Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

The Labor Party supports this bill and we support its expeditious passage through this place and the other place. I note that the government has provided a full briefing to the opposition, which the opposition appreciates, and we understand the reasons why the government has moved in this direction. ASIC has discovered that certain delegations being relied upon did not meet particular requirements under the ASIC Act, leading to a defect in the employment of staff and consultants, in some instances, and the potential for some legal uncertainty.

It is best that the House and the Senate remedy this situation where the functions and powers of affected staff members included coercive powers such as compelling the production of documents that may then have been used in evidence in court proceedings, so a range of outcomes under those acts and other laws ASIC administers may have been open to legal challenge. The bill before us today is to validate certain agreements to employ or engage ASIC staff that were purportedly made before the end of 9 March 2017, going back for quite some period, over many years, and to provide a legal basis for the exercise, by affected staff members, of delegated functions and powers of ASIC.

The amendments also deal with the consequences of validating those agreements for the purposes of provisions of the Corporations Act and the ASIC Act dealing with the transition from the old corporations and ASIC legislation. ASIC, of course, plays a vital role in our economy. It is vital that the decisions and actions taken by senior ASIC staff over a considerable period of years have the force of law and be respected. The opposition appreciates how this situation arose. We support the government's efforts to remedy the situation and accordingly we will vote for this bill in both houses.

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