Commonwealth Numbered Acts

FOREIGN TAKEOVERS ACT 1975 No. 92 of 1975 - SECT 19

19. (1) In this section, ''foreign person'' means-

   (a)  a foreign corporation in which a natural person not ordinarily
        resident in Australia or a foreign corporation holds a controlling
        interest; or

   (b)  a foreign corporation in which 2 or more persons, each of whom is
        either a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a
        foreign corporation, hold an aggregate controlling interest.

(2) Where the Treasurer is satisfied that-

   (a)  a person proposes, or persons propose, to acquire assets of an
        Australian business carried on solely by a prescribed corporation or
        prescribed corporations;

   (b)  the proposed acquisition or acquisitions would have the result that-

        (i)    in the case of a business not controlled by foreign persons-the
               business would be controlled by foreign persons; or

        (ii)   in the case of a business controlled by foreign persons-the
               business would continue to be controlled by foreign persons,
               but those persons would include a person who is not, or would
               not include a person who is, one of the foreign persons first
               referred to in this sub-paragraph; and

   (c)  that result would be contrary to the national interest, the Treasurer
        may make an order prohibiting the proposed acquisition or all or any
        of the proposed acquisitions, as the case may be.

(3) Where the Treasurer makes an order under sub-section (2) prohibiting a
proposed acquisition of assets of an Australian business, he may also make an
order in relation to a specified foreign person, or in relation to a specified
foreign person and specified associates, or the persons included in a
specified class of associates, of that person, directing that that person
shall not, or none of those persons shall, whether alone or together with any
other or others of them, acquire any interests in assets of that business, or
acquire any such interests except to a specified extent.

(4) Where a person has acquired assets of an Australian business carried on
solely by a prescribed corporation or prescribed corporations, and the
Treasurer is satisfied that-

   (a)  the acquisition has had the result that-

        (i)    in the case of a business that, before the acquisition, was not
               controlled by foreign persons-the business is controlled by
               foreign persons; or

        (ii)   in the case of a business that, before the acquisition, was
               controlled by foreign persons-the business continues to be
               controlled by foreign persons, but those persons include a
               person who is not, or do not include a person who is, one of
               the foreign persons first referred to in this sub-paragraph;
               and

   (b)  that result is contrary to the national interest, the Treasurer may
        make an order directing the person who acquired the assets to dispose
        of those assets within a specified time to any person or persons
        approved in writing by the Treasurer.

(5) Before the expiration of the time specified in an order made under
sub-section (4) or of that time as extended under this sub-section, the
Treasurer may, by writing signed by him, extend or further extend that time or
that time as so extended, and in that event the order has effect as if the
time as so extended or further extended had been specified in the order.

(6) The Treasurer shall not refuse to approve a person for the purposes of
sub-section (4) unless he is satisfied that the person is a foreign person and
that it would be contrary to the national interest for that person to acquire
the assets concerned.

(7) For the purposes of this section-

   (a)  an Australian business shall be taken to be controlled by foreign
        persons if, and only if, the Treasurer is satisfied that a
        foreign person or foreign persons, alone or together with an associate
        or associates of that foreign person or of any of those
        foreign persons, is or are in a position to determine the policy of
        the business; and

   (b)  where an Australian business is so taken to be controlled by foreign
        persons by reason that a foreign person or foreign persons, together
        with an associate or associates, are in a position to determine the
        policy of the business, references to the foreign persons who control
        the business include references to that associate or those associates,
        whether or not that associate is, or those associates are, in fact
        foreign persons.