Australian Greens Additional Comments

1.1The Greens additional comments relate to Schedule 1: Enhanced beneficial ownership disclosure for listed entities and Schedule 2: Australian Charities and Not-for profits Commission review Rec 17 – Secrecy Provisions.

Schedule 1: Enhanced beneficial ownership disclosure for listed entities

1.2Three and a half years and two elections after Labor first committed to implement a public register of ultimate beneficial ownership, the Australian public gets a statement that Labor will progress policy work on a register two years from now.[1] Based on this timeframe, we likely won’t see legislation to implement a public register until after a third federal election due in 2028.

1.3It is hard to escape the conclusion that Labor has let massive corporations and those who use private companies and trusts to conceal the level and source of their wealth convince them to back down on their election promise.

1.4Australia has long lagged behind international best practice for financial transparency. In 2015, the Financial Action Taskforce found Australia is only partially compliant in respect of beneficial ownership for companies and non-compliant in respect of trusts.[2]

1.5Yet, despite many promises over the last decade, both the Coalition and Labor have failed to implement a public beneficial ownership register.

1.6In 2016, the Turnbull Coalition Government committed to exploring a beneficial ownership register for companies.[3] In 2017, Treasury consulted on the details of a register, however, no legislation was introduced.[4]

1.7In April 2022, Labor committed to legislate a “public register of ultimate beneficial ownership” as part of their election platform.[5] Labor twice consulted on steps towards this in their first term, but failed to introduce any legislation.[6]

1.8Labor are now in their second term and whilst Schedule 1 of this Bill marginally improves existing beneficial ownership disclosure obligations that apply to listed companies and enhances transparency, we still don’t have Labor’s promised public register.

1.9At Senate Estimates in October 2025, Treasury officials confirmed that this Bill does not create a public beneficial ownership register.[7] Not only that, but Treasury officials indicated that Treasury is not currently progressing work to introduce a public register as they are waiting for ASIC to complete work to upgrade its business registers program.[8]

1.10ASIC indicated at Estimates that the tranche of work required to support a public beneficial ownership register won’t be completed until 2028-29 and has not yet been funded by Government.[9]

1.11Labor was not forthcoming with this information. It took the Greens questioning ASIC and Treasury at Estimates to uncover the massive failure of Labor to deliver their promise on time.

1.12A few days after ASIC and Treasury appeared at Estimates, on 15 October 2025, The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP released a statement indicating that the Government will “further progress detailed policy development work on the beneficial ownership register from early 2027, with public consultation expected thereafter.”[10] Based on this timeframe, it is likely the Australian public won’t see legislation to implement a public register until after a third federal election due in 2028 - at least 6 years after Labor first committed to the policy.

1.13It is clear that Labor would rather bow to pressure from massive corporations and billionaires than implement their election promise. Labor must be held to account to deliver a public beneficial ownership register.

1.14The Greens understand that ASIC’s business registers need to be upgraded in order to support a beneficial ownership register, however there is nothing stopping Labor from introducing legislation by the end of 2026 that establishes a register. Provisions could be made for this legislation to commence once ASIC has completed its business registers upgrade.

1.15The Greens and many organisations, including the Tax Justice Network Australia and the Center for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research, have long advocated for a centralised, publicly accessible beneficial ownership register of public and private companies and trusts. We need a public register to stop billionaires and massive corporations using opaque corporate structures to avoid accountability and paying their fair share of tax.

1.16As Transparency International submitted to the inquiry:

For too long in Australia, the true owners of companies have been able to hide in the shadows using shell companies, hidden ownership and nominee directors. Criminals, crooks and corrupt officials have used these loopholes to avoid regulation, hide the proceeds of crime, engage in corruption and launder money. The mining sector is particularly prone to corruption involving hidden ownership.[11]

1.17An October 2025 report by Global Energy Monitor, found that people profiting from 22 million tonnes of Australia’s annual CO2 emissions are hiding their identity behind nominee companies.[12] Wealthy individuals and corporations use these structures to profit from fossil fuels whilst keeping their public image intact, as they know climate campaigners will target them if their ownership was known.

