Our team is excited to announce that we have recently moved office to:

Level 5, 130 Bundall Road, Bundall, QLD, 4217

Our phone number has remained the same. If you have any questions, please reach out to our team. 

Finucan Lawyers are proud to announce the successful completion of the initial public offer and listing of Critical Minerals Group Limited on the ASX (ASX: CMG).

Our team managed and advised CMG through the process and completed their listing and quotation on the ASX on 27 September 2022.  Finucan Lawyers facilitated and negotiated for CMG to securing of a key strategic cornerstone investor, Japanese mining giant, Idemitsu Australia Pty Ltd.

The governing body of .au domain names, the .au Domain Administration (auDA), recently announced that .au direct names will launch in Australia on 24 March 2022.

From the launch date, users will be able to register a domain name directly followed by .au, such as yourbusiness.au, provided the user has an ‘Australian presence’ (such as being an Australian registered company, resident, citizen, trade mark owner, majority Australian partnership etc). This Australian presence must continue throughout the licence period. In order for foreign companies or individuals to demonstrate a sufficient Australian presence, the relevant user will likely need to be in a position to rely on a corresponding trade mark application or registration.

When second level names launch, priority of rights will be recognised for prior identical domain names registered at the third level in the <.au> space (eg <.com.au> < .net.cu>.<.org.au>). The owner of an existing dot.au name at the third level will have 6 months to register the same name in the second level <.au> space but will need to make an application for priority status (including payment of an application fee) to secure this priority. In the case of competing applications for the same domain name, applicants for priority will need to provide proof of the qualifying prior domain name and demonstrate ongoing eligibility to hold that name. Applicants with existing third level domain names registered up to and including 4 February 2018 will take priority over applicants with third level domain names registered between 5 February 2018 and 30 September 2019. Registration will otherwise be on a “first come, first served” basis.

If you are an Australian business, it is strongly recommended that you review the new Licensing Rules, watch out for the launch of registrations in the <.au> space and immediately apply for recognition of your priority right to register or block a third party registering your desired domain name.

A new director identification number regime commences from 1 November 2021 which will see all company directors being required to register for a director identification number (Director ID).

Why Director IDs?

By requiring all directors to verify their identity, it is hoped that this will help to:

• prevent the use of false or fraudulent director identities;
• make it easier for external administrators and regulators to trace directors’ relationships with companies over time; and
• identify and eliminate director involvement in unlawful activity, such as illegal phoenix activity.

Failure by directors to meet their Director ID obligations can result in civil or criminal penalties.

Who needs to apply and when?

A Director ID is a unique identifier you need to apply for once and will keep forever.  It is a 15-digit identifier given to a director (or someone who intends to become a director) by the Australian Business Registry Services (ABRS).

If you want to become a director or are already one, you’ll need a Director ID.  This includes directors of a:

• company;
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation;
• corporate trustee, for example, of a self-managed super fund;
• charity or not-for-profit organisation that is a company or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation;
• registered Australian body, for example, an incorporated association that is registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and trades outside the state or territory in which it is incorporated; and
• foreign company registered with ASIC and carrying on business in Australia (regardless of where you live).

The timetable for obtaining a Director ID is as follows:

The timeframe is different for directors of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations which have until 30 November 2023 to apply for director appointments on or before 31 October 2022 and from 1 November 2022 the application must be before director appointment.

How to apply

From 1 November 2021, directors can apply for a Director ID through the ABRS website (see https://www.abrs.gov.au/director-identification-number).

You will need the myGovID app to do this.  It is recommended that directors set up the myGovID app in readiness.

When applying you will also need to provide the following documents to verify your identity:

• your tax file number;
• your residential address as held by the ATO; and
• information from two documents to verify your identity (such as bank account details, an ATO notice of assessment, super account details, a dividend statement, a Centrelink payment summary, PAYG payment summary).

If you are unable to use the myGovID app, the ABRS have also provided options to apply over the phone or through paper form lodgement.

What companies need to do now

In anticipation of the Director ID requirements commencing from 1 November 2021, companies should inform directors of the new obligations and encourage directors to commence setting up the myGovID app and collating documents for identify verification.  Come 1 November 2021, directors should be encouraged to apply for their Director ID.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with our team.

Following a review of a select sample of whistleblower policies (Policies), ASIC has published and issued a letter to CEOs of public companies, large proprietary companies, and corporate trustees of registrable superannuation entities (Entities) expressing its concern around the short comings identified in a number of the Policies.

Part 9.4AAA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) contains a consolidated whistleblower protection regime which requires Entities to implement a compliant whistleblower protection policy and to ensure that policy is available to officers and employees.

Section 1317AI(5) of the Corporations Act requires Entities to have whistleblower policies that cover information about:

a) the protections available to whistleblowers, including protections under the Corporations Act;

b) to whom disclosures that qualify for protection under the Corporations Act may be made, and how they may be made;

c) how the Entity will support whistleblowers and protect them from detriment;

d) how the Entity will investigate disclosures that qualify for protection under the Corporations Act;

e) how the Entity will ensure fair treatment of its employees who are mentioned in disclosures that qualify for protection, or its employees who are the subject of disclosures;

f) how the policy will be made available to officers and employees of the entity; and

g) any matters prescribed by regulations.

Since their review, ASIC have raised concerns that the majority of Policies reviewed as part of its audit did not appear to include all required information. In particular, ASIC expressed concerns that the majority of Policies reviewed did not clearly or accurately detail how whistleblowers could make a qualifying disclosure, nor were the protections available to whistleblowers under the Corporations Act clearly identified. In particular, ASIC noted that the Policies:

1. did not list all the categories of people to whom a whistleblower can report misconduct and qualify for protection under the Corporations Act;
2. inaccurately referred to obsolete requirements for whistleblowers to identify themselves or make disclosures in good faith or without malice in order to qualify for protection;
3. omitted or inaccurately described one or more of the protections available to whistleblowers under the Corporations Act.

Following the results of ASIC’s review, Entities are strongly encouraged to review their existing whistleblower policies to ensure that, amongst other things, the policies:

1. clearly articulate how a person can make a disclosure that qualifies for the legal protections for whistleblowers, including to whom such disclosure may be made; and
2. accurately describe the legal rights and remedies whistleblowers can rely on if they make a qualifying disclosure, which are identity protection (confidentiality), protection from detriment, compensation and other remedies, and civil, criminal and administrative liability protection.

ASIC’s regulatory guide contains guidance and good practice tips with respect to whilstleblower policies. The guide can be accessed here: https://download.asic.gov.au/media/5702691/rg270-published-13-november-2019-20200727.pdf