Company law

Paper , Order, or Assignment Requirements

Task: Explain/Discuss what is crowd-sourced equity funding (CSEF) and the Australian

Government’s proposed framework for CSEF to operate in Australia in the form of a

Report. This will require reading the following Consultation Paper, Discussion

Papers, Reports, and the Corporations Act 2001 in order to gain an understanding of

the issue of crowd-sourced equity funding.

Your Report is to be drafted in two Parts. Part 1 will be submitted for feedback

purposes to your lecturer/tutor in your designated class. Part 1 will be incorporated

into the final /completed Report.

Do not consider any other statute unless as specified.

Note: Feedback for Part 1 should be used to rewrite/improve Part 1, inform how you

write Part 2 and, both improved Part 1, and Part 2, must be combined into final

Report for final submission

Question

Research, read, and consider the crowd-sourced equity funding (CSEF) and the

Australian Government’s proposed framework for CSEF to operate in Australia in

the form of a Report.

In 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.

You are asked to prepare a Report with summaries concerning crowd-sourced equity

funding (CSEF) and the proposed framework for CSEF to operate in Australia. Please

consider the following as a guide to the content of your Report (word length is given

as an approximation and a guide; you can vary from the suggested word length but

remember to ensure your Report is on the whole balanced and coherent):

Report

1. Introduction (150 words) [note: you should write this last and should not be

included in Part 1 for submission as draft for feedback purposes.]

Part 1

1. What is crowd-sourced equity funding?

Summarise from Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee, Crowd

sourced equity funding — Discussion Paper September 2013; Corporations and

Markets Advisory Committee, Crowd sourced equity funding — Report May

2014; Treasury, Crowd-sourced Equity Funding — Discussion Paper December

2014; Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Bill 2015 – Explanatory

Memorandum (300 words).

Note: You can also consult other sources and materials.

Part 2

III. Explain/Discuss the CSEF model proposed by the Corporations and Markets

Advisory Committee (CAMAC) 2013 review of crowd-funding in Australia,

and the model adopted in New Zealand.

Summarise from Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee, Crowd

sourced equity funding — Report May 2014; Treasury, Facilitating crowd-sourced

equity funding and reducing compliance costs for small businesses — Consultation

Paper August 2015; the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (500 words).

1. Explain/Discuss the current Australian Government proposed framework for

CSEF in Australia (post-consultation model (ie after Treasury’s August 2015

Consultation)). Explain/Discuss in particular the following:

1. a) Who is eligible to make a CSF offer; conditions/requirements to be met;

restrictions on the CSF offer;

1. b) Who is a retail client in relation to both the crowd funding service as

well as for the purpose of the CSF offer; what investor protection for

retail clients;

1. c) What are the temporary concessions from certain public company

corporate governance and reporting requirements available to a new

public company that is eligible to crowd fund and has completes or

intends to complete a CSF offer within the required time;

Summarise from Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Bill 2015;

Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Bill 2015 – Explanatory

Memorandum; Corporations Amendment (Crowd-Sourced Funding) Regulation

2015 – Exposure Draft; Corporations Amendment (Crowd-Sourced Funding)

Regulation 2015 – Explanatory Statement; the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (700

words).

1. Critically analyse the proposed framework for CSEF in Australia. How does it

compare with the CAMAC model? The New Zealand model? Are the

conditions/requirements for conducting a CSF offer and restrictions

sufficient? Are the investor protections adequate to protect ordinary persons

who seek to invest in the CSF offer? (500 words).

1. Reflections on what you have learned writing your Report based on your

research and reading and critical analyses (100 words).