Bills Digest nos. 39 2006–07
Corporations Amendment (Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Corporations)
Bill 2006
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Corporations
Amendment (Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Corporations) Bill
2006
Date introduced:
14 September 2006
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Families, Community Services and
Indigenous Affairs
Commencement:
The operative schedules of
both Bills commence on the same day as the commencement of the
Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander) Act 2006.
The purpose of these Bills is to make
amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 required for
compatibility with the new regime for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander corporations under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander) Bill 2005 (CATSI Bill), and to make associated
transitional and consequential amendments to other Acts.
Background
These Bills supplement the CATSI Bill,
introduced last year, but yet to commence. A discussion of the
original CATSI Bill can be found in the relevant Bills
Digest.(1) All three Bills have been subject to review
by the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional
Affairs, which recently released its report.(2) In its
majority report, the Committee recommended that:
Recommendation 1
5.5 The committee recommends that the government
should monitor funding to assist corporations with the transition
to the new regime and make provision in the 2007-08 budget to
increase this funding if necessary.
Recommendation 2
5.6 The committee recommends the government
consider restricting to voting members the right of members to
request directors call a general meeting and amend sections 201-5
and 201-10 of the 2005 Bill accordingly.
Recommendation 3
5.7 The committee recommends the government
monitor the practical interaction of the bills with other
legislation, particularly the Native Title Act, and at the end of
the two-year transition period report to the Parliament on this
matter.
Recommendation 4
5.8 Subject to the preceding recommendations, the
committee recommends that the Senate pass the
bills.(3)
Labor members of the Committee (Senators
Crossin, Ludwig and Kirk) made a separate recommendation that:
To ensure that the impact of the legislation is
closely monitored and with appropriate transparency, the Labor
Senators of the committee recommend that for the next three
financial years ORAC [Office of the Registrar of Aboriginal
Corporations] include in its annual report a review of the
operation of the new legislation and results of a statistical
survey of stakeholder satisfaction.(4)
Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander) Consequential, Transitional and Other Measures
Bill 2006
The Native Title Act 1993 makes
reference to prescribed bodies corporate (PBCs). These are bodies
established under that Act to perform various functions required
under the native title regime. PBCs are currently required to be
registered under the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act
1976 (ACA Act). On passage of the CATSI Bill, they will need
to be registered under it. Schedule 1 makes the necessary changes
in the Native Title Act to reflect the new requirements of the
CATSI Bill and the repeal of the ACA Act.
Schedule 2 repeals the ACA Act and makes
consequential amendments to several other Acts, substituting
references to the ACA Act with references to the CATSI Bill.
This schedule provides for the transitional
matters necessary upon conversion from one incorporation regime to
another, such as pending applications for incorporation, continuity
of receivership and administrations, continuity of legal status
etc.
All of the amendments relate to the
Corporations Act 2001.
Schedule 1, items 2, 24 and
25 amend the Corporations Act so as to make plain that the
provisions of that Act relating to winding up and receivership of
corporations do not apply to corporations registered under the
Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Bill 2006
(ATSI corporations), or, in some instances, apply only as modified
by the CATSI Act.
Schedule 1, item
3 amends section 57A of the Corporations Act to make plain
that ATSI corporations are covered by the provisions of that
Act.
Schedule 1, items 4 and 5
amend the Corporations Act so as to exclude ATSI corporations from
the provisions of that Act relating to director s duties. The CATSI
Bill has its own scheme for such duties and the amendment is
directed at preventing duplication.
Schedule 1, items 6 to 23
make amendments necessary to align the consequences of
disqualification from managing corporations under the Corporations
Act with the regime for disqualification under the CATSI Bill.
Schedule 1, items 26 to 30
contain technical amendments aimed at facilitating transfers of a
company s registration from the Corporations Act to the CATSI
Bill.
- http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bd/2005-06/06bd082.htm
- The Senate Standing Committee on Legal and
Constitutional Affairs, Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander) Bill 2005 [Provisions] and Corporations Amendment
(Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations) Bill 2006
[Provisions] Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander)
Consequential, Transitional and Other Measures Bill 2006
[Provisions], October 2006.
[http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/legcon_ctte/corporations/index.htm]
- ibid., p. ix
- ibid., p. 40
Jerome Davidson
16 October 2006
Law and Bills Digest Section
Parliamentary Library
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2007
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