{"id":"F2018L00152","name":"PGPA Act Determination (ASIC Trust and Other Moneys Special Account 2018)","slug":"pgpa-act-determination-asic-trust-and-other-moneys-special-account-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439484,"registerId":"F2018L00152-fast-fetch-1775955494957","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"PGPA Act Determination (ASIC Trust and Other Moneys Special Account 2018)","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.jpeg)\n\n \n\nPGPA Act Determination (ASIC Trust and Other Moneys Special Account 2018)\n\nI, MATHIAS HUBERT PAUL CORMANN, Minister for Finance, make the following determination.\n\nDated 23 / 02 / 2018 \n\nMATHIAS HUBERT PAUL CORMANN\n\nMinister for Finance\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Establishment \n\n1  Name ...................................................\n\n2  Commencement.............................................\n\n3  Authority.................................................\n\n4  Definitions................................................\n\n5  Establishment of the special account.................................\n\n6  Accountable authority responsible for the special account.....................\n\nPart 2—Special account credits and debits \n\n7  Amounts credited to the special account...............................\n\n8  Purposes of the special account....................................\n\nPart 3—Transitional and Repeal Provisions \n\n9  Opening balance of the special account................................\n\n10  Repeal of instruments.........................................\n\n11  Additional repeal provisions.....................................\n\n \n\nPart 1—Establishment\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the PGPA Act Determination (ASIC Trust and Other Moneys Special Account 2018).\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| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Provisions | Commencement | Date/Details |\n| The whole of this instrument | The later of 31 March 2018 or the day mentioned in paragraph 79(5)(a) of the Act. |  |\n\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 version of this instrument published on the Federal Register of Legislation.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsections 78(1) and 78(3) of the Act.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.\n\nASIC means the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.\n\nASIC Act means the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001.\n\nChairperson of ASIC means the person appointed as Chairperson of ASIC under section 10 of the ASIC Act.\n\nCorporations Act means the Corporations Act 2001.\n\nCorporations Regulations means the Corporations Regulations 2001.\n\ndate of repeal means the date on which subclause 11(1) takes effect.\n\nDeregistered Companies instrument means the Financial Management and Accountability Determination 2008/02 — ASIC Deregistered Companies Trust Moneys Special Account Establishment 2008.\n\nDeregistered Companies account means the ASIC Deregistered Companies Trust Moneys Special Account, which was established by the Deregistered Companies instrument.\n\nInvestigations instrument means the Financial Management and Accountability Determination 2008/04 — ASIC Investigations, Legal Proceedings, Settlements and Court Orders Special Account Establishment 2008.\n\nInvestigations account means the ASIC Investigations, Legal Proceedings, Settlements and Court Orders Special Account, which was established by the Investigations instrument.\n\nopening balance means the amount that is required to be credited to the special account in clause 9.\n\nSecurity Deposits instrument means the Financial Management and Accountability Determination 2008/03 — ASIC Security Deposits Special Account Establishment 2008.\n\nSecurity Deposits account means the ASIC Security Deposits Special Account, which was established by the Security Deposits instrument.\n\nthe special account means the ASIC Trust and Other Moneys Special Account 2018.\n\n5  Establishment of the special account\n\n  For subsection 78(1)(a) of the Act, the ASIC Trust and Other Moneys Special Account 2018 is established as a special account (the special account).\n\n6  Accountable authority responsible for the special account\n\n  For subsection 78(1)(d) of the Act, the accountable authority responsible for the special account is the Chairperson of ASIC.\n\n \n\nPart 2—Special account credits and debits\n\n \n\n7  Amounts credited to the special account\n\n (1) For subsection 78(1)(b) of the Act, amounts up to and equal to the following may be credited to the special account:\n\n (a) an amount received by ASIC in the performance of functions that relate to a purpose in clause 8; or\n\n (b) an amount received by ASIC from any person for a purpose in clause 8.\n\n  \n\n Note:  Subsection 58(5) of the Act requires the proceeds of an investment of an amount debited from a special account to be credited to that special account.\n\n8  Purposes of the special account\n\n1.               For subsection 78(1)(c) of the Act, the purposes of the special account, in relation to which amounts may be debited from the special account, are:\n\n\n1.                      