Financial Intermediaries Act 1996

A person having dealings with a society is entitled to make the assumptions mentioned in subsection (3) and, in a proceeding about the dealings, any assertion by the society that the matters that the person is entitled to assume were not correct must be disregarded.

A person having dealings with a person who has acquired, or purports to have acquired, title to property from a society (whether directly or indirectly) is entitled to make the assumptions mentioned in subsection (3) and, in a proceeding about the dealings, any assertion by the society or the second person that the matters the first person is entitled to assume were not correct must be disregarded.

The assumptions that a person is, because of subsection (1) or (2), entitled to make are—

that, at all relevant times, this Act and the society’s rules have been complied with; and

that a person who appears, from returns filed with or given to the registrar under this Act, to be a director, the principal executive officer or the secretary of the society has been properly appointed and has authority to exercise the powers and perform the functions customarily exercised or performed by a person of that type for a society; and

that a person who is held out by the society to be an officer or agent of the society has been properly appointed and has authority to exercise the powers and perform the functions customarily exercised or performed by an officer or agent of the kind concerned; and

that an officer or agent of the society who has authority to issue a document for the society has authority to warrant that the document is genuine and that an officer or agent of the society who has authority to issue a certified copy of a document for the society has authority to warrant that the copy is a true copy; and

that a document has been properly sealed by the society if—

it bears what appears to be an imprint of the society’s seal; and

the sealing of the document appears to be authenticated under the society’s rules by a person or persons mentioned in the rules as authorised to attest the sealing of the document who, because of paragraph (b) or (c), may be assumed to be that person or those persons; and

that the directors, secretary, officers, employees and agents have properly performed their duties to the society.

However, a person is not entitled to assume a matter mentioned in subsection (3) if—

the person has actual knowledge that the assumption would be incorrect; or

because of the person’s connection or relationship with the society, the person ought to know that the assumption would be incorrect.

If, because of subsection (4), a person is not entitled to make a particular assumption—

if the assumption is about dealings with the society—subsection (1) does not apply to an assertion by the society about the assumption; and

if the assumption is about dealings about an acquisition or purported acquisition from the society of title to property—subsection (2) does not apply to an assertion by the society or someone else about the assumption.