First Home Saver Accounts (Further Provisions) Amendment Act 2008 (92 of 2008)

Schedule 2   Amendments commencing the day after Royal Assent

First Home Saver Accounts Act 2008

25   After Part 4

Insert:

Part 4A - Unclaimed money

51A Statement of unclaimed money etc.

(1) An FHSA provider commits an offence if:

(a) at the end of a calendar year, there is unclaimed money held in FHSAs provided by it; and

(b) within 3 months after the end of the year, the provider has not given ASIC a statement complying with subsections (2), (3) and (4).

Penalty: 50 penalty units.

(2) The statement must be in the approved form.

(3) The approved form may require the statement to contain the following information in relation to each FHSA mentioned in paragraph (1)(a):

(a) the FHSA holder's name;

(b) the FHSA holder's address;

(c) the amount of unclaimed money;

(d) the FHSA provider;

(e) the FHSA account number, policy number or other identifying number.

(4) If, between the end of the calendar year and the day on which the statement is given to ASIC, the provider has made any payments (other than a payment of a kind mentioned in paragraph 31(1)(f), (g) or (h)) from any FHSA mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) of this section, the statement must contain information relating to the amounts so paid.

(5) Subsections (3) and (4) do not limit the information the approved form may require the statement to contain.

51B Payment of unclaimed money to ASIC on behalf of the Commonwealth

(1) An FHSA provider commits an offence if:

(a) it gives a statement to ASIC under section 51A at a time; and

(b) at the same time, it does not pay to ASIC on behalf of the Commonwealth an amount equal to the amount of unclaimed money worked out under subsection (2).

Penalty: 50 penalty units.

(2) Work out the amount in accordance with the following formula:

Statement amount - Money Paid - Remaining partial balances

where:

money paid means the total of any amounts paid as mentioned in subsection 51A(4).

remaining partial balances means the total of the balances (if any) of any FHSAs from which amounts have been paid as mentioned in subsection 51A(4).

statement amount means the total of unclaimed money shown in the statement mentioned in subsection 51A(1).

(3) Subject to section 51C, an FHSA provider is, upon payment to ASIC of an amount as required by this section, discharged from further liability in respect of that amount.

51C Payment where money later claimed etc.

(1) ASIC must pay to an FHSA provider an amount equal to an amount of unclaimed money in relation to a person if:

(a) unclaimed money in relation to the person has been paid to ASIC on behalf of the Commonwealth under section 51B by the FHSA provider (or another FHSA provider that no longer offers to provide FHSAs); and

(b) the person, or the person's legal personal representative, has made an application to the provider in the approved form; and

(c) the provider has made an application to ASIC stating that:

(i) it has approved the application mentioned in paragraph (b); and

(ii) it will contribute or pay the amount in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) An FHSA provider commits an offence if:

(a) it receives an amount under subsection (1); and

(b) within 30 days after receiving the amount, it does not contribute or pay the amount:

(i) if the application states that the person meets the FHSA eligibility requirements and that he or she wants the amount to be contributed to an FHSA - to an FHSA opened or issued for the person; or

(ii) if the application states that the person wants the amount to be paid to a particular superannuation interest of the person in a complying superannuation plan - to that plan; or

(iii) if the application states that the person is aged 60 or over and that he or she wants the amount to be paid to him or her - to the person; or

(iv) if none of subparagraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) apply - to a superannuation interest for the benefit of the person in the provider's default superannuation plan (see section 24); or

(v) if the person is deceased - to the person's legal personal representative.

Penalty: 50 penalty units.

(3) If an FHSA provider satisfies ASIC that an amount paid to ASIC under section 51B exceeds the amount that should have been paid under that section, ASIC must refund to the FHSA provider the amount of the excess.

(4) The Consolidated Revenue Fund is appropriated for the purposes of this section.

(5) For the purposes of this Act and any other taxation law, treat an amount paid in accordance with subsection (2) as having been paid from an FHSA.

51D ASIC may publish information relating to unclaimed money statements

ASIC may publish any information of a kind mentioned in subsection 51A(3) that is given to ASIC in an unclaimed money statement.

51E Operation of State and Territory laws in relation to unclaimed money

Sections 51A, 51B, 51C and 51D are intended to apply to the exclusion of all laws of a State or Territory which require an FHSA provider to:

(a) pay unclaimed money to, or to an authority of, a State or Territory; or

(b) lodge a return relating to unclaimed money with, or with an authority of, a State or Territory.