Key Documents
As part of the 2015-16 Budget, the Government committed to introducing a regulatory framework to facilitate crowd-sourced equity funding in Australia. On 3 December 2015, the Minister for Small Business and Assistant Treasurer, the Hon. Kelly O’Dwyer MP introduced the Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Bill 2015 to Parliament. The framework will commence within six months of the legislation receiving Royal Assent.
The Government has also announced a suite of measures in the National Innovation and Science Agenda. The crowd-sourced funding framework the Government has introduced is intended to make it easier and less expensive for small businesses, including start-ups, to raise equity from the general public while ensuring adequate investor protection.
The crowd-sourced funding framework will also be given effect through associated regulations. The Government is now seeking feedback from stakeholders on the Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Regulation 2015 and its explanatory material.
The exposure draft regulation sets out the required contents of the CSF offer document, investor's risk acknowledgment and the risk warning. It also sets out additional detail to support intermediaries to carry out gatekeeper obligations.