Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Financial Services & Regulation,the Honourable Joe Hockey, MP)Schedule 4 - Miscellaneous amendments
| This schedule makes consequential amendments to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 and the Financial Corporations Act 1974 as a result of changes being made to the Reserve Bank Act. Miscellaneous amendments are made to: the Financial Sector Reform (Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1999 to repeal redundant provisions which are causing some confusion; the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993 to remove the current limit on the maximum number of members of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal; and the Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997 to clarifythe position of a retirement savings account provided by a life company. |
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act)
Definition of officer of the Reserve Bank Service
9.1 The proposed amendments to the Reserve Bank Act (see schedule 2) aim to simplify and modernise the Reserve Bank service. For example the term 'officer of the Bank' will be omitted and replaced with 'a staff member of the Reserve Bank service'. Consequently, any references to these terms in other legislation require updating.
9.2 The definitional section of the APRA Act contains a reference to an officer of the Reserve Bank service. This amendment omits the term 'officer' and replaces it with 'person'.
Financial Corporations Act 1974 (FCA)
9.3 Similar to item 1, the FCA makes reference to an officer of the Reserve Bank service. Item 2 proposes to omit the reference in paragraph 22A(1)(b) to 'officer' and replace it with 'a staff member'.
9.4 The amendment made by item 3 omits the reference to subsection 66(2) of the Reserve Bank Act and replaces it with a reference to section 66. This change is made in accordance with the changes to the Reserve Bank Act.
Financial Sector Reform (Amendments and Transitional Provisions ) Act (No. 1) 1999
9.5 Subsections 3(14) and (15) relate to the Superannuation Legislation (Commonwealth Employment) Repeal and Amendment Bill 1999, which is still before the Senate. The repeal of these subsections is necessary for two reasons: first this Bill is referred to as an Act in the Financial Sector Reform (Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1999 and this is causing some confusion. Secondly, subsections 3(14) and (15) have become redundant as the schedules to the Bill did not commence prior to the transfer date of 1 July 1999.
Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997
9.6 Item 6 clarifies that the retirement savings account (RSA) business undertaken by a life company is a life policy for the purposes of the Life Insurance Act 1995 . This will ensure that the RSA business is offered through a statutory fund (or the equivalent benefit fund for a friendly society) and is subject to the full scope of prudential measures.
Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993 (SRC Act)
9.7 The proposed amendment will remove the current limitation on the maximum number of members of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal. Current sub-section 7(1) of the SRC Act limits the number of members of the Tribunal to a maximum of ten.
9.8 The proposed amendment will increase the capacity of the Tribunal to handle complaints and provide additional flexibility in scheduling matters. It will also assist in dealing with the current backlog of complaints which result from a temporary curtailment of the Tribunal's powers following a 1998 Federal Court decision.