Insurance Act 1973

APRA may revoke (in writing) a general insurer’s authorisation under section 12 if APRA is satisfied that the insurer has no liabilities in respect of insurance business carried on by it in Australia and that:

the insurer has failed to comply with:

a requirement of this Act (including the requirement to comply with the prudential standards) or of an instrument made for the purposes of this Act; or

a requirement of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001; or

a requirement of the Financial Accountability Regime Act 2023; or

a requirement of a provision of another law of the Commonwealth, if the provision is specified in the regulations; or

a direction under this Act to the insurer; or

a condition of the insurer’s authorisation; or

it would be contrary to the national interest for the authorisation to remain in force; or

the insurer has failed to pay:

an amount of levy or late penalty to which the Financial Institutions Supervisory Levies Collection Act 1998 applies; or

an amount of charge fixed under section 51 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998; or

the insurer is insolvent and is unlikely to return to solvency within a reasonable period of time; or

the insurer has inadequate capital and is unlikely to have adequate capital within a reasonable period of time; or

the insurer has ceased to carry on insurance business in Australia; or

both of the following apply:

the insurer is a foreign corporation within the meaning of paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution;

an authorisation (however described) for the insurer to carry on insurance business in a foreign country has been revoked or otherwise withdrawn in that foreign country; or

the insurer has not, within the period of 12 months after it was granted an authorisation under this Part, carried on insurance business in Australia.

Before revoking a general insurer’s authorisation, APRA must give written notice to the insurer advising it that:

APRA is considering revoking the authorisation for the reasons specified; and

the insurer may make submissions about the revocation to APRA, in accordance with the notice, by a specified date (which must be at least 90 days after the notice is given).

To avoid doubt, APRA may give a notice under subsection (3) to a general insurer even if, at the time the notice is given, APRA is not satisfied that the insurer has no liabilities in respect of insurance business carried on by it in Australia.

If APRA gives a notice under subsection (3) to a general insurer, APRA must not revoke the insurer’s authorisation until after the date specified in the notice, and after consideration of any submission, as mentioned in paragraph (3)(b).

APRA may decide that subsection (3) does not apply if APRA is satisfied that complying with that subsection could result in a delay in revocation that would be contrary to the national interest.

If APRA revokes a general insurer’s authorisation, APRA must:

give written notice to the insurer; and

ensure that notice of the revocation is published in the Gazette.

A revocation is not invalid merely because of a failure to comply with subsection (5).

Part VI applies to a decision to revoke a general insurer’s authorisation under section 12.