ASIC proposes five-year extension for regulatory relief

• Australia's corporate regulator has proposed a five-year extension for four key regulatory relief measures covering exchange-traded derivatives and securities.
• The announcement has no immediate financial or share price impact, as the regulator stated that the underlying effect of the rules will remain unchanged.
• The proposal aims to maintain legal certainty for market participants while preventing the automatic expiration of legislative instruments under sunsetting laws.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission announced a proposal to remake four financial services relief instruments covering exchange-traded derivatives and securities for an additional five years.

The upcoming expirations contrast with last year's regulatory action when the agency eliminated more than 9,000 pages of compliance content to lower corporate administration costs.

“ASIC said it had determined the four instruments are operating effectively and remain a useful part of the framework,” said ASIC.

The regulatory package includes rules that eliminate duplicate product disclosure statements for specific derivatives, recognise New Zealand settlement clearing systems, manage foreign ASX-listed stock warranties, and waive substantial holding disclosures for securities lenders.

The automatic retirement of these rules is driven by the Legislation Act 2003, which automatically repeals legislative instruments after 10 years unless the agency takes specific preservation action.

The regulator stated that public submissions regarding the administrative renewals, referenced under consultation paper CS 56, will be accepted until July 20.