{"id":"F2024L00262","name":"Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers (Public Interest) Determination 2024","slug":"insurance-acquisitions-and-takeovers-public-interest-determination-2024","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":442302,"registerId":"F2024L00262-fast-fetch-1775957346511","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers (Public Interest) Determination 2024","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![Commonwealth coat of arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nInsurance Acquisitions and Takeovers (Public Interest) Determination 2024\n\nI, Stephen Jones, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, make the following determination.\n\nDated  28 February 2024\n\n \n\nStephen Jones\n\nAssistant Treasurer\n\nMinister for Financial Services\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Definitions\n\nPart 2—Public interest matters\n\n5 Fit and proper person\n\n6 Position of influence over a company\n\n7 Undue concentration of power\n\n8 Contrary to the national interest\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers (Public Interest) Determination 2024.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument 1 March 2024.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under the Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1991.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: Expressions have the same meaning in this instrument as in the Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1991 as in force from time to time—see paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nthe Act means the Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1991.\n\nPart 2—Public interest matters\n\n5  Fit and proper person\n\n (1) Under subsection 5(6) of the Act, the following matters are determined for the purposes of subparagraph 5(4)(b)(i) of the Act:\n\n (a) the honesty, integrity and reputation of the person; and\n\n (b) the competence and capability of the person, having regard to the degree of control or influence that the person will have over the Australian‑registered insurance company; and\n\n (c) whether the person is in a sound financial position; and\n\n (d) whether the person has any conflict of interest in relation to any matter that is likely to give rise to a material risk to ongoing operations of an Australian‑registered insurance company; and\n\n (e) whether there are reasonable grounds for suspecting the person has committed, or is at risk of committing, a financial crime; and\n\nExamples:  financial crimes include crimes involving dishonesty, money laundering, bribery, corruption and terrorism financing.\n\n (f) if the person is a company—the company’s prudential conduct and compliance with the prudential standards (as determined by APRA under the Insurance Act 1973 and the Life Insurance Act 1995); and\n\n (g) whether APRA’s ability to effectively supervise the Australian‑registered insurance company is likely to be adversely affected; and\n\n (h) the potential for the person to be influenced by another person that is not a fit and proper person to be in a position of influence over the Australian‑registered insurance company.\n\n (2) Under subsection 5(6) of the Act, all relevant matters are determined for the purposes of subparagraph 5(4)(b)(ii) of the Act.\n\n6  Position of influence over a company\n\n  Under subsection 5(2) of the Act, the following circumstances in which a person is taken to be in a position of influence over the Australian‑registered insurance company, for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) of the Act, are determined:\n\n (a) the person, either alone or together with one or more associates, is in a position to control 15% or more of the voting power in the company; and\n\n (b) one or more directors of the company are accustomed, or under an obligation, whether formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions, instructions or wishes of the person acting alone, or acting together with one or more associates; and\n\n (c) the person has power, either acting alone or together with one or more associates, to appoint or remove a director of the company; and\n\n (d) the person is a director of the company; and\n\n (e) the person takes part in the management of the company.\n\n7  Undue concentration of power\n\n (1) Under subsection 5(6) of the Act, the following matters are determined for the purposes of subparagraph 5(4)(c)(i) of the Act:\n\n (a) any matter that could adversely affect:\n\n (i) the supply or pricing of insurance services to the Australian market; or\n\n (ii) the supply or pricing of other financial services to the Australian market.\n\n (2) Under subsection 5(6) of the Act, all relevant matters are determined for the purposes of subparagraph 5(4)(c)(ii) of the Act.\n\n8  Contrary to the national interest\n\n (1) Under subsection 5(6) of the Act, the following matters are determined for the purposes of subparagraph 5(4)(d)(i) of the Act:\n\n (a) any matter that could adversely affect the stability and strength of the Australian general insurance industry, the Australian life insurance industry, or the Australian financial system; and\n\n (b) any matter that could adversely affect the interests of policy holders of an Australian‑registered insurance company; and\n\n (c) any matter that is contrary to Australia’s foreign investment policies.\n\n (2) Under subsection 5(6) of the Act, all relevant matters are determined for the purposes of subparagraph 5(4)(d)(ii) of the Act.\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Determination appears to operate within its original intended scope. It is a standard legislative instrument made under the Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1991 to specify the public interest criteria for assessing insurance acquisitions. The content aligns with the Act's purpose of regulating foreign and domestic acquisitions of Australian insurance companies. There is no evidence of scope creep; it performs the specific function delegated by the parent Act without expanding into unrelated areas."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 8 substantive sections across 2 Parts","Minimal defined terms: only 1 explicit definition ('the Act'), with other terms incorporated by reference from the parent Act","Simple structure: direct mapping of statutory criteria to the four public interest tests in the parent Act","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic: provisions follow a straightforward 'the following matters are determined' format","Heavy reliance on external legislation: meaning depends on understanding the Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1991, Insurance Act 1973, Life Insurance Act 1995, and prudential standards determined by APRA","Some subjective criteria: terms like 'fit and proper', 'sound financial position', and 'national interest' require interpretive judgment but are standard in financial regulation"],"plain_english_summary":"This Determination sets the rules the Treasurer uses to decide whether a proposed takeover or increase in control of an Australian insurance company is in the public interest. It applies to prospective acquirers (including foreign investors), the insurers themselves, and anyone seeking significant influence over insurance entities.\n\nDecisions are guided by four core tests—whether the buyer is fit and proper, whether they would exercise control or influence, whether the deal would unduly concentrate market power, and whether it harms national interests, financial stability, or policyholders."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument does not amend the Act's substantive powers. It specifies and operationalises the matters to be considered under subsection 5(6) and subsection 5(2): defining fit‑and‑proper factors, circumstances that create a position of influence (including a 15% voting‑power benchmark), considerations for undue concentration (supply/pricing) and national‑interest matters (prudential stability, policyholder interests, foreign investment policy)."},"complexity_factors":["Use of partly subjective, multi‑factor 'fit and proper' tests (honesty, competence, conflicts, crime risk) increases judgment calls.","Cross‑reference to APRA prudential standards and potential impact on APRA supervision creates regulatory interaction.","A quantitative 15% voting‑power threshold for 'position of influence' coexists with broader qualitative indicators (directorship, management control).","Broad phrasing — 'any relevant matters' and market/price effects — expands discretionary scope and factual inquiry.","Overlap with foreign investment policy, competition and other financial regulators can produce parallel reviews and inconsistent standards.","Compliance burden on acquirers: expanded due diligence, documentation and potential remediation or structuring to avoid thresholds."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument tells the Assistant Treasurer what public‑interest factors to consider when assessing proposed acquisitions or takeovers of Australian‑registered insurance companies under the Insurance Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1991 (see ss 5–8).  \n\nIt affects prospective acquirers, target insurers and regulators: acquirers will face scrutiny of honesty, competence, financial position, conflicts, crime risk, control thresholds (eg. 15% voting power), APRA supervisory impact, market concentration, pricing effects, policyholder interests and alignment with foreign investment policy, creating due‑diligence and compliance costs and possible transaction constraints."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/insurance-acquisitions-and-takeovers-public-interest-determination-2024","history":"/api/acts/insurance-acquisitions-and-takeovers-public-interest-determination-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/insurance-acquisitions-and-takeovers-public-interest-determination-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/insurance-acquisitions-and-takeovers-public-interest-determination-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/insurance-acquisitions-and-takeovers-public-interest-determination-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/insurance-acquisitions-and-takeovers-public-interest-determination-2024/documents"}}