ASIC Corporations (Related Scheme Reports) Instrument 2025/438

The instrument relies on a compact set of concepts and terms that determine eligibility and the form of permitted relief. These main concepts appear in the instrument text and are the practical triggers for both eligibility and compliance.

Related schemes: A registered scheme is “related” to another registered scheme if they either have the same responsible entity, or if the responsible entities are wholly beneficially owned by the same entity (s 5(2)(a)-(b)). The concept is therefore ownership- and management-focused; it excludes looser commercial relationships unless those ownership conditions are met.

Relevant scheme and included scheme: The instrument treats the scheme whose reporting document is being prepared as the relevant scheme, and any other related registered schemes whose statements are included as included schemes (s 6(1)). The relief allows the financial report (or concise report) of the relevant scheme to incorporate the financial statements and directors’ reports of included schemes.

Periods and “same kind”: The instrument restricts the allowance to financial reports for a financial year or half-year, and defines a “period of the same kind” as either both financial years or both half-years (s 5(3)). An included scheme’s financial report must cover the relevant period or another period of the same kind that ends no more than six months before or after the end of the relevant period (s 6(2)(a)(i)). This time window sets a mechanical limit on temporal mismatches across schemes.

Audit commonality: The instrument requires that each included scheme’s financial report be audited by the same audit company, audit firm or individual auditor as the relevant scheme (s 6(2)(a)(ii)). The instrument does not itself define audit firm scope beyond that phrase, it simply requires the same auditor entity or individual for the relevant scheme and each included scheme.

Presentation format: The instrument requires adjacent column presentation of the financial statements for the relevant scheme and each included scheme in the financial report (s 6(2)(b)), and similar adjacent column presentation in concise reports (s 6(2)(c)). Column headings must specify the period covered (s 6(4)). Where directors’ reports or directors’ declarations cover more than one scheme, the instrument requires presentation that enables each scheme to be readily identified (s 6(2)(e), (g)).

Separate responsibility statements where responsible entities differ: If an included scheme does not have the same responsible entity as the relevant scheme, the financial report must contain a prominent statement that only the responsible entity of a scheme takes responsibility for that scheme’s financial report, and there must be a separate directors’ declaration from each responsible entity covering the schemes that the responsible entity operates. There must also be a separate directors’ report from each responsible entity covering the schemes that it operates (s 6(2)(d)(i)-(ii)).

Concise report treatment: Where a concise report is being prepared, the instrument allows omission of the single entity report for the relevant scheme if the concise report includes consolidated financial statements for the relevant scheme (s 6(3)). The relief in s 6(1)(a)(ii) is conditional on the concise report also meeting the adjacent column presentation requirement in s 6(2)(c) through the application of s 6(2)(a)(i) etc.

Specific additional disclosures: The financial report for the relevant scheme must include statements specifying: the extent to which withdrawal proceeds from the relevant scheme can be applied to acquire an interest in any included scheme; whether further interests in the relevant scheme may be issued; and, if further interests may be issued, whether proceeds of a withdrawal from any included scheme can be applied to acquire an interest in the relevant scheme (s 6(2)(f)). These items cover inter-scheme flows and issuance potential.

Scope limitation: The instrument’s relief operates only to the extent Part 2M.3 prevents the specified inclusions or omissions (s 6(1)). It is therefore a partial, targeted modification rather than an overarching rewrite of financial reporting obligations.

Temporal scope: The instrument commences the day after registration (s 2) and is repealed at the start of 1 October 2030 (s 7), so it is expressly temporary.

These concepts determine whether a scheme is eligible to rely on the instrument, how combined reporting must be structured, what extra statements and declarations are mandatory where responsible entities differ, and how concise reports may differ from full financial reports.

Primary parties affected

• Responsible entities of registered schemes that are “related” as defined in the instrument, that is, schemes with the same responsible entity or schemes whose responsible entities are wholly beneficially owned by the same entity (s 5(2)). Those responsible entities decide whether to prepare a combined report relying on the instrument’s relief, and must implement the presentational and disclosure requirements if they do so (see s 6 generally).

• Directors of responsible entities for the relevant and included schemes, because the instrument expressly alters how directors’ reports and directors’ declarations can be presented and imposes presentation and identification requirements on those documents (s 6(1)(b), s 6(2)(d)-(e)). Directors remain the persons ultimately signing directors’ declarations and are therefore responsible for ensuring those declarations are prepared and presented in the required form.

