Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

INSURANCE ACT 1973 - SECT 49Q

Accounting records must be kept in Australia etc.

  (1)   The accounting records that a general insurer keeps for the purposes of this Act (including the prudential standards) must be kept:

  (a)   in writing:

  (i)   in the English language; or

  (ii)   in a form in which the records are readily accessible and readily convertible into writing in the English language; and

  (b)   either:

  (i)   in Australia; or

  (ii)   if APRA gives written approval and the insurer meets the conditions (if any) specified in the approval--in another country specified in the approval.

  (1A)   The approval may be given subject to specified conditions.

Notification of address where accounting records are kept

  (1B)   A general insurer must notify APRA, in the approved form, of the address where the insurer's accounting records are kept:

  (a)   if, immediately before the commencement of this subsection, the insurer has an authorisation under section   12--within 28 days after that commencement; or

  (b)   otherwise--within 28 days after the insurer is granted an authorisation under that section.

  (1C)   If:

  (a)   a general insurer has notified APRA of the address where the insurer's accounting records are kept; and

  (b)   the insurer moves the accounting records to a new address;

the insurer must notify APRA, in the approved form, of the new address where the accounting records are kept.

  (1D)   The notification must be given within 28 days after the day on which the accounting records are moved to the new address.

Offence

  (2)   A general insurer commits an offence if the insurer contravenes subsection   (1).

Penalty:   200 penalty units.

Note 1:   Chapter   2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.

Note 2:   If a body corporate is convicted of an offence against this section, subsection   4B(3) of the Crimes Act 1914 allows a court to impose a fine of up to 5 times the penalty above.

Merits review

  (3)   Part   VI applies to the following decisions:

  (a)   a refusal to give an approval under paragraph   (1)(b);

  (b)   a decision to give the approval subject to conditions.