to perform duties or exercise powers for and on behalf of the Commonwealth in relation to money and other property vested in or held on behalf of the Commonwealth as a trustee, including:\n  1.               by making payments in relation to deregistered companies and property vested in the Commonwealth under Part 5A.1 of the Corporations Act;\n  2.             by making payments in relation to liabilities imposed on property vested in the Commonwealth under Part 5A.1 of the Corporations Act; or\n  3.           by making payments in relation to expenses incurred by or on behalf as the Commonwealth as a trustee.\n2.                      to perform functions or exercise powers in relation to money or other property held on behalf of or for the benefit of a person other than the Commonwealth, including:\n  1.               in relation to money or other property held temporarily by ASIC as a consequence of investigations conducted by ASIC, legal proceedings to which ASIC is a party, deeds of settlement to which ASIC is a party, enforceable undertakings accepted by ASIC and court orders referring to ASIC;\n  2.             by making payments to or for the benefit of a person for whose benefit the money was held by ASIC;\n  3.           making payments of amounts required or contemplated to be paid by ASIC in the course of an investigation;\n  4.           making payments to give effect to court orders, enforceable undertakings, settlements, transfers of assets, or other disbursements of monies held by ASIC on behalf of a person other than the Commonwealth; or\n  5.             making payments in relation to expenses incurred in relation to holding and realising third party assets, or locating and identifying any person for whose benefit an amount is held.\n3.                      to perform functions and to exercise powers in relation to security bonds and security deposits lodged by registered liquidators, licensed securities dealers, licensed investment advisers and financial services licensees, including security bonds and security deposits lodged under section 912B of the Corporations Act, and regulations 7.6.02AAA and 7.6.02AA of the Corporations Regulations, including by:\n  1.      discharging, returning or releasing a security bond or security deposit lodged with ASIC in whole or in part; or\n  2.    making payments from security bonds or security deposits to compensate a person other than the Commonwealth who has suffered a pecuniary loss.\n4.                      to repay an amount where a court order, Act or other law requires or permits the repayment of an amount received under clause 7; or\n5.                      to reduce the balance of the special account (and, therefore, the available appropriation for the special account) without making a real or notional payment.\n\n\n \n\nPart 3—Transitional and Repeal Provisions\n\n \n\n9  Opening balance of the special account\n\n1.               For subsection 78(1)(b) of the Act, the amount in subclause 9(2) (opening balance) is required to be credited to the special account on the commencement date in clause 2.\n2.               The opening balance is equal to the sum of the amounts standing to the credit of the following special accounts immediately prior to the commencement date in clause 2:\n\n\n (a) Deregistered Companies account;\n\n (b) Investigations account; and\n\n (c) Security Deposits account.\n\n10  Repeal of instruments\n\n  For subsection 78(3) of the Act, the following instruments are repealed:\n\n (a) Deregistered Companies instrument;\n\n (b) Investigations instrument; and\n\n (c) Security Deposits instrument.\n\n11  Additional repeal provisions\n\n1.               For subsection 78(3) of the Act, Part 3 of this instrument is repealed at the end of the seventh day after the repeal of special accounts in clause 10 (date of repeal).\n2.               For subsection 78(3) of the Act, the following definitions in clause 4 are repealed on the date of repeal:\n\n\n1.                      definition of date of repeal;\n2.                      definition of Deregistered Companies instrument;\n3.                      definition of Deregistered Companies account;\n4.                      definition of Investigations instrument;\n5.                      definition of Investigations account;\n6.    definition of opening balance;\n7.                      definition of Security Deposits instrument;\n8.                      definition of Security Deposits account.\n\n\n (3) Despite subclause 11(1), the effects of Part 3 of this instrument remain in force after the date of repeal.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument consolidates three pre-existing ASIC special accounts into a single special account and carries across their balances (cl.9–10). It does not materially expand the types of activities or beneficiaries covered; the listed purposes for which money may be debited largely mirror the prior accounts' functions (trust administration for deregistered companies, handling third-party monies from investigations/legal processes, and security deposits). The key change is administrative consolidation and centralisation of control (one special account and one accountable authority) rather than a substantive broadening of purpose or a new regulatory obligation."