New South Wales Consolidated Acts

FUNERAL FUNDS ACT 1979 - SECT 24

24 Returns

(1) A funeral contribution fund shall, in each year within 3 months after the last day of the fund’s financial year, lodge with the Director-General a return containing the particulars specified in subsection (2) and accompanied by such documents as are specified in subsection (3).

(1A) The Director-General may exempt a funeral contribution fund from the requirement to lodge a return under subsection (1) if the Director-General is satisfied that the fund is subject to adequate reporting requirements under a law of the Commonwealth.

(2) The particulars required to be contained in the return under subsection (1) are:

(a) the address, as at the date of lodgment of the return, of the registered office of the funeral contribution fund,

(b) all such particulars with respect to the person who, as at the date of lodgment of the return, is an executive officer of the fund (within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth) and with respect to any person who, as at that date, is a director or secretary of the fund in respect of whom the fund has lodged (or should have lodged) a notice under Part 2D.5 of that Act,

(c) the name and address of every person who, as at the date of lodgment of the return, is an auditor of the fund,

(d) the name and address of every bank, building society and credit union at which the fund, as at the date of lodgment of the return, maintains an account or keeps any of its money, and

(e) such other particulars (if any) as are prescribed.

(3) The documents required to accompany the return under subsection (1) are:

(a) a copy, certified by a director or secretary of the funeral contribution fund, to be a true copy of an annual financial report relating to the fund required by Division 1 of the Commonwealth (as applying of its own force or under subsection (3A)) to be prepared for or with respect to its financial year immediately preceding the date on which the return is required to be lodged with the Director-General under subsection (1), and

(b) a copy of an auditor’s report or reports required to be made by Division 3 of Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth on that financial report (as applying of its own force or under subsection (3A)).

(3A) An exempt fund is declared to be an applied Corporations legislation matter for the purposes of Part 3 of the Corporations (Ancillary Provisions) Act 2001 in relation to the provisions of Division 1 of Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth, subject to the following modifications:

(a) the provisions apply as if:

(i) sections 292 (2), 293 and 294 were omitted from that Part, and

(ii) section 296 (1) were omitted and the following subsection inserted instead:

“(1) The financial report for a financial year must comply with the accounting standards.”

(b) a reference to ASIC is to be read as a reference to the Director-General,

(c) such other modifications (within the meaning of the Corporations (Ancillary Provisions) Act 2001 ) as may be prescribed by the regulations.

Note: Part 3 of the Corporations (Ancillary Provisions) Act 2001 provides for the application of provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 and Part 3 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 of the Commonwealth as laws of the State in respect of any matter declared by a law of the State (whether with or without modification) to be an applied Corporations legislation matter for the purposes of that Part in relation to those Commonwealth provisions. Section 14 (2) of the Corporations (Ancillary Provisions) Act 2001 ensures that a declaration made for the purposes of Part 3 of that Act only operates to apply a provision of the Corporations legislation to a matter as a law of the State if that provision does not already apply to the matter as a law of the Commonwealth. If a provision referred to in a declaration already applies as a law of the Commonwealth, nothing in the declaration will affect its continued operation as a law of the Commonwealth.

(4) A funeral contribution fund shall, not later than 14 days after a change occurs in any particular referred to in subsection (2) in relation to the fund, lodge with the Director-General details in writing of the change.

(5) In this section, "exempt fund" means a funeral contribution fund that is a small proprietary company within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth that is not required to prepare a financial report and director’s report under Division 1 of Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth.

Maximum penalty: 2 penalty units.