Uncertainty remains over legality of some AUTs

As first reported in Good Returns last week, Australian authorities have warned that New Zealand firms operating a financial service business in Australia will be subject to the new regime, and will be committing a criminal offence if they do not get themselves licensed.

Australian Investment and Securities Commission (ASIC) financial services reform head Pauline Vamos, last night, told Good Returns that the issue of New Zealand firms operating unlicensed funds out of Australia had had not been formally looked at yet “but it has been discussed, and we will be looking at people who should be licensed but are not.”

It would not require a complaint to initiate any action from ASIC, she says, but she adds that any complaint would mean the commission would be required to take a look.

The industry view in New Zealand of the new Australian licensing regime is that it should not affect firms based here, because the legislation was set up to protect Australian investors, and could not apply to funds offered solely in New Zealand.

Vamos disagrees with that argument.

Any action within New Zealand would be undertaken with the co-operation of New Zealand’s Securities Commission, she says.

Securities Commission counsel, Liam Mason, says the issue is “really a matter of Australian law and its not for us to comment on the application of their law.”

“But if the AISC approached us and asked us to assist them we would do so.”

At this stage though he was not aware of any approaches from the Australian commission, “formal or informal.”

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