• Auditors, because the instrument requires that included schemes’ financial reports be audited by the same audit company, audit firm or individual auditor as the relevant scheme (s 6(2)(a)(ii)). This places an operational requirement on audit engagement planning and on the auditor’s capacity to accept audits across multiple related schemes under the same engagement entity or individual.

Secondary parties and stakeholders

• Investors and withdrawing members of the schemes, because the instrument mandates specific disclosure about whether withdrawal proceeds from the relevant scheme can be applied to acquire interests in included schemes, and whether further interests may be issued in the relevant scheme and how proceeds from included schemes’ withdrawals may be applied (s 6(2)(f)). The way in which statements are presented (adjacent columns, headings specifying periods) alters the form and location of information investors use to assess comparative performance and liquidity.

• Responsible entities that are wholly owned by the same parent entity, where the parent’s ownership is the trigger for relatedness (s 5(2)(b)). Corporate groups that own multiple responsible entities will need to coordinate reporting and audit arrangements if they want to take advantage of the relief.

Operational decision-maker

• The responsible entity is the decision-maker that chooses whether to rely on the instrument’s relief when preparing the financial report or concise report for a relevant scheme. The relief is available “where all of the following apply” (s 6(2)), which places an initial assessment burden on the responsible entity to confirm eligibility, audit alignment and presentation capability.

Who pays and who bears compliance costs

• Preparers, namely responsible entities and their directors, bear the direct compliance costs of preparing combined financial and directors’ reports in the adjacent-column format, ensuring audit arrangements are negotiated with the same auditor, and producing the extra disclosures required where responsible entities differ (s 6(2)(d), (e), (f)). This includes administrative work to ensure directors’ declarations are separate and readily identifiable, and to craft the required prominent statement where necessary.

• Auditors bear costs and resource allocation implications if multiple schemes must be audited by the same audit company, firm or individual. That requirement may necessitate coordination among previously separate engagements or consolidation of audit engagements if the relief is to be used (s 6(2)(a)(ii)).

• Investors may incur search and interpretation costs as they adjust to the adjacent-column reporting format and consolidated presentations across schemes, particularly where a concise report omits a single entity report for the relevant scheme (s 6(1)(a)(ii), s 6(3)).

Decision and regulatory context

• ASIC, as the maker of the instrument (s 3), has delegated regulatory authority under s 341(1) of the Corporations Act to tailor the application of Part 2M.3 to these circumstances. The instrument thus shifts the locus of some reporting format choices from statutory default rules to a permitted alternative, subject to conditions.

The instrument does not name or affect external stakeholders such as product distributors or clearing systems directly, beyond the indirect effects of changed reporting formats. It does not create new classes of regulated persons beyond those already within the scope of Part 2M.3 and the Corporations Act, but it does reallocate certain preparatory and disclosure duties between responsible entities, directors and auditors.

The instrument creates a defined set of duties on responsible entities and directors when they elect to rely on its relief, and a corresponding, circumscribed right to present consolidated and included schemes’ information in a combined reporting document.

Core duty to comply with conditions: The right to include included schemes’ financial statements and directors’ reports in the relevant scheme’s financial report or concise report is conditional. The relief operates only to the extent that Part 2M.3 prevents the inclusion or omission described (s 6(1)). Responsible entities and directors who wish to rely on the relief must ensure that all the conditions in s 6(2) (and s 6(3) for concise reports) are met.

Audit-related duty: Responsible entities must ensure that each included scheme’s financial report is audited by the same audit company, audit firm or individual auditor as the relevant scheme (s 6(2)(a)(ii)). This is an operational requirement that affects audit engagement and oversight processes.

Period alignment duty: The financial reports of included schemes must be for the relevant period or for a period of the same kind that ends no more than six months before or after the end of the relevant period (s 6(2)(a)(i)). Responsible entities must validate the temporal alignment before relying on the relief.

Presentation duties: Financial statements for the relevant scheme and each included scheme must be presented in adjacent columns in the financial report, and in adjacent columns in a concise report where applicable (s 6(2)(b)-(c)). Column headings must specify the period covered (s 6(4)). Where directors’ reports or declarations cover more than one scheme, the information must be presented so each scheme to which any aspect is relevant can be readily identified (s 6(2)(e), (g)). Those presentation duties affect layout, labelling and narrative structure in the reporting documents.

