318Exemptions—criteria for exemptions for individual co-operatives or (cf Corporations Act s 342)

318 Exemptions—criteria for exemptions for individual co-operatives or (cf Corporations Act s 342)

(1) To grant an exemption under section 316 or 317, the Registrar must be satisfied that complying with the relevant requirements of the target provisions would:

(a) make the financial report or other reports misleading; or

(b) be inappropriate in the circumstances; or

(c) impose unreasonable burdens.

(2) In deciding for the purposes of subsection (1) whether the audit requirements for a small co-operative, or a class of small co-operatives, would impose an unreasonable burden on the co-operative or co-operatives, the Registrar is to have regard to:

(a) the expected costs of complying with the audit requirements; and

(b) the expected benefits of having the co-operative or co-operatives comply with the audit requirements; and

(c) any practical difficulties that the co-operative or co-operatives face in complying effectively with the audit requirements (in particular, any difficulties that arise because a financial year is the first one for which the audit requirements apply or because the co-operative or co-operatives are likely to move frequently between the small and large co-operative categories from one financial year to another); and

(d) any unusual aspects of the operation of the co-operative or co-operatives during the financial year concerned; and

(e) any other matters that the Registrar considers relevant.

(3) In assessing expected benefits under subsection (2), the Registrar is to take account of:

(a) the number of creditors and potential creditors; and

(b) the position of creditors and potential creditors (in particular, their ability to independently obtain financial information about the co-operative or co-operatives); and

(c) the nature and extent of the liabilities of the co-operative or co-operatives.