Asia Region Funds Passport 2018

Overview

The Government is seeking submissions on a draft of the Asia Region Funds Passport (Passport) Bill and related explanatory material.

The Passport is a common framework of coordinated regulatory oversight to facilitate cross border issuing of managed investment funds. Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Thailand are signatories to the Passport’s Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC), which took effect on 30 June 2016.

The Government previously consulted on an exposure draft of the core Chapter from 25 August to 25 September 2017 and on an exposure draft of consequential amendments to most of the Corporations Act from 20 December to 25 January 2018.

The exposure draft includes revisions from the December consultation:

• Consequential amendments to Chapter 9 (Miscellaneous) of the Corporations Act that extend existing provisions to Passport funds to ensure parity of treatment with other managed investment products
• Provisions facilitating the deregistration of Australian and foreign passport funds and provisions regulating Australian or foreign passport funds post deregistration. These provisions are broadly consistent with existing rules and procedures governing deregistration of registered schemes
• Consequential amendments to the ASIC Act extending the consumer protection measures (such as the prohibition on unconscionable conduct) to notified foreign passport fund products.