Duties where responsible entities differ: If an included scheme has a different responsible entity from the relevant scheme, the financial report must contain a prominent statement indicating that only the responsible entity of a scheme takes responsibility for that scheme’s financial report, and there must be a separate directors’ declaration from each responsible entity covering the schemes that the responsible entity operates, and a separate directors’ report from each responsible entity covering the schemes it operates (s 6(2)(d)(i)-(ii)). Those duties allocate legal responsibility and require explicit signposting in the combined report.

Specific disclosure duty on inter-scheme flows and issuance: The financial report for the relevant scheme must state: the extent to which withdrawal proceeds from the relevant scheme can be applied to acquire interests in any included scheme; whether further interests in the relevant scheme may be issued; and where they may be issued, whether proceeds of a withdrawal from any included scheme can be applied to acquire an interest in the relevant scheme (s 6(2)(f)). This creates a precise disclosure obligation about cross-scheme liquidity and issuance mechanisms.

Rights to omit single entity report in concise reports: Where the concise report is relying on the relief, it may omit the single entity report for the relevant scheme provided the concise report includes consolidated financial statements for the relevant scheme (s 6(3)). This is a narrow rights-based relief from the standard requirement to include single entity information in concise reports.

Duty to identify period coverage: The headings of the columns used to present financial statements must specify the period covered by the financial statement presented in the columns (s 6(4)). This is a labelling duty to prevent ambiguity.

Residual compliance, no broad immunity: The instrument provides relief only to the extent Part 2M.3 would otherwise prevent the described presentation (s 6(1)). It does not eliminate the responsible entity’s obligations under other parts of the Corporations Act, nor does it create a blanket exemption from other statutory duties. Directors must still ensure the directors’ declarations required by ss 295(4) or 303(4) of the Act are prepared and presented in a way that enables each scheme to be readily identified where declarations cover more than one scheme (s 6(2)(e)).

In sum, the instrument creates a conditional right to consolidated or combined reporting and imposes duties to secure audit alignment, temporal alignment, format, explicit responsibility statements and specific disclosures about inter-scheme transferability and issuance. The responsible entity and its directors are the parties that must implement and attest to compliance with these duties.

The instrument itself does not create new penalty provisions. It is an ASIC legislative instrument made under subsection 341(1) of the Corporations Act (s 3) that modifies how Part 2M.3 applies to eligible schemes, rather than introducing independent sanctioning powers or penalty regimes. The instrument therefore operates as a form of relief and adjustment to reporting obligations rather than as a source of new offences.

Consequences of non-compliance with conditions: Because the instrument conditions its relief on meeting the requirements set out in s 6(2) and s 6(3), failure to satisfy those conditions could mean the relief is not available to the relevant scheme and its directors. If relief is not available and the scheme does not otherwise comply with relevant provisions of Part 2M.3, the responsible entity and directors could be exposed to enforcement action and penalties under the Corporations Act for contravening those statutory reporting obligations. The instrument does not alter the Corporations Act’s enforcement framework; it only removes the application of Part 2M.3 insofar as it prevents the permitted inclusions or omissions (s 6(1)).

Directors’ declarations and legal accountability: The instrument requires that each directors’ declaration required by subsection 295(4) or 303(4) of the Act (as relevant) be presented in a way that enables each scheme to be readily identified where a declaration covers more than one registered scheme (s 6(2)(e)). Those directors’ declarations are statutory attestations made under the Corporations Act; the instrument does not alter the legal significance or potential liability attached to them.

Auditor obligations: The instrument requires the same audit company, audit firm or individual auditor to audit the relevant and included schemes (s 6(2)(a)(ii)). Auditors remain subject to professional and statutory obligations under auditing and accounting legislation and standards outside the instrument. The instrument does not change those professional obligations but imposes an operational condition that may affect auditor capacity and audit scope.

Regulatory oversight: ASIC, as the regulator that made the instrument (s 3), retains its general enforcement powers under the Corporations Act. The instrument does not diminish ASIC’s existing oversight, investigatory or enforcement functions; rather it defines circumstances in which certain presentation formats will be treated as compliant with Part 2M.3.

Temporal enforcement boundary: The instrument is repealed at the start of 1 October 2030 (s 7). Any reliance on the relief must therefore be within the instrument’s operative period. Reporting periods ending after the instrument’s repeal will not be covered by its relief.

