Corporations Point-in-Time Service Updates

The Corporations Service has been updated to include the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) (Act No 110 of 2024), the Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Act 2024 (Cth) (Act No 136 of 2024), the Treasury Laws Amendment (Mergers and Acquisitions Reform) Act 2024 (Act No 137 of 2024), the Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Act 2024 (Act No 138 of 2024), and Corporations (Fees) Amendment (Takeovers) Regulations 2024 (Cth).

Act 110 of 2024

This Act reforms Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) regime and repeals the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988 (Cth) (FTR Act). Australia’s AML/CTF regime establishes a regulatory framework for combatting money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious financial crimes. There are three key objectives of the Act:

• to extend the AML/CTF regime to certain higher-risk services provided by real estate professionals, professional service providers including lawyers, accountants and trust and company service providers, and dealers in precious stones and metals—also known as ‘tranche two’ entities;
• to improve the effectiveness of the AML/CTF regime by making it simpler and clearer for businesses to comply with their obligations; and
• to modernise the regime to reflect changing business structures, technologies and illicit financing methodologies.

Act 136 of 2024

This Act makes various and substantive amendments relating to the cessation of the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) Program, information and safety standards, Housing Australia, industry codes, taxation, corporations, financial services and foreign acquisitions and takeovers, and for other purpose.

Act 137 of 2024

This Act includes a package of reforms to modernise Australia’s merger review framework. The Act amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA) to overhaul the existing framework for merger review and replace it with a single mandatory and suspensory administrative system for acquisitions that will be faster, stronger, simpler, targeted and more transparent.

Act 138 of 2024

This Act extends the application of the National Credit Code to Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) contracts and establishes Low cost credit contracts (LCCCs) as a new category of regulated credit. This Act also includes amendments to: 

• the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) to list specified companies as deductible gift recipients; and
• the Federal Financial Relations Act 2009 (Cth) to support Commonwealth payments to the States in accordance with the National Skills Agreement and any successor agreements.

Corporations (Fees) Amendment (Takeovers) Regulations 2024

The purpose of these Regulations is to apply new and increased fees on the lodgement of documents necessary to implement certain takeovers of Australian entities.

These amendments have been updated in the Point-in-Time Corporations Service current to 14 January 2025. (NB: subscription required).

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