1.18A beneficial ownership register would make nominee companies redundant, as the person actually profiting from the shares would be on the public record.

1.19The ATO’s latest corporate tax transparency report found that almost a third of the largest corporations in Australia paid no corporate income tax in the 2023-24 financial year, including major fossil fuel, gambling and airline corporations.

1.20One of the ways massive corporations avoid paying tax is through opaque corporate structures. A public beneficial ownership register would help shine a light on dodgy corporate structures to crack down on multinational tax avoidance.

1.21The government should introduce legislation by the end of 2026 to establish a centralised public register of ultimate beneficial ownership for listed and unlisted entities and trusts commencing as soon as ASIC’s business registers upgrade is complete.

1.22Whilst the Greens key recommendation is for Labor to introduce legislation establishing a public beneficial ownership register in line with their 2022 election commitment, the provisions in Schedule 1 of the Bill can also be improved.

1.23The Bill improves access to existing tracing notice registers, including by making the registers freely available for inspection to journalists and academics as well as members of the entity. Given that Labor has committed to legislating a public register of ultimate beneficial ownership, which would allow any member of the public to view beneficial ownership information, we support the recommendations of Transparency International and the joint submission led by Tax Justice Network Australia that anyone should be able to access tracing notice registers free of charge. As Transparency International note in their submission:

...civil society often undertakes research on beneficial ownership transparency for advocacy. Similarly, business owners and public servants should be able to access data to support them with customer due diligence and know your customer checks to ensure individuals in their supply chains have not engaged in corruption or criminal conduct in Australia or overseas.[13]

1.24The bill should be amended to ensure that any person can access tracing notice registers free of charge, not just members of the entity, academics and journalists.

1.25In order for ASIC to issue a tracing notice, the Bill requires ASIC to demonstrate that it has reasonable grounds that a person has relevant interests in, or has given instructions about securities. The Greens believe the requirement for reasonableness is too high a bar, particularly given that a public register would make this information public without ASIC needing to issue tracing notices. The joint submission led by the Tax Justice Network Australia further states:

…we do not believe that ASIC will issue such notices frivolously, and in any case, if a person has no ownership interests, it will be very easy to disclose that no such interests exist. We do not see that the additional barrier to issuing a tracing notice is in the service of the public interest.[14]

1.26The bill should be amended to allow ASIC to issue tracing notices without having to demonstrate that it has reasonable grounds that a person has relevant interests in, or has given instructions, about securities.

1.27The Greens also support the recommendation from MUFG Pension & Market Services to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhanced Disclosure of Ownership of Listed Entities) Bill 2024 to include short selling as a relevant interest, as well as equity derivatives.[15]

Schedule 2: Australian Charities and Not-for profits Commission review Rec 17 – Secrecy Provisions

1.28The current proposed changes will allow information regarding complaints made to the ACNC to be disclosed on request. The ACNC will only be able to disclose the name of the entity and if assessment activity is or isn't occurring.

1.29The information may only be disclosed if the Commissioner concludes that:

there is publicly available information that suggests that a registered entity has either contravened a provision of the ACNC Act or has failed to comply with a governance standard or external conduct standard, and

the disclosure is necessary to prevent or minimise the risk of significant harm to public health, public safety or an individual; significant mismanagement of the registered entity in question; or significant harm to public trust and confidence in the Australian not-for-profit sector, or to a part of it.

1.30This is a very high threshold that even if met does not mandate the disclosure, it only permits the discretionary disclosure of a very small compass of information.

1.31This does not sufficiently deliver the transparency needed for a trustworthy and credible regulator and charity sector.

1.32Greater transparency is essential to maintain public confidence in the charitable sector and ensure accountability. When serious concerns are raised about charitable organisations, the public has a legitimate interest in understanding how these matters are being addressed by the regulator.