In short, the instrument creates permissible departures from Part 2M.3 presentation requirements under specified conditions, but it does not introduce bespoke penalties. Non-compliance with the instrument’s conditions removes the protection the instrument provides and leaves the responsible entity and directors subject to the standard enforcement framework under the Corporations Act.

Primary statutory interaction: The instrument explicitly operates under subsection 341(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (s 3) and modifies the application of Part 2M.3 of that Act in respect of the matters described. It relieves a registered scheme and its directors from complying with Part 2M.3 to the extent that Part 2M.3 would otherwise prevent inclusion of the financial statements and directors’ reports of related schemes in the relevant scheme’s financial report or concise report (s 6(1)). The instrument therefore functions as a subordinate instrument adjusting application of the Corporations Act’s financial reporting provisions, rather than as an amendment to the primary statute itself.

Direct cross-references within the Act: The instrument references specific statutory attestation requirements in the Corporations Act. It requires that each directors’ declaration required by subsection 295(4) or 303(4) of the Act (as relevant) be presented in an identifiable way where declarations cover more than one scheme (s 6(2)(e)). These sections of the Act concern directors’ declarations for audited financial reports and underpin statutory attestations about the financial statements. The instrument leaves those statutory obligations in place and prescribes how such declarations must be presented in multi-scheme reports.

Audit regulation and standards: The instrument imposes an operational requirement that the same audit company, audit firm or individual auditor audit the relevant and included schemes (s 6(2)(a)(ii)). While the instrument itself does not modify auditors’ statutory or professional obligations or standards, it creates a practical interface with applicable audit regulation and professional standards outside the instrument. Auditors must ensure their audit engagements comply with applicable laws, standards and ethical requirements, and must consider independence, scope and capacity when asked to audit multiple related schemes under the same engagement entity or individual.

Disclosure and investor protection laws: The instrument prescribes additional disclosure when responsible entities differ and when inter-scheme asset flows or issuance rights exist (s 6(2)(d), (f)). Those disclosures interface with the Corporations Act’s broader disclosure and consumer protection regime; however, the instrument does not extinguish any disclosure duties elsewhere in the Act or under other statutes. The relief is limited to Part 2M.3 application; other obligations that rely on complete or separate disclosures may continue to apply.

Interaction with reporting format rules: The instrument establishes permitted alternative presentation formats, such as adjacent columns presenting each scheme’s financial statements and concise reports omitting a single entity report where consolidated statements are provided (s 6(2)(b)-(c), s 6(3)). These format changes may interact with other legislative or regulatory requirements specifying the content and layout of prescribed documents. The instrument’s specific labelling and identifiability requirements (s 6(2)(e), (g), s 6(4)) are intended to preserve scheme-level clarity within the combined documents.

Limits of statutory displacement: The instrument expressly states that it relieves relevant schemes and their directors from compliance with Part 2M.3 only to the extent that Part 2M.3 prevents the specified presentation or omission (s 6(1)). It does not purport to displace other statutory or regulatory obligations outside Part 2M.3. Responsible entities and directors must therefore consider whether other parts of the Corporations Act, professional standards, taxation law, insolvency law, or sector-specific obligations impose requirements that remain unaffected by the instrument.

Temporal scope and subsequent regulatory changes: The instrument is temporary, repealed at the start of 1 October 2030 (s 7). Any changes to the Corporations Act or to audit or disclosure laws occurring during the instrument’s operative period may affect how its relief intersects with those laws. The instrument does not attempt to pre-empt or harmonise with potential future legislative change; users must compare the instrument’s conditions with contemporaneous legal requirements.

In summary, the instrument is a subordinate legislative instrument that narrowly adjusts application of Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act to permit combined reporting across related registered schemes on specified conditions. It interacts directly with statutory directors’ declaration provisions and audit arrangements, and indirectly with auditing standards and broader disclosure and investor-protection regimes, but it does not amend or replace those other legal frameworks.

This instrument contains a compact amendment record within its text.

• Instrument identification and making: ASIC Corporations (Related Scheme Reports) Instrument 2025/438, made by Claire LaBouchardiere as a delegate of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, dated 19 September 2025 (front page).

• Authority and statutory basis: The instrument is made under subsection 341(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (s 3). The instrument’s scope and relief are confined to the authorising power under that provision.

