Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Corporations Act 2001 — Paragraphs 926A(2)(a) and 951B(1)(a) — Exemption
Enabling provision
1. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission grants this exemption under paragraphs 926A(2)(a) and 951B(1)(a) of the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act).
Title
2. This instrument is ASIC Class Order [CO 05/611].
3. This instrument commences on the date it is registered under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Note: An instrument is registered when it is recorded on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI) in electronic form: see Legislative Instruments Act 2003, s 4 (definition of register). The FRLI may be accessed at www.frli.gov.au.
4. A person who provides financial product advice through, or through making available, a superannuation calculator does not have to comply with:
(a) the requirement in subsection 911A(1) of the Act to hold an Australian financial services licence covering the provision of that advice; or
(b) where the person is a financial services licensee—Divisions 2, 3 and 4 of Part 7.7 of the Act in relation to that advice.
5. A person who takes advantage of the exemption in paragraph 4 must take reasonable steps to ensure all of the following:
(a) the superannuation calculator:
(i) enables a person (the user) using it to change any of the factors (the assumptions) that are applied by the calculator in working out an estimate other than a factor (a statutory assumption) that reflects a rate or amount of:
(A) an employer contribution that is required by or under a law; or
(B) taxation;
Note: The calculator does not have to involve the application of any statutory assumption; and if it does, it may permit the user to change them.
(ii) works out or enables the user to work out estimates on the basis of the changed assumptions;
(b) the assumptions (the default assumptions), including any statutory assumption, applied by the calculator unless changed by the user are reasonable for the purposes of working out the estimate;
(c) the facility will display to the user in the ordinary course of its use:
(i) a clear and prominent statement about the purpose and limitations of the calculator;
(ii) a clear and prominent explanation of why the default assumptions, including any statutory assumption, are reasonable for the purposes of working out the estimate;
(iii) where the estimate includes an estimate of the amount of a superannuation benefit payable at a future time—a clear and prominent statement specifying whether or not the estimate takes into account an assumed change in the cost of living between the time of the preparation of the estimate and the future time; and
(iv) a clear and prominent statement to the effect that the calculator is not intended to be relied on for the purposes of making a decision in relation to a financial product and that the user should consider obtaining advice from a financial services licensee before making any financial decisions;
(d) the calculator does not prevent the user from readily printing or electronically storing an estimate;
(e) the calculator does not provide financial product advice in relation to a specific financial product.
Note: An estimate worked out by or using the calculator is not advice in relation to a specific financial product only because the user of the calculator changed the assumptions applied by the calculator to the amounts actually applicable to the specific financial product where those amounts are not stored in the calculator and applied by reference to the name of the product.
6. The exemption in paragraph 4 does not apply to a person who has been notified in writing by ASIC that the person is excluded from relying on this instrument.
7. In this instrument:
financial product advice has the meaning given by section 766B of the Act.
superannuation calculator means an electronic facility that satisfies both of the following:
(a) the facility works out, or enables a person to work out, either or both of the following but nothing else:
(i) an estimate of the amount of a superannuation benefit payable at a future time specified by the person on the basis of either or both a particular level of contributions or a particular starting balance specified by the person;
(ii) an estimate of the level of contributions necessary to achieve an amount of a superannuation benefit specified by the person payable at a future time specified by the person;
(b) the facility does not relate to a financial product other than a superannuation product.
Note: The amount of a superannuation benefit may be the amount of a lump sum or the amount of a periodic payment or a combination of the two. The future time may be specified by reference to a date or to the attainment of a particular age. The level of contribution may be a dollar amount or a percentage of salary or income.
superannuation product has the meaning given by section 761A of the Act.
Dated this 15th day of June 2005
Signed by Brendan Byrne
as a delegate of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission