Cth Bill Introduced to Modernise Business Communication Practices
Thursday 3 March 2022 @ 12.08 p.m. | Corporate & Regulatory | Legal Research
On 17 February 2022, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Modernising Business Communications) Bill 2022 (Cth) ("the Bill") was introduced into the House of Representatives by Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar.
Building on recent changes implemented in the Corporations Amendment (Meetings and Documents) Act 2022 (Cth), the Government commented that it hoped that this Bill, if passed, will further modernise business practices and improve technology neutrality. The Bill previously underwent public consultation.
In his second reading speech, the Assistant Treasurer explained that the new reforms are:
“part of the government's commitment to modernise business communications as part of our broader Deregulation Agenda”.
The Bill has yet to pass the lower house.
The Bill consists of three schedules, which are summarised below.
Schedule 1: Documents and meetings under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
Schedule 1 of the Bill proposes to amend the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) in order to allow for the electronic signing of all documents (including contracts and deeds) that are required or permitted to be signed under that Act. The Bill also contains amendments in order to allow for certain additional documents to be sent electronically and in hard copy.
If passed, the Bill would also expand the categories of persons able to elect to receive documents in electronic form. Under these proposed amendments, the categories would also include Australian members of a notified foreign passport fund, holders of securities subject of a takeover bid, or any other person prescribed by the regulations.
The Bill also seeks to provide relief with respect to particular types of documents where a company is unable, after exercising reasonable diligence, to ascertain a current address for the recipient. Documents required or permitted to be sent under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) will be considered sent provided that the sender has attempted to communicate with the recipient using all known contact details.
Schedule 2: Documents under the National Credit Code and payment methods
Schedule 2 of the Bill proposes to amend the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2000 (Cth) ("NCCPA"). Generally, the changes seek to allow credit licensees to electronically communicate with their customers and other persons under the NCCPA in a greater range of situations. This would also facilitate greater use of electronic payments.
The Assistant Treasurer indicated in his second reading speech that these changes will:
“[align] the electronic communication requirements under the National Credit Code with the communications regime established in the Corporations Act”.
Schedule 3: Publication requirements and other amendments
Schedule 3 of the Bill proposes amendments to various acts in relation to publication requirements for notices. Where previously, certain types of notices were required to be published in a newspaper, the proposed Bill would allow these notices to be published in a manner that results in the notice being accessible to the public and reasonably prominent.
In the second reading speech, the Assistant Treasurer noted that the Bill, if passed, will:
“make[s] it easier for businesses to benefit from new technologies, invest and create jobs, both now and into the future”.
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Sources:
Treasury Laws Amendment (Modernising Business Communications) Bill 2022 (Cth) and explanatory materials available from TimeBase’s LawOne Service
