Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated ActsUse of the word "insurance"
(1) A person commits an offence if:
(a) the person carries on a business or is proposing to carry on a business; and
(b) the person uses the word insurance to describe (expressly or by implication) a product or service that the person supplies, or proposes to supply, in the course of carrying on the business; and
(c) the product or service is not insurance; and
(d) it is likely in all the circumstances (including the use of the word insurance ) that the product or service could be mistakenly believed to be insurance.
(a) in the case of an individual--50 penalty units; or
(b) in the case of a body corporate--500 penalty units.
Use of the word "insurer"
(2) A person commits an offence if:
(a) the person carries on a business or is proposing to carry on a business; and
(b) the person uses the word insurer to describe (expressly or by implication) the person in connection with a product or service that the person supplies, or proposes to supply, in the course of carrying on the business; and
(c) either:
(i) the product or service is not insurance; or
(ii) the person would breach a requirement mentioned in subsection (3) if the person supplied the product or service in the course of carrying on the business; and
(d) in a case where the product or service is not insurance--it is likely in all the circumstances (including the use of the word insurer ) that the product or service could be mistakenly believed to be insurance.
(a) in the case of an individual--50 penalty units; or
(b) in the case of a body corporate--500 penalty units.
(3) For the purposes of subparagraph (2)(c)(ii), the requirements are the requirements imposed by the following provisions:
(a) section 9 or 10 of this Act (need to be authorised to carry on insurance business);
(b) section 17 of the Life Insurance Act 1995 (registration of life companies);
(c) section 10 of the Private Health Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2015 (carrying on health insurance business without registration).
Exceptions
(4) Subsections (1) and (2) do not apply if:
(a) the person is a government entity; or
(b) the person:
(i) is covered by a determination under subsection (6); and
(ii) if that determination is subject to conditions--meets those conditions; or
(c) the product or service is of a kind prescribed by the regulations; or
(d) the product or service is State insurance (within the meaning of paragraph 51(xiv) of the Constitution) not extending beyond the limits of the State concerned.
Note: The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection (4). See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code .
(5) A government entity is:
(a) a Department of State of the Commonwealth; or
(b) a Department of the Parliament established under the Parliamentary Service Act 1999 ; or
(c) an Executive Agency, or Statutory Agency, within the meaning of the Public Service Act 1999 ; or
(d) a Department of State of a State or Territory; or
(e) an entity that is established for a public purpose by a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory.
Determinations by ASIC
(6) ASIC may, by legislative instrument determine that subsections (1) and (2) do not apply to a specified person or class of persons. The determination may be subject to conditions.
(7) ASIC must not:
(a) revoke a determination under subsection (6) relating to a specified person; or
(b) vary such a determination by varying or including conditions to which the determination is subject;
unless ASIC has notified the person in writing that it is considering revoking or varying the determination.
Strict liability
(8) Subsections (1) and (2) are offences of strict liability.