18Eligibility of auditors to prepare trust account audit report

#### 18 Eligibility of auditors to prepare trust account audit report (1) For subsection 100(4) of the Act, a person is ineligible to prepare a trust account audit report for a credit service licensee if: (a) the person does not meet the requirements of regulation 19; or (b) the person is not an authorised audit company (within the meaning given by section 9 of the Corporations Act); or (c) the person owes an amount to, or is owed an amount by: (i) the credit service licensee; or (ii) if the credit service licensee is a body corporate—a related body corporate of the credit service licensee; or (d) a body corporate in which the person has a substantial holding owes an amount to, or is owed an amount by: (i) the credit service licensee; or (ii) if the credit service licensee is a body corporate—a related body corporate of the credit service licensee; or (e) if the credit service licensee is a body corporate—the person is: (i) an officer of the body corporate; or (ii) a partner or employee of an officer of the body corporate. (2) For paragraph (1)(c), a debt owed by an individual to a body corporate is to be disregarded if: (a) the body corporate is: (i) an Australian ADI; or (ii) a body corporate registered under the Life Insurance Act 1995; and (b) the debt arose because of a loan that the body corporate made to the individual in the ordinary course of the body corporate’s ordinary business; and (c) the individual used the amount of the loan to pay the whole or part of the purchase price of premises that the individual uses as his or her principal place of residence. (3) For subparagraphs (1)(e)(i) and (ii), a person is taken to be an officer of a body corporate if: (a) the person is an officer of a related body corporate; or (b) unless ASIC directs that this paragraph does not apply in relation to the person—the person has, at any time within the immediately preceding period of 12 months, been an officer or promoter of the body corporate or of a related body corporate. (4) For this regulation, a person is not taken to be an officer of a body corporate by reason only: (a) of being or having been the liquidator of the body corporate or of a related body corporate; or (b) of having been appointed as an auditor of the body corporate or of a related body corporate; or (c) of being a public officer of the body corporate for any purpose relating to taxation; or (d) of being or having been authorised to accept service of process or any notices on behalf of the body corporate or a related body corporate.