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Regulation of Business
Foreign Investment
Review Board (FIRB)
The FIRB is a non-statutory organisation formed in
1976 within the Federal Treasury to provide foreign
investment policy advice to the Treasurer and the
Australian Federal Government.
The FIRB’s advisory only function includes
assessing investment proposals submitted by
foreign interests and making recommendations
to the Treasurer on the compatibility of those
proposals with Government policy and the Foreign
Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 (Cth).
FIRB also provides information on the
Government’s policies to prospective foreign
investors and potential investors alike.
More information on foreign acquisitions is
contained in Chapter 5, Foreign Investment in
Australia ‒ Australian Government support.
11 | Doing Business in Australia
The Australian
Competition and
Consumer Commission
(ACCC)
The Australian
Prudential
Regulation Authority
(APRA)
The ACCC’s primary role is to administer the
Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (which
incorporates the Australian Consumer Law; see
Chapter 15 for more information) as well as a
range of other legislation. In broad terms, the
objectives of the Act are to promote competition,
fair trading, and provide for consumer protection.
APRA is the independent Australian statutory
authority which was formed in 1998 to promote
the prudent management of financial institutions,
in terms of ensuring stability, efficiency and
competitive financial systems. Its regulatory
function extends to the supervision of banks, life
insurers, private health insurers, general and
reinsurance companies, building societies, credit
unions, friendly societies and superannuation
funds.
The ACCC is an independent Australian statutory
authority established in 1995 (following the merger
of the then Trade Practices Commission and the
Prices Surveillance Authority).
As such, the ACCC has a role in enforcing anticompetitive and unfair market practices, preventing
anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions, enforcing
provisions regarding product safety and product
liability, and regulating third party access to
facilities of national significance (where applicable).
APRA has the power to require financial
organisations to observe prudential standards, and
may intervene, where necessary, to protect the
interests of depositors, policy-holders or members.
In addition, APRA has far-reaching powers of
investigation, intervention and administration.
Australian Securities
and Investments
Commission (ASIC)
ASIC is the independent Australian statutory
regulator of Australian registered companies and
one of three Federal Government bodies that
regulate financial services.
ASIC’s primary role is to administer the
Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) which is the
law regulating the incorporation, operations
and management of companies. ASIC is also
responsible for supporting the integrity of fairness
in company affairs and financial markets. ASIC
has a consumer protection function to promote
confident and informed participation by investors,
which extends to the financial system by regulating
the advice, sale and disclosure of financial
products and financial services to consumers.
ASIC also has the role of ensuring some
information about companies and bodies is made
available to the public. ASIC has far-reaching
powers including to create conduct rules for
financial markets, stop the issue of financial
products, investigate suspected breaches of the
Corporations Act, issue infringement notices and to
ban individuals from providing financial services.
Australian Securities
Exchange Limited
(ASX)
The ASX was formed in 1987 and is one of the
world’s leading financial market exchanges. The
ASX offers a range of services, including listings,
trading, clearing and settlement across a variety of
markets trading in equities, derivatives and future
and fixed interest securities. There are branches
of the ASX in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Chicago,
Hong Kong and London. The ASX creates,
monitors and enforces its own rules for ASX
listed entities, in relation to listings, operating and
settlement, through the ASX Compliance group,
which also has delegated authority to make certain
compliance and enforcement decisions.
ASIC and the Reserve Bank of Australia have
other powers to oversee and to enforce the laws
and regulations that generally govern financial
markets in Australia. The ASX has also created
the ASX Corporate Governance Council which
brings together various business, shareholder
and industry groups to recommend best corporate
governance practices to be adopted by ASX listed
entities.
Australian Taxation
Office (ATO)
The Commissioner of Taxation has the overall
responsibility for administering the Australian
income tax system. The ATO, under the
Commissioner of Taxation, is the statutory authority
responsible for administering Australia’s Federal
taxation system and is also the primary collection
agency for the Australian Government.
12 | Doing Business in Australia
Australia’s income tax law consists primarily of
the Income Tax Act 1986 (Cth), the Income Tax
Assessment Act 1936 (Cth), the Income Tax
Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) and the Taxation
Administration Act 1953 (Cth), as well as ATO
administrative taxation rulings and court decisions.
