Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2020L01668:body:0:p4
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2020L01668
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 8330–11322

fidelity and professional indemnity insurances (or are noted under a corporate policy held by a registered company administrator)

       * are a fit and proper person

       * are a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), if required.

Companies

3.9 A company can be registered as a debt agreement administrator if:

       * the company passes the basic eligibility test

       * the company has the ability to satisfactorily perform the duties of a debt agreement administrator

       * the company is assessed to have adequate and appropriate fidelity and professional indemnity insurances

       * the company is a fit and proper person

       * each director of the company is a fit and proper person

       * the company is a member of AFCA.

3.10 It is a condition of a company's registration that each person with overall management responsibility for the company's debt agreement activities must be:

       * a registered debt agreement administrator or

       * a registered trustee.

3.11 Overall management responsibility in this context means making key decisions about practice and procedure for the company and includes supervision of the business, its employees, agents and brokers, money handling and finances, approving training, and approving implementation of systems and processes. They need not be the person who specifically deals with individual debt agreements. If there is more than one person responsible for the company's key decisions, if they are not registered trustees, each person will need to be registered as an administrator. The Inspector-General will need to be satisfied that each person with overall management responsibility for the company's debt agreement activities is a registered administrator and will not merely accept the company's assurance that all such persons have been registered.

Partnerships

3.12 If an applicant is in a partnership and the partnership intends to act as an administrator it will be necessary for each partner to be separately registered. Each partner would need then to act in their own name as the administrator of the debt agreement proposal and not in the name of the business or partnership.

Fit and proper assessment

3.13 To determine whether an individual is a fit and proper person to act as an administrator, the Inspector-General will request recent referee reports which confirm that a person is of good fame and character, and is known to act with honesty and integrity. The Inspector-General will determine whether the referee reports provided are acceptable, and may request further reports if necessary. From 27 June 2019, the Inspector-General may take action to cancel the registration of a practitioner if their conduct does not meet the expectations of the community.[4]

Insurance – corporate and individual

3.14 The Act requires that both individuals and corporate debt agreement administrators hold professional indemnity and fidelity