{"id":"C2004A01145","name":"HIH Royal Commission (Transfer of Records) Act 2003","slug":"hih-royal-commission-transfer-of-records-act-2003","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"61 of 2003","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":436159,"registerId":"C2004A01145-fast-fetch-1775953424110","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"HIH Royal Commission (Transfer of Records) Act 2003","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nHIH Royal Commission (Transfer of Records) Act 2003\n\n \n\nNo. 61, 2003\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to provide for the transfer of custody of certain records of the HIH Royal Commission to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Definitions\n\n4 ASIC entitled to custody of certain original records of the HIH Royal Commission\n\n5 ASIC to be provided with electronic copies of certain records of the HIH Royal Commission\n\n6 Regulations may provide for ASIC’s access to other records of the HIH Royal Commission\n\n7 Status of the transferred records\n\n8 Section 6DD of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 continues to apply to the transferred records\n\n9 No loss of legal professional privilege\n\n10 Regulations\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\nHIH Royal Commission (Transfer of Records) Act 2003\n\nNo. 61, 2003\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to provide for the transfer of custody of certain records of the HIH Royal Commission to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 30 June 2003]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the HIH Royal Commission (Transfer of Records) Act 2003.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.\n\n3  Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\nASIC means the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.\n\nHIH Royal Commission means the Royal Commission that was commissioned, by Letters Patent dated 29 August 2001, to inquire into certain matters relating to the failure of HIH Insurance Group.\n\nrecord has the same meaning as in the Archives Act 1983.\n\ntransferred record means:\n\n (a) a record that ASIC has custody of:\n\n (i) under subsection 4(1); or\n\n (ii) under regulations made for the purposes of section 6; or\n\n (b) an electronic copy of a document or thing provided or made available to ASIC:\n\n (i) under section 5; or\n\n (ii) under regulations made for the purposes of section 6.\n\n4  ASIC entitled to custody of certain original records of the HIH Royal Commission\n\n (1) ASIC is, by force of this section, entitled to the custody of records that:\n\n (a) are deemed, by subsection 22(2) of the Archives Act 1983, to be Commonwealth records for the purposes of that Act; and\n\n (b) are documents or things that were produced to the HIH Royal Commission;\n\nas if a direction to that effect were in force under subsection 22(3) of the Archives Act 1983 at all times after the commencement of this Act.\n\nNote: This subsection applies to documents or things that were actually produced to the HIH Royal Commission. For the obligation to provide ASIC with electronic copies of such documents or things, see section 5.\n\n (2) The Commonwealth must ensure that the records to which subsection (1) applies are provided or made available to ASIC as soon as practicable after the commencement of this Act.\n\n5  ASIC to be provided with electronic copies of certain records of the HIH Royal Commission\n\n  If:\n\n (a) the Commonwealth has an electronic version of a document or thing that was produced to the HIH Royal Commission (whether or not subsection 4(1) applies to the document or thing itself); and\n\n (b) the electronic version is deemed, by subsection 22(2) of the Archives Act 1983, to be a Commonwealth record for the purposes of that Act;\n\nthe Commonwealth must ensure that an electronic copy of that electronic version, and of any associated objective coding data, is provided or made available to ASIC as soon as practicable after the commencement of this Act.\n\n6  Regulations may provide for ASIC’s access to other records of the HIH Royal Commission\n\n  The regulations may provide for ASIC to have access to other records of, or relating to, the HIH Royal Commission, including by:\n\n (a) providing that ASIC is entitled to the custody of such records; or\n\n (b) requiring such records, or electronic copies of such records (with or without objective coding data), to be provided or made available to ASIC.\n\n7  Status of the transferred records\n\n (1) The transferred records are taken:\n\n (a) to have been disclosed or given to ASIC for the purposes of any of its functions and powers; and\n\n (b) to have the status of protected information for the purposes of section 127 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001.\n\n (2) ASIC may retain possession of a record or thing of which it is entitled to custody under subsection 4(1) for so long as ASIC considers it desirable to do so for the purposes of any of its functions and powers, despite any request from the owner of the document or thing for the return of the document or thing.\n\n8  Section 6DD of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 continues to apply to the transferred records\n\n  Nothing in this Act affects the operation of section 6DD of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 in relation to the transferred records.