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CS 36 Proposed remake of relief for fundraising and mergers and acquisitions

simple consultation – 36

Released 24 November 2025. Comments close 19 December 2025.

We propose to remake the relief related to Chapter 6D and Part 7.9 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) which is currently provided by:

Note: Broader changes to ASIC Instrument 2016/79 may be considered in 2026 as part of ASIC’s capital markets work.

We also propose to remake the relief related to Chapter 6 and Chapter 6C which is currently provided by:

All 18 legislative instruments are due to expire on 1 April 2026. 

We have assessed that the legislative instruments are operating effectively and efficiently and continue to form a necessary and useful part of the legislative framework.

We intend to remake the relief on largely the same terms (see draft legislative instruments below) for a period of five years. Some general proposed changes include:

  • adding simplified outlines to explain the legislative instrument in simple terms
  • updating for changes to the Corporations Act including the recent change in terminology from ‘prescribed financial market’ to ‘declared financial market’
  • reframing the class of persons to whom the Part 7.9 relief applies, and
  • removing references to outdated class orders (where no longer relevant).

These changes are intended to improve clarity, not change the operation of the relief.

Other proposed changes include:

A consultation paper was not issued for this consultation.

Providing feedback

We invite feedback on our proposal. You should send your submission to rri.consultation@asic.gov.au by 5 pm AEDT on Friday 19 December 2025.

You may choose to remain anonymous or use an alias when providing feedback. However, if you do remain anonymous, we will not be able to contact you to discuss your feedback should we need to.

We will not treat your feedback as confidential unless you specifically request that we treat the whole or part of it (such as any personal or financial information) as confidential. 

Please see our privacy policy for more information on how we handle personal information, your rights to seek access to and correct personal information, and your right to complain about breaches of privacy by ASIC. 

Background

Chapter 6 of the Corporations Act sets out the rules and procedures applying to a takeover bid which are designed to promote the principles underlying the takeover provisions set out in section 602.

Chapter 6C of the Corporations Act sets out the substantial holding disclosure requirements.

Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act regulates the making of offers for the issue or sale of securities. An offer of securities for issue requires a disclosure document (e.g. a prospectus), unless an exemption applies. An offer of securities for sale only requires disclosure in specific circumstances. Part 7.9 of the Corporations Act contains similar provisions in respect of offers of financial products.

The ASIC instruments that are due to expire contain miscellaneous relief from certain requirements of the Corporations Act.

Download

Related links

  • Regulatory Guide 254 Offering securities under a disclosure document (RG 254)
  • Regulatory Guide 189 Disclosure relief for rights issues (RG 189)
  • Regulatory Guide 173 Disclosure for on-sale of securities and other financial products (RG 173)
  • Regulatory Guide 169 Hawking and disclosure: Discretionary powers (RG 169)
  • Regulatory Guide 71 Downstream acquisitions (RG 71)
  • Regulatory Guide 67 Real estate companies (RG 67)
  • Regulatory Guide 55 Statements in disclosure documents and PDSs: Consent to quote (RG 55)
  • Regulatory Guide 9 Takeover bids (RG 9)
  • Regulatory Guide 5 Relevant interests and substantial holding notices (RG 5)
  • Regulatory Guide 6 Takeovers: Exceptions to the general prohibition (RG 6)