Acquisitions that do not result in control
(1) Subject to subsection (5), an acquisition by a person of shares in the capital of a body corporate is not required to be notified if: (a) immediately after the acquisition is put into effect, the person does not control (within the meaning of section 50AA of the Corporations Act 2001) the body corporate; or (b) the person controlled the body corporate immediately before the acquisition was put into effect. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section: (a) despite subsection 50AA(3) of the Corporations Act 2001, the person is taken to control the body corporate if the first person and one or more associates (within the meaning of Chapter 6 of that Act) jointly have the capacity referred to in subsection 50AA(3) of that Act in relation to the body corporate; and (b) disregard subsection 50AA(4) of that Act if the person is a special purpose vehicle; and (c) disregard paragraph 50AA(4)(b) of that Act to the extent it applies to a legal obligation the person has as a subsidiary of someone that is a body corporate. (3) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, disregard the effects of a scheme if it would be reasonable to conclude that the purpose of the person, or one of the persons, who enters into or carries out the scheme or any part of the scheme is to enable that subsection to apply to an acquisition. Note: See section 4F (references to purpose). (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), a scheme is: (a) any agreement, arrangement, understanding, promise or undertaking, whether express or implied; or (b) any scheme, plan, proposal, action, course of action or course of conduct, whether unilateral or otherwise; or (c) any combination of 2 or more things that are schemes because of paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection. Ministerial determinations (5) Despite subsection (1), an acquisition of shares in the capital of a body corporate is required to be notified if: (a) paragraph (1)(a) or (b) applies to the acquisition; and (b) the acquisition is in a class of acquisitions determined under subsection (6). (6) For the purposes of paragraph (5)(b), the Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine a class of acquisitions of shares in the capital of bodies corporate. (7) Without limiting subsection (6), the Minister may determine a class of acquisitions under that subsection wholly or partly by reference to: (a) the size of an interest in a body corporate; or (b) the nature of a person’s control of a body corporate.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 22 May 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au. Verify the current text against the official source before relying on it.
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