Financial Sector Reform (Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1999 (44 of 1999)

Schedule 4   Amendment of the Life Insurance Act 1995

36   At the end of section 180

Add:

(2) A life company may be wound up voluntarily if:

(a) the company is a friendly society; and

(b) each person with an interest in a benefit fund of the society is a member of the society; and

(c) each member of the society has only one vote on a special resolution to wind up the society (whether the resolution is decided on a show of hands or on a poll).

For this purpose, a member of the society is a person who is a member of the society for the purposes of the Corporations Law.

(3) If a special resolution to wind up a friendly society is passed, the society must lodge a copy of the special resolution with APRA.

Note: Under the Corporations Law, a copy of the resolution must also be lodged with ASIC.

(4) A friendly society is guilty of an offence if it does not comply with subsection (3) within 7 days after the day on which the special resolution was passed.

Maximum penalty for contravention of this subsection: 30 penalty units.

Note: If a body corporate is convicted of an offence against this subsection, subsection 4B(3) of the Crimes Act 1914 allows a court to impose a fine of up to 5 times the penalty stated above.