• Commencement: The instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation (s 2). There is no transitional provision in the instrument text beyond that commencement rule.

• Repeal: The instrument is scheduled to be repealed at the start of 1 October 2030 (s 7). The instrument therefore has an explicit sunset date and does not purport to be permanent.

• No in-text amendments or schedules: The instrument contains no other schedules, amending provisions, or in-text amendment history beyond the making date, commencement rule and repeal date. No earlier instruments are amended within the text, and no prior versions are referenced.

• No delegated or varied commencement: The instrument does not provide for staged commencement or partial repeal; it commences in full the day after registration and is repealed in full on 1 October 2030.

Because the instrument is short and self-contained, the amendment history is limited to its creation, commencement and repeal provisions. The text does not present an earlier version, does not list amending instruments, and does not contain retrospective amendments or transitional rules for accounts prepared across the commencement or repeal dates. Users should therefore track registration and repeal dates, and any subsequent instruments or legislative amendments that replace or extend this instrument beyond its repeal date.

The instrument text does not record any litigation or court decisions that interpret or test its provisions. It is a subordinate instrument; the text contains no references to cases, precedent, or prior administrative rulings. Accordingly, there is no litigation history within the instrument to cite.

Potential points where litigation or disputes could arise, as indicated by the instrument’s terms, include:

• Qualification of “same audit company, audit firm or individual auditor”: Disputes could occur about whether an auditor involved technically satisfies the instrument’s requirement, for example where the audit is carried out by two affiliated entities, or where different engagement partners from the same firm are used across schemes (s 6(2)(a)(ii)). Litigation might focus on whether the requirement was substantively met in the circumstances.

• Interpretation of the six-month alignment rule: The instrument allows included schemes’ financial reports to be for the relevant period or another period of the same kind that ends no more than six months before or after the end of the relevant period (s 6(2)(a)(i)). Disputes could arise as to whether a particular period falls within that window, and whether the “same kind” test applies (s 5(3) defines “same kind”).

• Adequacy of the “prominent statement” and presentational safeguards: Where included schemes have different responsible entities, the instrument requires a prominent statement that only the responsible entity of a scheme takes responsibility for the financial report for that scheme, and separate directors’ declarations and reports (s 6(2)(d)). Litigation may test what constitutes a “prominent” statement and whether the presentation met the identifiability requirements in s 6(2)(e) and (g).

• Omission of single entity information in concise reports: The instrument permits omission of the single entity report for the relevant scheme in a concise report, provided consolidated financial statements for the scheme are included (s 6(3)). Disputes could arise over whether the concise report meets the statutory description of a concise report, or whether omitting single entity information misleads investors under other provisions of the Act.

• Application of the instrument after repeal or around the commencement/repeal cut-off: Timing disputes could arise for reporting periods that straddle the commencement or repeal dates. The instrument’s commencement is the day after registration (s 2) and its repeal is set at the start of 1 October 2030 (s 7); practical questions may arise for financial years or half-years that begin before and end after those dates.

Because the instrument does not contain a litigation record, users seeking precedents must look to future adjudication and to any ASIC guidance or regulatory communications that may interpret how the conditions should be satisfied. Absent such external material, stakeholders should treat the instrument’s text as the primary legal source and plan for the implementation points that might otherwise be litigated.

The instrument creates several specific operational and compliance traps that responsible entities, directors and auditors should anticipate. These are practical risks and requirements that can be overlooked if implementers focus only on the headline permission to combine reports.

Temporal misalignment trap: The instrument permits included schemes’ financial reports to be for the relevant period or for another period of the same kind that ends no more than six months before or after the relevant period (s 6(2)(a)(i)). A common mistake would be to include a scheme whose last audited period falls outside that six-month window, or to misapply “same kind” (s 5(3) restricts same kind to both financial years or both half-years). Such a mismatch disqualifies reliance on the relief for that included scheme.

Audit-entity requirement nuance: The requirement that the audit be by the same audit company, audit firm or individual auditor (s 6(2)(a)(ii)) can be misread as permitting any audit connection. Practical pitfalls include using related but legally distinct audit firms, or the same global brand with different legal entities in different jurisdictions. The instrument requires the same audit company, firm or individual in legal terms, not merely the same network brand.

