South Australian Consolidated Acts

CO-OPERATIVES ACT 1997 - SECT 17

17—Approval of disclosure statement

        (1)         A draft disclosure statement of a proposed trading co-operative must be submitted to the Commission at least 28 days (or such shorter period as the Commission may allow in a particular case) before the formation meeting is due to be held.

        (2)         The disclosure statement must contain the information necessary to ensure that prospective members are adequately informed of the nature and extent of a person's financial involvement or liability as a member of the co-operative including so far as applicable—

            (a)         the estimated costs of formation; and

            (b)         the nature of the proposed membership of the co-operative; and

            (c)         the rights and liabilities attaching to shares in the proposed co-operative (including the capital required for the co-operative); and

            (d)         the projected income and expenditure of the co-operative for its first year of operation; and

            (e)         information about any contracts required to be entered into by the co-operative; and

            (f)         any other information that the Commission directs.

        (3)         The disclosure statement must not include a statement purporting to be made by an expert or to be based on a statement made by an expert unless—

            (a)         the expert has given, and has not withdrawn, the expert's written consent to the submission of the disclosure statement with the statement included in the form and context in which it is included; and

            (b)         there appears in the disclosure statement a statement that the expert has given, and has not withdrawn, the expert's consent.

        (4)         The Commission may—

            (a)         approve the draft statement as submitted; or

            (b)         amend the draft, or require a stated amendment of the draft, and then approve the amended statement; or

            (c)         approve a different statement to that submitted; or

            (d)         refuse to approve the statement; or

            (e)         require the person submitting the draft statement to give the Commission any additional information the Commission reasonably requires, and then act under paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d).

        (5)         Approval may be given at any time before the formation meeting is held.

        (5a)         The Commission may approve a disclosure statement with or without conditions.

        (6)         Subject to subsection (7), the Commission approves of a disclosure statement by giving notice of the approval of the statement to the person who submitted the draft statement to the Commission.

        (7)         The Commission is to be considered to have approved the disclosure statement as submitted to the Commission unless at least 5 days before the formation meeting is due to be held—

            (a)         the Commission gives notice of approval of a different disclosure statement; or

            (b)         the Commission gives notice to the person who submitted the draft statement that the Commission is still considering the matter; or

            (c)         the Commission gives notice of refusal to approve the disclosure statement.

        (8)         A notice under this section must be in writing.