s 1Short title
This Act is the Commonwealth Registers Act 2020.
This Act is the Commonwealth Registers Act 2020.
Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
Commencement information | ||
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Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |
1. The whole of this Act | The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent. | 23 June 2020 |
This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.
Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
The object of this Act is to facilitate a modern government registry regime that:
is flexible, technology neutral and governance neutral; and
facilitates timely and efficient access to information (including, where appropriate, on a real time basis) by regulators and other users of the information.
This Act provides for the Registrar’s role relating to a government registry regime.
The Minister appoints an existing Commonwealth body to be the Registrar under Part 2, with the functions and powers of the Registrar largely set out in other Commonwealth laws. (Different Registrars can be appointed for different functions or powers of the Registrar). The Minister can give directions to the Registrar.
The Registrar performs those functions and exercises those powers in accordance with the data standards (and other Commonwealth laws) under Part 3. The data standards are disallowable instruments made by the Registrar. They may deal with such matters as how information is given to the Registrar (including electronically).
Disclosure of information that the Registrar has is governed by Part 4. Broadly speaking:
information can be disclosed to government agencies for the performance of their functions; and
other disclosures (such as by public access to information) are dealt with by the disclosure framework, which is a disallowable instrument made by the Registrar.
Certain decisions made by the Registrar are reviewable by the Administrative Review Tribunal.
In this Act:
ASIC means the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Australian business law means a law of the Commonwealth, or of a State or Territory, that is a law that regulates, or relates to the regulation of, business or persons engaged in business.
Commonwealth body means:
an Agency (within the meaning of the Public Service Act 1999); or
a body, whether incorporated or not, established for a public purpose by or under a law of the Commonwealth; or
a person:
holding or performing the duties of an office established by or under a law of the Commonwealth; or
holding an appointment made under a law of the Commonwealth.
data standards means standards made by the Registrar under section 13.
designated secrecy provision has the meaning given by subsection 18(3).
disclosure framework means the disclosure framework made by the Registrar under section 16.
excluded law means:
the Corporations legislation (within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001); or
the Commonwealth credit legislation (within the meaning of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009); or
the Business Names Registration Act 2011 and the Business Names Registration (Transitional and Consequential Provisions) Act 2011; or
any other law of the Commonwealth in respect of which the Commonwealth Parliament has been referred matters:
by the Parliament or Parliaments of any State or States for the purposes of paragraph 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution; and
to the extent of the making of laws with respect to those matters by making express amendments of that other law.
government entity has the meaning given by section 41 of the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999.
official employment means:
appointment or employment by the Commonwealth, or the performance of services for the Commonwealth; or
the exercise of powers or performance of functions under a delegation by the Registrar.
protected information means information:
obtained by a person in the course of the person’s official employment; and
disclosed to the person or another person, or obtained by the person or another person:
under, or in relation to, this Act; or
under another law of the Commonwealth in connection with particular functions or powers of the Registrar.
Registrar means a Commonwealth body appointed under section 6.
rules means the rules made under section 25.
secrecy provision has the meaning given by subsection 18(2).
staff member, of ASIC, has the same meaning as in the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001.
taxation law has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
The Minister may, by notifiable instrument, appoint a Commonwealth body to be the Registrar.
The Minister may, by notifiable instrument, appoint a Commonwealth body to be the Registrar in relation to one or more functions or powers of the Registrar.
If more than one appointment under this section is in force, a reference in this Act to the Registrar is taken to be a reference to each Registrar in relation to the functions or powers for which it is the Registrar.
The Registrar’s functions are:
such functions as are conferred on the Registrar by or under this Act or any other law of the Commonwealth (other than an excluded law); and
such functions as are prescribed by rules made for the purposes of this paragraph; and
such functions as are incidental to the functions mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b).
The Registrar’s powers include:
such powers as are conferred:
on the Registrar in relation to the functions mentioned in section 7; and
by or under this Act or any other law of the Commonwealth (other than an excluded law); and
the power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done for or in connection with the performance of those functions.
Without limiting paragraph (1)(b), the Registrar’s powers include the power to authenticate, verify, validate, store, correct, integrate or link information held by the Registrar.
The Registrar must exercise these powers in accordance with the data standards (see sections 13 and 15).
The Minister may, by legislative instrument, give written directions to the Registrar about the performance of its functions and the exercise of its powers.
Section 42 (disallowance) and Part 4 of Chapter 3 (sunsetting) of the Legislation Act 2003 do not apply to the directions (see regulations made for the purposes of paragraphs 44(2)(b) and 54(2)(b) of that Act).
Without limiting subsection (1), a direction under that subsection may relate to any of the following:
matters to be dealt with in the data standards or disclosure framework;
consultation processes to be followed prior to making data standards or the disclosure framework.
A direction under subsection (1) must be of a general nature only.
Subsection (3) does not prevent a direction under subsection (1) from relating to a particular matter to be dealt with in the data standards or disclosure framework. However, the direction must not direct the Registrar how to apply the data standards or disclosure framework in a particular case.
The Registrar must comply with a direction under subsection (1).
The Registrar may, in writing, delegate all or any of the Registrar’s functions or powers under this Act (other than the power to make data standards or the disclosure framework) to:
any person to whom it may delegate any of its other functions, as a Commonwealth body, under a law of the Commonwealth; or
any person of a kind specified in the rules.
Sections 34AA to 34A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 contain provisions relating to delegations.
In performing a delegated function or exercising a delegated power, the delegate must comply with any written directions of the Registrar.
The Registrar may arrange for the use, under the Registrar’s control, of processes to assist decision making (such as computer applications and systems) for any purposes for which the Registrar may make decisions in the performance or exercise of the Registrar’s functions or powers, other than decisions reviewing other decisions.
A decision the making of which is assisted by the operation of such a process under an arrangement made under subsection (1) is taken to be a decision made by the Registrar.
The Registrar may substitute a decision for a decision (the initial decision) the making of which is assisted by the operation of such a process under an arrangement under subsection (1) if the Registrar is satisfied that the initial decision is incorrect.
None of the following:
the Minister;
the Registrar;
if the Registrar is a Commonwealth body that has members—a member of the Registrar;
a member of the staff of the Registrar;
a person who is, or is a member of or a member of the staff of, a delegate of the Registrar;
a person who is authorised to perform or exercise a function or power of, or on behalf of, the Registrar;
an APS employee, or an officer or employee of a Commonwealth body, whose services are made available to the Registrar in connection with the performance or exercise of any of the Registrar’s functions or powers;
is liable to an action or other proceeding for damages for or in relation to an act done, or omitted to be done, in good faith in performance or purported performance of any function, or in exercise or purported exercise of any power, conferred or expressed to be conferred by or under this Act.
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