1.33The current limitations on disclosure can undermine trust in both the ACNC and the sector it regulates, particularly for those who have experienced harm through charitable entities. Enhanced disclosure provisions would align the ACNC with best practice regulatory models that balance transparency with natural justice considerations.

1.34Further changes should be considered following the 2018 Legislation review and work with survivors of abuse and others who are frustrated with the opaque nature of the current ACNC system (even as amended by this Bill) include:

Allowing the release of information about the existence of an ongoing investigation into a charity where disclosure would improve public trust in the scheme or otherwise be in the public interest;

Allowing the ACNC to proactively disclose information about complaints received including identifying the charities complained about where it would be in the public interest to do so; and

Allowing the ACNC to disclose information about investigations for reasons including to seek information from the community to assist in a compliance investigation where the collection of the information can materially assist in protecting public trust and confidence in the sector.

1.35These should be subject to the existing protections and notification requirements as exist in the Act to ensure charities that are doing the right thing are not unfairly impacted.

1.36Nobody wants charities that are acting ethically, and complying with the law, to be damaged by the automatic disclosure of malicious or non-meritorious complaints. There are genuine public interest reasons to have some information kept confidential in the regulatory system.

1.37While some confidentiality is understandable, blanket secrecy is not. The entire charitable sector faces reputation damage when badly behaving charities are permitted to act unethically and or illegally for years as they fend off lengthy and secretive investigations.

1.38Eventually these scandals break and people who gave their money, their time and their support in good faith feel betrayed and cheated. They lose faith not just in that one charity but in the not-for-profit sector more broadly.

1.39Secrecy breeds mistrust and transparency builds confidence. The Greens support further reforms in this space to help build that confidence.

Senator Nick McKim

Member

Greens Senator for Tasmania

Footnotes

[1]The Hon Jim Chalmers MP, Shadow Treasurer, the Hon Stephen Jones MP. Shadow Assistant Treasurer, the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury, ‘Labor’s plan to ensure multinationals pay their fair share of tax’, Media Release, 27 April 2022.

[2]The Financial Action Task Force, Australia’s measures to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, April 2015, pp. 5–6.

[3]National Resource Governance Institute, NRGI UK Anticorruption Summit Selected Country Commitments: Additional Downloads, May 2016 (accessed 19 November 2025).

[4]Department of the Treasury, Increasing transparency of the beneficial ownership of companies, March 2017 (accessed 19 November 2025).

[5]The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP. Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, ‘Improving transparency of the true owners of companies’, Media Release, 15October2025.

[6]Department of the Treasury, Multinational tax integrity: Public beneficial ownership register, December2022, (accessed 19 November 2025); Department of the Treasury, Enhanced beneficial ownership disclosure for listed entities, December 2025, (accessed 19 November 2025).

[7]Ms Deepti Paton, Acting Assistant Secretary, Corporations Branch, Markets Group, Department of the Treasury Senate Economics Legislation Committee Supplementary Estimates Committee Hansard, 9October 2025, p. 65.

[8]Mr Tony McDonald, Acting First Assistant Secretary, Digital Policy and Corporations Division, Department of the Treasury, Senate Economics Legislation Committee Supplementary Estimates Committee Hansard, 9October 2025, p. 66.

[9]Ms Kate O’Rourke, Commissioner, ASIC, Senate Economics Legislation Committee Supplementary Estimates Committee Hansard, 9October 2025, p. 88.

[10]The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP. Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, ‘Improving transparency of the true owners of companies’, Media Release, 15October2025.

[11]Transparency International Australia, Submission 7, p. 2.

[12]Global Energy Monitor, The Fossil Fuel Middlemen: How nominee structures obscure Australian investments in coal, oil and gas, October 2025 (accessed 19 November 2025).

[13]Transparency International Australia, Submission 7, p. 2.

[14]Tax Justice Network Australia, the Center for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research, U Ethical Investors and the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania, Submission 8, p. 3.

[15]MUFG Corporate Markets, Submission to Department of the Treasury Consultation into Enhanced beneficial ownership disclosure for listed entities, December 2024 (accessed 19 November 2025).