318Exemptions—criteria for exemptions for individual co-operatives or classes of co-operatives

318 Exemptions—criteria for exemptions for individual co-operatives or classes of co-operatives

318 Exemptions—criteria for exemptions for individual co-operatives or classes of co-operatives

(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.