Division 2Division 2 Audit of licensee’s records
(1) A person who is a licensee, a former licensee or the personal representative of a licensee must, within 3 months after the end of the audit period applicable to the person:(a) cause the records and documents relating to any trust money held during that period by the person in accordance with this Act to be audited by a person qualified to act as an auditor for the purposes of this Division, and(b) lodge the auditor’s report on the audit with the Director-General.(2) The Director-General may in a particular case or class of cases by order in writing extend the period of 3 months under subsection (1).(3) The person must retain a copy of the auditor’s report on the audit for a period of 3 years after the date on which the report was made.(4) The auditor’s report is to be in a form approved by the Director-General and is to be signed by the auditor.Maximum penalty:
(a) 100 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or(b) 50 penalty units in any other case.
(1) The audit period applicable to a person is the year ending on 30 June or such other period as the Director-General may fix in respect of the person under this section.(2) The Director-General may by order in writing served on a person fix some other period as the audit period applicable to the person.(3) Such an order may be made on the application of the person or on the Director-General’s own initiative.(4) Such an order may be made with such limitations as to time or circumstances, and subject to such conditions, as the Director-General considers appropriate.
77 Statutory declaration required where no money held or received on behalf of another person
A licensee who in the course of the audit period applicable to the licensee neither received nor held any money for or on behalf of any other person must, within the period of 3 months after that day, make and lodge with the Director-General a statutory declaration to that effect.Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
78 Audit obligations of partners
If the provisions of this Division are complied with by any one of the licensees in a partnership of licensees in relation to the audit of the records and documents of the partnership, each of those partners is taken to have complied with those provisions.
(1) A person is qualified to act as an auditor for the purposes of this Division if the person:(a) is a registered company auditor within the meaning of the Corporations Act, or(b) is a person who has been nominated by the person whose records and documents are to be audited and who has been approved by the Director-General by order in writing.(2) Such a person is not qualified to act as an auditor for the purposes of this Division if the person:(a) is or has at any time within 2 years before the last day of the period in respect of which the audit is to be made, been an employee or partner of the person whose records or documents are to be audited, or(b) is a licensee, or a shareholder in a corporation that is a licensee and that has not more than 20 shareholders.
(1) If an auditor in the course of making an audit for the purposes of this Division discovers that any breach of this Act or the regulations has been committed, that there is any discrepancy relating to the trust money to which the audit relates or that the records or documents concerned are not kept in such a manner as to enable them to be properly audited, the auditor must:(a) fully set out the facts so discovered by the auditor in the report made by the auditor for the purposes of the audit, and(b) forward a copy of the report to the Director-General.(2) An auditor, or an assistant of an auditor, appointed to make an audit for the purposes of this Division must not communicate any matter which may come to the auditor’s knowledge in the course of the audit to any person except:(a) in the course of the auditor’s duties as an auditor or assistant of an auditor, or(b) in accordance with this section, or(c) in the like circumstances and to the like extent as an officer of the Department is permitted under this Act to publish that information.(3) An auditor’s report under this Division (including under this section) relating to records or documents of any person, and any statutory declaration lodged with the Director-General under this Division, are available in the hands of the Director-General for inspection by an auditor appointed to carry out for the purposes of this Division any subsequent audit of the records or documents of that person.