On 24 March 2017, the Turnbull Government announced that it will be conducting consultation on potential reforms to support cooperatives, mutuals and member-owned firms in Australia. Mr Greg Hammond OAM has been appointed to facilitate this process and consult with stakeholders to assist the Government in further developing its response to the Senate Economic References Committee Report Cooperative, Mutual and Member-owned Firms. Mr Hammond will make recommendations to the Government on whether there should be regulatory or legislative changes to improve Commonwealth-registered cooperative and mutual enterprises’ access to capital and whether ‘mutual enterprise’ should be explicitly defined in the Corporations Act 2001. Mr Hammond is expected to report to Government by 29 July 2017.
Interested parties may send submissions to coopsandmutualreview@treasury.gov.au. The deadline for submissions is 19 May 2017. Submissions which have already been provided to the Senate Committee need not be re-sent.
Upcoming Roundtables:
- Sydney - 31 May 2017
- Melbourne - 2 June 2017
- Perth - 9 June 2017