Fringe benefits provided to employees are subject
to a separate taxation regime under the Fringe
Benefits Tax Act 1986 (Cth) and the Fringe Benefits
Tax Assessment Act 1986 (Cth). Australia’s goods
and services taxation law consists primarily of A
New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act
1999 (Cth). The current income tax system involves
taxation of income and capital gains of individuals
and businesses.
The ATO administers the process of annual taxation
self-assessment and conducts random audits to
verify individual and company assessments. The
ATO also collects excise on tobacco, fuel and
petroleum products and alcohol, administers the
Higher Education Loan Programme and the Private
Health Insurance rebate, and has responsibility for
the fiscal regulation of Australia’s superannuation
system.
Reserve Bank of
Australia (RBA)
The RBA is a statutory authority performing
Australia’s central banking functions.
The RBA has responsibility for the following
principal functions:
• Monetary Policy – The RBA sets the cash
rate (the interest rate on overnight loans in the
money market) which influences other interest
rates more generally in the economy (ie.
mortgage and corporate lending interest rates).
The RBA has a duty to maintain price stability,
full employment and economic prosperity. It
seeks to achieve this by setting monetary policy
so as to maintain inflation in the economy at
between 2-3 % over the medium term.
• Market Operations – As part of its monetary
policy function, the RBA sets a target for
the cash rate and through its open market
operations, it seeks to keep the cash rate as
close as possible to that target. The RBA also
regularly undertakes transactions in foreign
exchange markets, foreign asset markets as
well as managing Australia’s foreign currency
reserves which are sometimes deployed to
effect policy operations in the foreign exchange
and domestic cash markets.
• Financial Stability – A longstanding
responsibility of the RBA is maintain the stability
of the financial system. The RBA has a role both
in mitigating the risk of financial disturbances
that may have systemic consequences as
well as responding to any financial system
disturbance.
• Payments & Infrastructure – The RBA,
through the Payments System Board of the
Reserve Bank, has a mandate to contribute
to promoting efficiency and competition in the
payments system and the overall stability of
the financial system. The RBA has a formal
regulatory role in ensuring that the infrastructure
which supports the clearing and settlement of
transactions in financial markets is operated so
as to promote financial stability.
• Financial Services – The RBA provides a
range of banking services to the Australian
Government, its agencies, overseas
central banks and official institutions. As
Australia’s central bank, the RBA manages
the Government’s core accounts and
provides transactional banking services to the
Government and its agencies.
IP Australia
IP Australia is the Federal Government agency
that administers registration of intellectual property
rights and legislation in relation to patents,
trademarks and designs and plant breeder
rights in Australia. IP Australia is a division of the
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
but operates independently of the department
on financial matters. It incorporates the Patent,
Designs and Trade Marks Offices. IP Australia
also has the responsibility of working with the
World Intellectual Property Organisation to help
strengthen IP rights systems through the creation of
multilateral treaties.
.au Domain
Administration (auDA)
The .au Domain Administration is an Australian
non-profit company formed in 1999 as the policy
authority and industry self-regulatory body for
the .au domain space. Although the Australia
Government holds reserve powers in relation to
domain names under the Telecommunications Act
1997 (Cth), in 2000 the Government endorsed
auDA as the appropriate body to administer the .au
domain space. auDA’s key role is the management
of the .au zone file, ensuring it is up to date and
always available. It also develops and administers
domain name policy, provides licences, implements
consumer safeguards and facilitates dispute
resolution in the space.
GET IN TOUCH
Linda Evans
Partner
T +61 2 9353 4217
[email protected]
Sydney
Level 15
1 Bligh Street Sydney NSW 2000 +61 2 9353 4000
Melbourne
Level 18 333 Collins Street Melbourne VIC 3000 +61 3 9286 6000
Brisbane
Kirsten Webb
National Practice Group Leader
Competition
T +61 2 9353 4608
[email protected]
Level 28 Riparian Plaza
71 Eagle Street Brisbane QLD 4000 +61 7 3292 7000
Perth
Level 27 QV.1 Building
250 St Georges Terrace Perth WA 6000 +61 8 9426 8000
Canberra
Level 10
NewActon Nishi 2 Phillip Law Street Canberra ACT 2601 +61 2 6279 4000
Darwin
17–19 Lindsay Street Darwin NT 0800 +61 8 8943 2555
www.claytonutz.com
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