68Appointment and powers of administrator of funeral contribution fund

#### 68 Appointment and powers of administrator of funeral contribution fund 68 Appointment and powers of administrator of funeral contribution fund > > (1) Subject to this Division and with the approval of the Minister, the Secretary may, by instrument in writing, appoint an administrator to administer the affairs of a funeral contribution fund if— > > > > > (a) the fund has failed to provide any funeral benefit it had agreed to provide and the Secretary has reason to believe that further failures of that kind will occur, > > > > > (b) after being notified by the Secretary of any contravention of a provision of this Act, of the regulations or of the [Corporations Act 2001](http://www.legislation.gov.au/) of the Commonwealth that is applicable to it, the fund has failed to remedy the contravention to the extent that it is capable of remedy, or has committed a further contravention of the provision, or > > > > > (c) following an inquiry into the affairs of the fund under Division 2 or following an investigation under Part 3 of the [Australian Investments and Securities Commission Act 2001](http://www.legislation.gov.au/) of the Commonwealth, the Secretary is of the opinion that, in the interests of— > > > > > > > (i) contributors to the fund, or > > > > > > > (ii) creditors of the fund, > > > > > > an administrator ought to be appointed to conduct the affairs of the fund. > > > (2) On the appointment of an administrator under subsection (1), the Secretary shall serve on the funeral contribution fund a copy of the instrument of the appointment and thereupon— > > > > > (a) the affairs of the fund shall be administered by the administrator until the administrator’s appointment is terminated under this Division, > > > > > (b) the administrator shall assume and be responsible for the management of the fund and shall perform all of the duties and may perform any of the functions and exercise any of the powers of the directors of the fund, > > > > > (c) the directors of the fund shall cease to hold office, > > > > > (d) any delegation made by the directors shall cease to have effect, and > > > > > (e) all contracts of service and for the performance of services (including a contract with an undertaker for the supply of funeral services) entered into by or on behalf of the fund shall terminate. > > > (3) Subject to this Division, an administrator appointed under this section— > > > > > (a) shall, as soon as practicable after the administrator’s appointment as such, take into the custody or under the control of the administrator all the property and things in action to which the funeral contribution fund is or appears to be entitled, and > > > > > (b) shall, subject to and in accordance with any direction given to the administrator by the Secretary, conduct the affairs of the fund in such manner as the administrator thinks most economical and most beneficial to the interests of the creditors of the fund and of the contributors to the fund. > > > (4) While an administrator of a funeral contribution fund holds office as such, the administrator shall be chairperson of any meeting or adjourned meeting of the fund. > > > (5) Except as provided under section 70, a person shall not be appointed as a director of a funeral contribution fund while an administrator of the fund holds office as such. > > > (6) An administrator of a funeral contribution fund appointed under this Division is declared to be an applied Corporations legislation matter for the purposes of Part 3 of the [Corporations (Ancillary Provisions) Act 2001](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2001-032) in relation to the provisions of the [Corporations Act 2001](http://www.legislation.gov.au/) of the Commonwealth relating to the appointment and re-appointment of auditors and the rights and duties of auditors, subject to the following modifications— > > > > > (a) any reference in those provisions to the directors of the fund is to be read as a reference to the administrator of the fund, and > > > > > (b) such other modifications (within the meaning of the [Corporations (Ancillary Provisions) Act 2001](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2001-032)) as may be prescribed by the regulations. > > > > Note— > > > > Part 3 of the [Corporations (Ancillary Provisions) Act 2001](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2001-032) provides for the application of provisions of the [Corporations Act 2001](http://www.legislation.gov.au/) and Part 3 of the [Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001](http://www.legislation.gov.au/) of the Commonwealth as laws of the State in respect of any matter declared by a law of the State (whether with or without modification) to be an applied Corporations legislation matter for the purposes of that Part in relation to those Commonwealth provisions. Section 14 (2) of the [Corporations (Ancillary Provisions) Act 2001](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2001-032) ensures that a declaration made for the purposes of Part 3 of that Act only operates to apply a provision of the Corporations legislation to a matter as a law of the State if that provision does not already apply to the matter as a law of the Commonwealth. If a provision referred to in a declaration already applies as a law of the Commonwealth, nothing in the declaration will affect its continued operation as a law of the Commonwealth. > > > (7) The following matters are declared to be excluded matters for the purposes of section 5F of the [Corporations Act 2001](http://www.legislation.gov.au/) of the Commonwealth in relation to Chapter 5 of that Act— > > > > > (a) the appointment of an administrator of a funeral contribution fund under this Division, > > > > > (b) the exercise of any functions by such an administrator under this Division in relation to the fund. > > > > Note— > > > > Section 5F of the [Corporations Act 2001](http://www.legislation.gov.au/) of the Commonwealth provides that if a State law declares a matter to be an excluded matter for the purposes of that section in relation to all or part of the Corporations legislation of the Commonwealth, then the provisions that are the subject of the declaration will not apply in relation to that matter in the State concerned. > > **s 68:** Am 1981 No 123, Sch 8; 2001 No 34, Sch 2.21 \[7\]–\[9\].