Senator the Hon Nick Sherry, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, today announced that the Government will introduce legislation to ensure that persons who are disqualified from managing companies in New Zealand will also be disqualified in Australia.
"The Government is focused on taking practical steps that reinforce and improve the integrity of Australia's corporations and our financial markets.
"This legislation will directly address a loophole in the existing law whereby people can effectively avoid disqualification by simply moving across the Tasman. That's not good enough, so we'll be closing the loophole", said Minister Sherry.
The amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 will further progress common regulatory frameworks across the Tasman. The legislation will be modelled on the existing New Zealand provisions to ensure cross-border consistency.
The amendments will mean that persons disqualified from managing companies by the New Zealand Registrar or a New Zealand court will be automatically disqualified in Australia.
Additionally, disqualification in another country will constitute a ground for the Australian Securities and Investment Commission to apply to an Australian court for an order that that person be disqualified in Australia.
"These are important pieces of the regulatory framework that the Government will be correcting", said Minister Sherry.
Draft legislation will be developed over the coming months.