\n\nNote: Section 6DD limits the admissibility in proceedings against a person of statements or disclosures made by the person to a Royal Commission, or of the fact that the person produced a document or thing to a Royal Commission.\n\n9  No loss of legal professional privilege\n\n  A transferred record, or material in or referred to in a transferred record, does not cease to be the subject of legal professional privilege merely because:\n\n (a) ASIC is entitled to the custody of the record under subsection 4(1), or under regulations made for the purposes of section 6; or\n\n (b) the record, or an electronic copy of the record, is provided or made available to ASIC under subsection 4(2) or section 5, or under regulations made for the purposes of section 6.\n\n10  Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:\n\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or\n\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n(98/03)\n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 18 June 2003\n\nSenate on 24 June 2003]\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act implements a narrow, specific transfer of custody for records produced to the HIH Royal Commission to ASIC. It does not materially expand beyond that original purpose. The only provision that allows broader scope is the regulation‑making power to provide ASIC access to other HIH Commission records (s 6), which is a foreseeable implementation mechanism rather than a change of purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Short Act (10 sections) with limited scope","4 defined terms in the interpretation section (ASIC, HIH Royal Commission, record, transferred record)","Cross-references to three other Acts (Archives Act 1983 s 22(2)/(3), Royal Commissions Act 1902 s 6DD, ASIC Act 2001 s 127)","Simple conditional logic: originals vs electronic versions (s 4 vs s 5) and regulatory extension power (s 6)","Few exceptions; express preservation of legal professional privilege (s 9) and continuation of s 6DD (s 8)","Regulations may expand scope (s 6, s 10), introducing potential future complexity"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (plain English)**\n\n- The Act moves responsibility for keeping many records from the HIH Royal Commission to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). In practice it tells the Commonwealth to hand over original records and electronic copies that were produced to the HIH Royal Commission so that ASIC can use them for its regulatory functions (see s 4, s 5 and s 7(1)(a)).\n\n- The Act treats those transferred items as Commonwealth records under the Archives Act (so custody is transferred as if an Archives Act direction had been made) (s 4(1)). The Commonwealth must give the relevant original records or electronic copies to ASIC as soon as practicable after the law starts (s 4(2), s 5).\n\n- The law also lets the regulations (made by the Governor‑General) extend ASIC's access to other HIH Royal Commission records or require further electronic copies or coding data to be supplied (s 6, s 10).\n\n**Who is affected**\n\n- ASIC: gains custody and legal authority to hold and use the transferred records for its functions and powers (s 7(1)(a)). ASIC may keep originals while it considers that desirable (s 7(2)).\n\n- The Commonwealth (public agencies holding the records): must identify, prepare and provide originals or electronic copies (including associated objective coding data where relevant) and do so promptly (s 4(2), s 5).\n\n- Persons and organisations who produced material to the HIH Royal Commission (including litigation parties, businesses, advisers): their previously‑produced records may be retained and used by ASIC. Owners cannot force the immediate return of originals while ASIC considers retention desirable (s 7(2)).\n\n- Legal advisers and clients: legal professional privilege is expressly preserved — transferring custody or supplying electronic copies does not remove privilege (s 9).\n\n**How the records can be used and protected**\n\n- The transferred records are \"taken to have been disclosed or given to ASIC for the purposes of any of its functions and powers\" (s 7(1)(a)). That gives ASIC a clear statutory basis to work with the material.\n\n- The records are given the status of \"protected information\" under s 127 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001, which controls disclosure of sensitive ASIC material (s 7(1)(b)).\n\n- Section 6DD of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 — which limits the admissibility of statements or production to a Royal Commission in legal proceedings — continues to apply to these transferred records (s 8). That remains a constraint on using statements or the fact of production in court.\n\n**Practical consequences, trade‑offs and implementation points (testing the purpose claim against costs and incentives)**\n\n- Purpose claimed: to give ASIC custody of the HIH Royal Commission records so it can use them in regulation and enforcement. Mechanically the Act achieves that by requiring transfer and by deeming the material disclosed to ASIC for its functions (s 4, s 5, s 7(1)(a)).\n\n- Who pays and who decides: the Commonwealth agencies that hold the records must prepare and provide them; ASIC becomes the custodian and decides how long to retain originals (s 4(2), s 7(2)). The Act does not itself appropriate funds, so costs for copying, IT work, storage and security fall on agency/ASIC budgets unless separately funded.