FIRST HOME SAVER ACCOUNTS ACT 2008 (REPEALED)

PART 7 - PRUDENTIAL PROVISIONS  

Division 4 - Other prudential provisions  

SECTION 125   Protection for small balances  

125(1)    
A provider of an FHSA commits an offence if:

(a) the provider allows an amount to be paid from the FHSA; and

(b) the amount is an amount of fees owing to the FHSA provider for providing the FHSA; and

(c) the amount of those fees is for a reporting period that applies to the FHSA; and

(d) the total earnings or other return credited to the FHSA for the reporting period is less than the amount of those fees; and

(e) the balance of the FHSA is $ 1,000 or less.

Penalty: 100 penalty units.

Note:

Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility and Part IA of the Crimes Act 1914 contains provisions dealing with penalties.

125(2)    
Subsection (1) does not apply if:

(a) the FHSA holder consents in writing to the payment; or

(b) the FHSA is an interest in an FHSA trust and the earnings or other return credited to the FHSA are calculated by reference to the price of units in the trust; or

(c) the FHSA is provided by a life insurance company.

Note:

A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection (2) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code ).

125(3)    
Subsection (1) also does not apply if:

(a) the total amount of fees paid for the reporting period from all FHSAs provided by the provider is greater than the total amount of earnings or other return credited by the provider to all those FHSAs for the reporting period; and

(b) the amount of fees paid from an FHSA for that period bears the same proportion to the total amount of fees mentioned in paragraph (a) that the:

(i) earnings or other return credited to the FHSA for that period bears to the total amount of earnings or other return mentioned in paragraph (a); or

(ii) balance of the FHSA at the end of that period bears to the total of the balances of all FHSAs provided by the provider at the end of that period.

Note:

A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection (3) (see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code ).

Validity of transaction not affected by contravention

125(4)    
A contravention of subsection (1) does not affect the validity of a transaction.