territory
        (Self-Government) Act 1978 ; or

   (d)  in the case of any other Territory-the Administrator of that
        Territory;

"assist", in relation to a Commission delegate, means:

   (a)  to perform functions:

        (i)    as a member, officer or employee of the Commission delegate;
               and

        (ii)   in connection with the Commission delegate's performance or
               exercise of a function or power delegated under section 102; or

   (b)  to perform services for the Commission delegate in connection with the
        Commission delegate's performance or exercise of a function or power
        delegated under section 102;

"Australia" includes any external Territory to which this Act extends;

"books" includes:

   (a)  a register;

   (b)  accounts or accounting records, however compiled, recorded or stored;

   (c)  a document;

   (d)  banker's books; and

   (e)  any other record of information;

"Chairperson" means:

   (a)  except in Part 11 or in relation to the Disciplinary Board-the
        Chairperson of the Commission; and

   (b)  in Part 11 or in relation to the Disciplinary Board-the Chairperson of
        the Disciplinary Board;

"Commission" means the Australian Securities Commission established by section
7;

"Commission delegate" means a person to whom, or a body to which, a function
or power is delegated under section 102;

"company", except in section 11 or in the expression "the administration of
companies", means a body corporate that is a company within the meaning of the
Corporations Act 1989;

"contravention", in relation to a law of the Commonwealth, includes an
ancillary offence relating to an offence against that law;

"Convenor" means the Convenor of the Advisory Committee;

"court", except in section 248, includes a tribunal having power to require
the production of documents or the answering of questions;

"Deputy Chairperson" means the Deputy Chairperson of the Commission;

"Director" means the Director of the Review Board;

"Disciplinary Board" means the Companies Auditors and Liquidators
Disciplinary Board established by section 202;

"eligible employee" has the same meaning as in the Superannuation Act 1976;

"eligible person", in relation to a person, means a person who:

   (a)  if the first-mentioned person is a body corporate-is or has been an
        officer of the body within the meaning of a national scheme law or a
        corresponding law; or

   (b)  in any case:

        (i)    is or has been an employee, agent, banker, solicitor or auditor
               of; or

        (ii)   is acting, or has acted, in any other capacity on behalf of;
the first-mentioned person;

"examination", in this section and Part 3, means an examination of a person
pursuant to a requirement made under section 19;

"expenses", in relation to an investigation under Division 1 of Part 3,
includes costs and expenses incurred in relation to a proceeding begun under
section 50 as a result of the investigation;

"fail" means refuse or fail;

"federal proceeding" means a proceeding:

   (a)  in a court exercising federal jurisdiction;

   (b)  in a court of a Territory; or

   (c)  under or for the purposes of a law of the Commonwealth or a
Territory; "foreign country" means a country outside Australia and the
external Territories, or a part of such a country;

"give" has:

   (a)  in relation to a document-a meaning affected by section 86; and

   (b)  in relation to information-a meaning affected by section 6;

"hearing", in this section and Part 3, means a hearing before the Commission
and, in sections 52, 54, 55 and 56, includes a part of such a hearing;

"House" means a House of the Parliament;

"information" has a meaning affected by section 6;

"investigate", in relation to the Commission, means investigate in the course
of performing or exercising any of the Commission's functions and
powers; "meeting" means:

   (a)  in Part 4-a meeting of the Commission;

   (b)  in Part 9-a meeting of the Advisory Committee;

   (c)  in Part 11-a meeting of the Disciplinary Board; and

   (d)  in Part 12-a meeting of the Review Board;

"member" means:

   (a)  except in Division 2 of Part 4, in Part 9, 10, 11, 12 or 14, or in
        relation to a Division, the Advisory Committee, the Panel, the
        Disciplinary Board, the Review Board or the Parliamentary Committee-a
        member of the Commission;

   (b)  in Part 9 or in relation to the Advisory Committee-a member of the
        Advisory Committee;

   (c)  in Part 10 or in relation to the Panel-a member of the Panel;

   (d)  in Part 11 or in relation to the Disciplinary Board-the Chairperson or
        any other member of the Disciplinary Board;

   (e)  in Part 12 or in relation to the Review Board-the Director or any
        other member of the Review Board; and

   (f)  in Part 14 or in relation to the Parliamentary Committee-a member of
        the Parliamentary Committee;

"national scheme law" means:

   (a)  this Act;

   (b)  a law of a kind referred to in subsection 11 (1); or

   (c)  a provision of this Act or of such a law;

"officer", in relation to a body corporate, includes:

   (a)  a director, secretary, executive officer or employee of the body;

   (b)  a receiver, or a receiver and manager, of property of the body;

   (c)  an official manager, or a deputy official manager, of the body;

   (d)  a liquidator, or a provisional liquidator, of the body; and

   (e)  a trustee or other person administering a compromise or arrangement
        made between the body and any other person or persons;

"Panel" means the Corporations and Securities Panel;

"Parliamentary Committee" means the Parliamentary Joint Committee on
Corporations and Securities;

"power" includes an authority;

"President" means the President of the Panel;

"proceeding" means:

   (a)  a proceeding in a federal court or a court of a State or Territory; or
        (b) a proceeding or hearing before, or an examination by or before, a
        tribunal;
whether or not the proceeding, hearing or examination is under or for the
purposes of a law of the Commonwealth or a Territory and whether the
proceeding, hearing or examination is of a civil, administrative, criminal,
disciplinary or other nature;

"produce", except in Part 3, includes permit access to;

"property" means any legal or equitable estate or interest (whether present or
future and whether vested or contingent) in real or personal property of any
description and includes a thing in action and money;

"record", in relation to an examination, means the whole or a part of a record
made under section 24 of statements made at the examination;

"report" includes an interim report;

"Review Board" means the Accounting Standards Review Board established by
section 224;

"staff member" means:

   (a)  a member of the staff referred to in subsection 120 (1) or a person
        employed under subsection 120 (3);

   (b)  a person engaged under subsection 121 (1); or

   (c)  any of the officers, employees and persons who under section 122 are
        to assist the Commission;

"statement", in relation to an examination, includes a question asked, an
answer given, and any other comment or remark made, at the examination;

"superannuation benefits" includes:

   (a)  benefits in the nature of superannuation benefits; and

   (b)  benefits similar to benefits provided under the Superannuation Act
        1976 ;

"Territory" means:

   (a)  the Capital Territory; or

   (b)  an external Territory to which this Act extends;

"this Act" includes the regulations;

"tribunal" means:

   (a)  a tribunal in Australia; or

   (b)  any other body, authority or person in Australia having power, by law
        or by consent of parties, to hear, receive or examine evidence;

"trust money" means money the Commission receives or holds on trust;

"witness", in relation to a hearing before the Commission or the Panel, means
a person appearing at the hearing to give evidence;

"written record", in relation to an examination, means:

   (a)  a record of the examination:

        (i)    that is made in writing; or

        (ii)   as reduced to writing; or

   (b)  a part of such a record.

(2) Subject to this Act, an expression has the same meaning in this Act as in
the Corporations Act 1989.

(3) Except so far as the contrary intention appears in this Act, Parts 1.2 and
1.3 of the Corporations Act 1989 apply for the purposes of this Act as if
this Act and that Act constituted a single Act.