Letter from ASIC's Chief Legal Officer, Michael Kingston, to the Sydney Morning Herald

"Letters Editor The Sydney Morning Herald

Letter for Publication

I write in response to a report in Business Day on ASIC's removal of reference to exemption documents from its public database (ASIC purges exemption files, 8 June 2010). The documents in question granted financial reporting or audit relief under section 340 of the Corporations Act to individual entities.

Contrary to the impression which may have been created by the report in Business Day:

• relief under section 340 is potentially available to all companies, not just companies under external administration;

• a document granting relief under section 340 is not required to be published in the Gazette;

• removal of reference to the documents from ASIC's public database had no connection with the Senate Committee Inquiry into Liquidators and Administrators.

Documents granting relief under section 340 are not meant to be made publicly available. However, due to a technical error, these documents were able to be accessed through ASIC’s public register. When this error was detected, reference to the documents was removed from the register.

Yours faithfully
Michael Kingston
Chief Legal Officer
Australian Securities and Investments Commission"