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument with 11 substantive clauses divided into 3 Parts (Establishment; Credits/Debits; Transitional/Repeal).","Approximately 15 defined terms in clause 4 (e.g. Act, ASIC, ASIC Act, Chairperson of ASIC, Corporations Act/Regulations, several named prior instruments/accounts, opening balance, date of repeal, the special account).","Multiple cross-references to the PGPA Act (ss78(1), 78(3), s58(5), para 79(5)(a)) and to the Corporations Act/Regulations (cl.4 definitions and cl.8 references).","Clause 8 contains a multi-level nested list of five primary purposes with several sub-clauses (nested subparagraphs), increasing interpretive complexity.","Transitional mechanics: opening-balance transfer from three existing accounts (cl.9) and repeal of those instruments (cl.10).","Self-repeal feature for Part 3 and several definitions after a short window (cl.11), which creates a temporary legal state that must be understood to interpret commencement and transition correctly.","Conditional commencement language referencing an external provision of the PGPA Act (cl.2) — timing is not a fixed date but depends on another statutory event."],"plain_english_summary":"**What this instrument does (mechanics)\n\n- Establishes a single special account called the ASIC Trust and Other Moneys Special Account 2018 (\"the special account\") for money and other property that ASIC holds in specified trust-like or custodial situations (cl.5).\n- Names the accountable authority for that account as the Chairperson of ASIC (cl.6).\n- Specifies what may be credited into the account: amounts received by ASIC in performing functions related to the account's purposes, and amounts received from any person for those purposes (cl.7).\n- Lists the exact purposes for which money may be spent (debited) out of the account — these include handling funds vested in the Commonwealth in relation to deregistered companies, holding and disbursing monies held for third parties because of investigations, court orders or settlements, managing security bonds and deposits lodged by licensed persons, repaying amounts where a law or order requires it, and reducing the account balance without a separate payment (cl.8).\n- Transfers the balances of three former ASIC special accounts into this new account on commencement (cl.9), and repeals the instruments that created those old accounts (cl.10). A short transitional provision and some definitions are set to repeal after those transfers (cl.11).\n- Commencement: the instrument takes effect on the later of 31 March 2018 or the day specified under paragraph 79(5)(a) of the PGPA Act (cl.2).\n\nWho it affects\n\n- ASIC and its Chairperson as the accountable authority (cl.6).\n- People or entities whose money or property is held by ASIC temporarily: e.g. parties to ASIC investigations, litigants where ASIC holds settlement money, persons with funds tied up because of deregistered companies (Part 5A.1 of the Corporations Act is cited in cl.8.1), beneficiaries of security bonds or security deposits lodged by licensed liquidators, dealers, advisers or financial services licensees (cl.8.3).\n- Registered liquidators, licensed securities dealers, licensed investment advisers and financial services licensees who lodge security bonds/deposits with ASIC (cl.8.3).\n\nWhy it matters (official purpose and practical effects)\n\n- Officially: the instrument consolidates and continues the financial arrangements that let ASIC hold, manage and disburse trust-like funds and security deposits for clearly listed purposes (cl.8). It replaces three prior special-account instruments and brings their funds together as an \"opening balance\" in the new account (cl.9–10).\n\n- Practically: the change centralises the administration of a set of custodial and trust-like monies under one special account and one accountable authority (the ASIC Chairperson). That affects how those funds are recorded and released (who signs off, accounting treatment), and where investment proceeds from those funds are returned (see note under cl.7 referring to s58(5) of the PGPA Act). The opening balances of three prior accounts are transferred into the new account (cl.9(2)).\n\nCosts, incentives, trade-offs and implementation risks (testing the claimed purpose)\n\n- Who pays: the special account is fed by amounts ASIC receives in carrying out its functions or amounts paid to ASIC for the specific purposes listed (cl.7). There is no new external tax or charge created by this instrument; it reorganises how ASIC-held funds are held and spent.\n- Who decides: the Chairperson of ASIC is the accountable authority and therefore carries the principal administrative responsibility for the account (cl.6). Decisions about payments from the account must fit within the purposes in cl.8.\n- Incentives and private effects: by consolidating receipts and disbursements into a single account, the instrument can change internal incentives around timing of payments, investment decisions and prioritisation of disbursements. For example, security bond or deposit monies that can be used to compensate a person who suffered pecuniary loss (cl.8.3.2) remain available under the consolidated arrangement, so the substantive remedy remains but administration is centralised.