Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by the authority of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, the Hon David Bradbury MP)General outline and financial impact
Outline
The Corporations Amendment (Phoenixing and Other Measures) Bill 2012 (the Bill) amends the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) to:
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- introduce an administrative process for compulsory external administration to facilitate payment of employee entitlements where a company has been abandoned;
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- include a regulation making power to prescribe methods of publication of notices relating to events before, during and after the external administration of a company; and
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- to make other miscellaneous, minor and technical amendments.
Date of effect: The Bill commences on Royal Assent. The Bill does not have retrospective effect. The substantive amendments in Schedules 1 and 2 commence on a single day to be fixed by Proclamation.
Proposal announced: Providing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) with an administrative power to wind up a company is an election commitment from the Government's Protecting Workers' Entitlement Package announced in July 2010.
The online publication changes were announced by the Government on 14 December 2011 as part of reforms announced to modernise and harmonise Australia's insolvency system.
Financial impact: No impact. The regulation making power contained in the Bill facilitates the prescription of the publication of corporate insolvency notices on a single website to be maintained by ASIC. Regulations will prescribe a fee for the publication of corporate insolvency notices.
Compliance cost impact: The reforms to the publication requirements as set out in Part 3 of Schedule 1 of the Bill are expected to ultimately reduce industry advertising costs by approximately $15 million over the next four years. The other measures in the Bill will have no significant impact on business regulation.
Summary of regulation impact statement
Regulation impact on business
Impact: A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was not required for the amendments.
Summary of Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights has been prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 .
The Bill is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
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