Presentation formatting and labelling errors: The instrument requires adjacent column presentation of each scheme’s financial statements in the financial report and concise report (s 6(2)(b)-(c)), and that column headings specify the period covered (s 6(4)). Failure to present adjacent columns, or to label them with the correct period, means the relief conditions are not satisfied.

Concise report omission constraint: A concise report may omit the single entity report for the relevant scheme only if the concise report includes consolidated financial statements for the relevant scheme (s 6(3)). Omission without consolidation, or omission in a concise report that fails to present consolidated financials and adjacent columns as required by s 6(2)(c), breaches the instrument’s conditions.

Separate responsible entity disclosures: Where included schemes have different responsible entities, the instrument requires a prominent statement clarifying that only the responsible entity of a scheme takes responsibility for that scheme’s financial report, together with separate directors’ declarations and separate directors’ reports from each responsible entity (s 6(2)(d)(i)-(ii)). A frequent error is to aggregate responsibility language or to provide a single declaration covering multiple responsible entities without the mandated separation and prominence.

Identification of schemes within shared declarations: The instrument requires that where a directors’ declaration covers more than one registered scheme, each declaration required by subsection 295(4) or 303(4) be presented in a way that enables each scheme to be readily identified (s 6(2)(e)). Generic cross-scheme declarations that do not explicitly map statements to each scheme can therefore invalidate reliance on the relief.

Disclosure of inter-scheme liquidity and issuance: The financial report for the relevant scheme must include statements about the extent to which proceeds of withdrawal can be applied to acquire interests in included schemes, whether further interests may be issued in the relevant scheme, and whether proceeds of withdrawal from any included scheme can be applied to acquire an interest in the relevant scheme (s 6(2)(f)). Omitting or ambiguously drafting these disclosures creates a compliance gap.

Relevance and clarity in multi-scheme directors’ reports: Where a directors’ report covers more than one registered scheme, the information must be presented in a way enabling identification of each scheme for which any aspect is relevant (s 6(2)(g)). Failure to segregate scheme-specific commentary, performance metrics or risk disclosures can lead to reader confusion and a finding that the presentation condition is unmet.

Temporal boundary and repeal: The instrument is repealed at the start of 1 October 2030 (s 7). Responsible entities must therefore track the instrument’s lifespan and ensure they do not rely on its relief for reporting periods that mature after repeal.

Extent-limited relief: The instrument relieves schemes only “to the extent” that Part 2M.3 prevents the specified presentations (s 6(1)). Reliance on the instrument does not give carte blanche to depart from other reporting obligations in the Corporations Act or elsewhere. Preparers should not assume the instrument overrides other legal or regulatory obligations.

Common implementation oversights: Practical oversights likely include failing to document the board resolution or minutes authorising reliance on the instrument, failing to obtain auditor confirmation that the proposed audit approach meets the “same audit firm/company/individual” criterion, and failing to retain clear evidence that the adjacent-column presentation and identifiability requirements were met.

In short, the instrument’s relief is conditional and procedural. The principal gotchas arise from timing, auditor identity, labelling and presentation, mandated disclosures about inter-scheme flows, and the separate-responsibility requirements where different responsible entities are involved. Each of these is specifically required by the instrument’s clauses and therefore must be demonstrably satisfied to rely on the relief.

This section sets out a practical, source-grounded checklist and recommended documentation that responsible entities and directors should assemble before relying on the instrument. Each step references the relevant instrument provision.

1. Confirm relatedness of schemes (s 5(2))

   • Verify whether the included schemes are related to the relevant scheme by checking if they have the same responsible entity, or whether the responsible entities are wholly beneficially owned by the same entity (s 5(2)(a)-(b)).
   • Document corporate ownership and responsible entity relationships, including shareholding registers or group structure charts.

2. Verify reporting period alignment (s 5(3), s 6(2)(a)(i))

   • Confirm that each included scheme’s audited financial report is for the relevant period (financial year or half-year) or for another period of the same kind that ends no more than six months before or after the relevant period (s 6(2)(a)(i); s 5(3) defines “same kind”).
   • Prepare a schedule mapping each scheme to its reporting period, showing the date ranges and demonstrating compliance with the six-month window.

3. Secure auditor alignment (s 6(2)(a)(ii))

   • Obtain written confirmation from the audit company, audit firm or individual auditor that they will audit the relevant scheme and each included scheme, and that the audits will be performed by the same audit company, audit firm or individual auditor as required.
   • Document engagements, including engagement letters or letters of reliance where appropriate.