\n- Compliance and administrative burden: for external parties (beneficiaries, claimants, licensees lodging bonds) the direct compliance burden is minimal — their legal rights and the conditions for release remain governed by the Corporations Act, Corporations Regulations and court orders referenced in the instrument (cl.8 references). Internally, ASIC must reconcile and transfer the balances of three prior accounts and ensure reporting and investment returns comply with PGPA Act rules (note to cl.7 and cl.9).\n- Opportunity costs and bureaucratic discretion: consolidating accounts can concentrate discretion (payment authority rests with a single accountable authority) and simplify bookkeeping, but it also reduces the separateness of funds that were previously in distinct accounts. Any change to the available appropriation is effected when debits reduce the special account balance (cl.8.5 explains an explicit mechanism to reduce the balance without a real payment).\n- Implementation risk: the instrument contains a short-lived transitional regime (Part 3) that transfers balances and then self-repeals after seven days following the repeal of the prior instruments (cl.11). This creates a small window where administrative error in transferring opening balances or in record-keeping could complicate later audits. Also the commencement timing depends on a provision of the PGPA Act (para 79(5)(a)), which is a technical linkage to that Act (cl.2).\n\nConcrete changes to behaviour\n\n- ASIC will receive, hold, invest (subject to PGPA rules) and disburse the identified classes of money through the new consolidated special account (cl.5–8).\n- Recipients of ASIC-held money (e.g. third-party beneficiaries, persons entitled under court orders, or compensated parties under security bonds) will receive payments from this consolidated pool rather than separate ASIC sub-accounts (cl.8.1–8.3).\n\nKey cross-references and controls to watch\n\n- The instrument operates under the PGPA Act (made under ss78(1) and 78(3) — cl.3) and explicitly relies on PGPA Act rules about investment proceeds being credited back to the same special account (note under cl.7 referencing s58(5) of the PGPA Act).\n- It invokes Parts of the Corporations Act (Part 5A.1) and certain Corporations Regulations when specifying particular kinds of money and liabilities (cl.8.1 and cl.8.3).\n\nSelected provisions for quick reference (by clause):\n- Establishment and name: cl.1 & cl.5.\n- Accountable authority: cl.6.\n- Credits allowed into the account: cl.7.\n- Purposes for debits (what the money may be spent on): cl.8.\n- Opening balance and transfer of old accounts: cl.9.\n- Repeal of the old account instruments: cl.10.\n- Transitional self-repeal of Part 3: cl.11.\n\nOverall practical summary: This is an administrative consolidation that centralises ASIC's handling of trust-like monies, security deposits and related funds into one special account under the Chairperson of ASIC, carries across the existing balances from three previously separate special accounts, and preserves the existing categories of permitted payments and legal references that determine when money must be repaid or disbursed (clauses 5–11)."},"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose: consolidating three ASIC special accounts into one. The transitional provisions (Part 3) are mechanical implementation details necessary for the merger, not an expansion of scope. The purposes listed in clause 8 mirror the combined purposes of the three predecessor accounts without adding new functions."},"complexity_factors":["Straightforward structure with only 11 clauses across 3 Parts","13 defined terms in clause 4, but most are simply naming the three predecessor instruments and accounts being merged","No nested conditional logic or exceptions to exceptions","Limited cross-referencing — primarily references to the PGPA Act 2013 and Corporations Act 2001 for context","Purpose clause (clause 8) uses nested numbering (1.1.1 style) but describes straightforward operational activities rather than complex legal conditions","Contains a self-repealing mechanism (clause 11) which is unusual but clearly drafted","No delegated legislative powers or complex administrative decision-making frameworks"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument merges three existing ASIC special accounts into one new ASIC Trust and Other Moneys Special Account 2018, so ASIC manages a single consolidated account for deregistered company assets, investigation/ litigation monies, and security deposits from financial services licensees. It’s a housekeeping reform to simplify administration while preserving trustee segregation and restricting use of funds to rightful payouts, investigation costs, victim compensation from bonds, or court-ordered disbursements; transitional rules automatically expire shortly after consolidation."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-asic-trust-and-other-moneys-special-account-2018","history":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-asic-trust-and-other-moneys-special-account-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-asic-trust-and-other-moneys-special-account-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-asic-trust-and-other-moneys-special-account-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-asic-trust-and-other-moneys-special-account-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/pgpa-act-determination-asic-trust-and-other-moneys-special-account-2018/documents"}}