Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Act 2024 (87 of 2024)

Schedule 4   Sustainability reporting

Part 1   Sustainability reporting

Corporations Act 2001

19   After section 289

Insert:

289A Place where sustainability records are kept

(1) An entity may decide where to keep the sustainability records.

Records kept outside this jurisdiction

(2) If sustainability records about particular matters are kept outside this jurisdiction, sufficient written information about those matters must be kept in this jurisdiction to enable substantive provisions of the sustainability report to be prepared.

(3) Subsection (4) applies in relation to an entity and a particular place in this jurisdiction if the entity:

(a) does not currently keep information at that place for the purposes of subsection (2); and

(b) begins to keep information at that place for that purpose.

(4) The entity must give ASIC written notice of that place:

(a) in the prescribed form; and

(b) no later than:

(i) the day the entity is required to lodge a sustainability report under section 319 for the financial year in which the entity begins to keep information at that place; or

(ii) the day the entity would be required to lodge a sustainability report under section 319 for the financial year in which the entity begins to keep information at that place if the entity were required to prepare a sustainability report for that financial year.

(5) ASIC may direct an entity to produce specified sustainability records that are kept outside this jurisdiction.

(6) The direction must:

(a) be in writing; and

(b) specify a place in this jurisdiction where the records are to be produced (the place must be reasonable in the circumstances); and

(c) specify a day (at least 14 days after the direction is given) by which the records are to be produced.

(7) The entity must comply with the direction.

Offences

(8) An offence based on subsection (2), (4) or (7) is an offence of strict liability.

Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.