ob体育 has extended the relief from certain dollar disclosures in PDSs for litigation funding schemes in (dollar disclosure instrument) until 1聽October 2026.聽 The existing relief was due to expire on 28聽April 2022.聽 Relief has been extended by .
ob体育 extended the relief because, in the context of litigation, public disclosure of some categories of information could provide a tactical advantage to opposing parties in class actions and may not be in the interests of scheme members.
The relief is consistent with the current practice of Australian courts in permitting the non-disclosure of such information to opposing parties in class actions.
Consultation process
The relief was provided on an interim basis in April 2021, ahead of public consultation about the continuation of the relief. ob体育 consulted publicly on continuing the relief in Consultation Paper 345 Litigation funding schemes: Guidance and relief (CP 345), issued 9 July 2021.
Submissions supported the ongoing need for the relief.聽
ob体育 will release further information in response to the issues raised in CP 345 in coming months.
Background
From 22 August 2020, operators of litigation funding schemes generally need to hold an Australian financial services licence, and litigation funding schemes will generally be subject to the managed investment scheme regime under the Corporations Act.
On 21 August 2020, ob体育 granted some relief for responsible entities of litigation funding schemes in to ensure the Corporations Act operates effectively for these types of schemes.
On 28 April 2021, ob体育 granted responsible entities of registered litigation funding schemes relief from the requirement to disclose certain sensitive information in dollar terms in the scheme鈥檚 Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).聽 To implement this relief, ob体育 made which amended the Dollar Disclosure Instrument for a period of 12 months, see. 21-098MR for more information.聽
For more information, see:
- ,听听补苍诲听ob体育 media release 20-192MR