4. Design the adjacent-column presentation (s 6(2)(b)-(c), s 6(4))

   • Draft the financial report so that the financial statements for the relevant scheme and each included scheme are presented in adjacent columns, and ensure column headings specify the period covered (s 6(4)).
   • For concise reports, ensure consolidated financial statements for the relevant scheme are included, and present consolidated and single entity financial statements in adjacent columns as required (s 6(2)(c), s 6(3)).

5. Prepare directors’ declarations and reports with clear identification (s 6(1)(b), s 6(2)(d)-(e), s 6(2)(g))

   • Where a directors’ declaration covers more than one registered scheme, ensure each declaration required by subsection 295(4) or 303(4) is presented so each scheme is readily identifiable (s 6(2)(e)).
   • If included schemes have different responsible entities, prepare a prominent statement that only the responsible entity of a scheme takes responsibility for that scheme’s financial report, prepare separate directors’ declarations from each responsible entity covering the schemes it operates, and prepare separate directors’ reports from each responsible entity (s 6(2)(d)(i)-(ii)).
   • For directors’ reports that cover multiple schemes, structure content so that scheme-specific information is clearly separated and identifiable (s 6(2)(g)).

6. Draft inter-scheme disclosures (s 6(2)(f))

   • Include explicit statements in the relevant scheme’s financial report describing: the extent to which proceeds of withdrawal from the relevant scheme can be applied to acquire interests in any included scheme; whether further interests in the relevant scheme may be issued; and where further interests may be issued, whether proceeds of withdrawal from any included scheme can be applied to acquire an interest in the relevant scheme (s 6(2)(f)).
   • Ensure cross-references to product disclosure statements or scheme constitutions where necessary to substantiate these statements.

7. Confirm the relief applies only to the extent Part 2M.3 would prevent the presentation (s 6(1))

   • Review Part 2M.3 requirements to identify any aspects not covered by the instrument. Ensure the combined report continues to comply with other statutory obligations under the Corporations Act.

8. Board minutes and legal sign-off

   • Record board consideration and approval for reliance on the instrument, including the factual basis for relatedness, auditor alignment, period alignment, and the proposed presentation format.
   • Obtain legal and compliance sign-off that the proposed documents meet the instrument’s requirements.

9. Audit and assurance coordination

   • Coordinate with the auditor to plan audit scope, timeline and documentation across the relevant and included schemes so that audit reports can be issued in time for lodgement and to align with the instrument’s timing parameters.
   • Retain audit confirmations that the auditor satisfies the “same audit company/firm/individual” requirement.

10. Filing, lodgement and record-keeping

    • Prepare the financial report or concise report in the required adjacent-column format, with clear headings for periods (s 6(4)), and ensure all statements required by s 6(2)(d), (e), (f) and (g) are present and prominent where applicable.
    • Maintain an implementation file containing the board resolution, ownership and relatedness evidence, auditor confirmation, mapping of column headings to periods, and copies of prominent responsibility statements and separate directors’ declarations and reports where required.

11. Monitor the instrument’s lifespan (s 2, s 7)

    • Note that the instrument commences the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislation (s 2) and is repealed at the start of 1 October 2030 (s 7). Ensure reliance on the relief is restricted to reporting periods that fall within these dates.

12. Investor communications

    • Consider separately communicating to investors how to read the adjacent-column financial statements and where to find scheme-specific directors’ declarations and directors’ reports, particularly where responsible entities differ, to reduce confusion and support transparency.

Document checklist to retain as evidence of compliance

• Board resolution or minutes authorising reliance on the instrument.
• Ownership and responsible entity structure diagrams.
• Period mapping showing the six-month window compliance.
• Signed audit engagement letters or confirmations from the audit company/firm/individual.
• Drafts and final versions of the combined financial report and concise report showing adjacent columns and headings.
• Copies of the prominent statement and separate directors’ declarations and reports where applicable.
• Copies of inter-scheme disclosure statements required by s 6(2)(f).
• Legal and compliance sign-offs.

Following these steps and retaining the listed documentation will provide a structured, auditable trail demonstrating reliance on the instrument and compliance with its conditions. Each step is grounded in the instrument’s provisions and targeted at the specific duties and presentation requirements the instrument prescribes.