\n\n- Administrative and compliance burden: there will be a one‑off effort to identify covered documents, create and transfer electronic copies (including objective coding data where required) and to update custody records. If regulations expand the set of records, further work may be required (s 6).\n\n- Legal and operational constraints: legal professional privilege remains intact (s 9). Section 6DD remains in force, limiting admissibility of certain evidence (s 8). At the same time, giving ASIC custody and protected‑information status (s 7(1)(b)) increases the regulator's access to material for investigations, potentially changing enforcement outcomes.\n\n- Risks and opportunity costs: potential privacy and data‑security risks from moving material and retaining originals; resource diversion to record management; risk of scope expansion through delegated regulations (s 6, s 10). The Act does not set detailed handling, redaction or public‑release rules, so practical data‑protection arrangements and statutory secrecy provisions will shape outcomes.\n\n**Bottom line**\n\nThe Act is a narrowly targeted statutory mechanism that moves custody of many HIH Royal Commission records to ASIC, requires the Commonwealth to hand over electronic copies (including coding data) where available, preserves privilege and certain Royal Commission protections, and gives the regulator statutory standing to use the material for its functions (see ss 4–9). It imposes administrative tasks on record‑holding agencies and creates ongoing custodial discretion for ASIC (s 7(2))."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: transferring custody of HIH Royal Commission records to ASIC. The regulation-making power in section 6 provides flexibility for accessing additional records, but this is ancillary to the core function and explicitly contemplated within the original scope."},"complexity_factors":["Short statute: only 10 sections spanning approximately 3 pages","Minimal defined terms: only 4 definitions in section 3 (ASIC, HIH Royal Commission, record, transferred record)","Straightforward conditional logic: primarily simple 'if-then' structures in sections 4-5","Limited cross-referencing: references to Archives Act 1983, Royal Commissions Act 1902, and ASIC Act 2001 are explicit and functional rather than dense","Single purpose legislation with narrow scope focused on administrative transfer of records","No nested exceptions or complex temporal provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Act hands over documents and evidence from the HIH Royal Commission (a major inquiry into the 2001 collapse of Australia's largest insurance company, HIH) to the corporate watchdog, ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission).\n\n**Key points:**\n\n*   **Physical records:** Original documents that witnesses gave to the Royal Commission automatically become ASIC's property to hold and use.\n*   **Electronic copies:** The government must also give ASIC any digital versions of those documents, including metadata (called \"objective coding data\" — basically filing information about the documents).\n*   **Future access:** The government can make regulations to give ASIC access to other Royal Commission materials not covered by the automatic transfer.\n*   **Legal protections:**\n    *   The documents remain \"protected information\" under ASIC's governing law, meaning strict rules apply to how ASIC can use and disclose them.\n    *   **Legal professional privilege** is preserved — just because ASIC gets the documents doesn't mean confidential lawyer-client communications lose their protection.\n    *   **Self-incrimination protections** continue — if someone gave evidence or documents to the Royal Commission, those statements generally can't be used against them in later court proceedings (this is what section 6DD of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 does).\n*   **No obligation to return:** ASIC can keep the documents as long as it wants for its investigations, even if the original owner asks for them back.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\nPrimarily ASIC (which gains investigative resources), the Commonwealth government (which must hand over the records), and potentially individuals or companies under ASIC investigation who had previously given evidence to the HIH Royal Commission.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThe HIH collapse was one of Australia's biggest corporate failures. This law ensures ASIC can use the Royal Commission's extensive evidence gathering for its own enforcement actions against directors, auditors, or others involved, while maintaining key legal protections for those who testified."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/hih-royal-commission-transfer-of-records-act-2003","history":"/api/acts/hih-royal-commission-transfer-of-records-act-2003/history","analysis":"/api/acts/hih-royal-commission-transfer-of-records-act-2003/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/hih-royal-commission-transfer-of-records-act-2003/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/hih-royal-commission-transfer-of-records-act-2003/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/hih-royal-commission-transfer-of-records-act-2003/documents"}}