This Act modifies duties and rights primarily by giving force to the Corporations Law and ASIC Law in Tasmania and by setting administration, enforcement and procedural norms. Below are the principal duties and rights created or preserved by the Act, anchored to sections.
Duty to comply with applied Commonwealth law
- Corporates and persons within Tasmania are obliged to comply with the Corporations Law as it applies in Tasmania (s 7) and the Corporations Regulations (s 8), and with the ASIC Law of Tasmania (s 58) and ASIC Regulations (s 59) except to the extent those instruments exclude particular provisions (s 58(2)). The Act does not itself restate the substantive offences or duties; it imports them.
Duty to provide information and cooperate with investigations
- The ASIC Law and the definitions in s 60 and the “giving information” definition in s 61 bring within scope duties to explain, state matters, identify persons, disclose information or answer questions where required under the ASIC Law. Examinations under Part 3 of the ASIC Law are classified and the Commonwealth Crimes Act and specified Evidence Act provisions apply to examinations (ss 60, 61, 74-75).
Obligations to pay fees, levies and contributions
- Fees (including taxes) stated in the Corporations Regulations of Tasmania are imposed by s 22. Contributions and levies associated with securities exchanges and futures organisations and the National Guarantee Fund are imposed by ss 23-25 and 24. Fines and penalties arising under applicable provisions are to be paid to the Commonwealth (s 79), redirecting monetary enforcement outcomes.
Rights of the Crown and Crown limitations
- The Corporations Law binds the Crown in specified Chapters (s 15(1) and (1A)), but the Crown is not liable to prosecution for offences under this Part or Corporations Law (s 17). Section 18 clarifies that the Part overrides prerogative where it binds the Crown.
Procedural rights and judicial remedies
- The Act confers jurisdictional rights to bring civil or criminal matters in Tasmanian courts as provided by the cross‑vesting scheme (s 42 and ss 53-56). It creates mechanisms for transferring proceedings to appropriate jurisdictions (ss 44-44C), but it also restricts some appeals (s 43) and limits appeals from transfer or rules of evidence/procedure decisions (s 49).
- Section 42AA creates a right to seek writs (mandamus, prohibition, injunction) in the Supreme Court against Commonwealth officers in certain prosecutorial contexts where the decision to prosecute has been made by Commonwealth officers and the prosecution is proposed or underway in Tasmania.
Rights to representation and practice
- Legal practitioners entitled to practise in a court retain the same rights to appear in transferred proceedings under this Division as they would in a federal court exercising federal jurisdiction (s 48).
Rights of administrative review and application of Commonwealth administrative laws
- Commonwealth administrative laws (Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024, Freedom of Information Act 1982, Ombudsman Act 1976, Privacy Act 1988 and their regulations , see s 3 and s 35) apply to acts, matters and things arising under applicable provisions (s 35). This creates rights to administrative review and access under Commonwealth procedural regimes.
Powers and duties of Commonwealth bodies acting in Tasmania
- The Commission, Panel and Disciplinary Board hold functions and powers in Tasmania as set out by national scheme laws of the jurisdiction (ss 66-71). When Commonwealth laws confer functions or powers on Commonwealth officers in relation to offences or administrative acts, those functions/powers apply to the corresponding applicable provisions of Tasmania (ss 31, 37).
Rule‑making and court practice
- The Judges of the Supreme Court of Tasmania may make rules of court for proceedings under the Corporations Law (s 51). Lower courts exercising jurisdiction under the national scheme must apply those rules with necessary alterations (s 51(1A)).
These duties and rights are largely derivative; the Act imports obligations from the Corporations Law and ASIC Law rather than creating new substantive offences or corporate duties itself. The principal statutory changes are procedural and institutional: who enforces, which courts have jurisdiction, how evidence and administrative review processes apply, and who receives monetary penalties. Relevant sections: ss 7-10, 22-25, 31, 35-37, 42-51, 58-66, 74-75, 79.