Crowd funding given the nod by Senate committee

We were pleased to see some progress on the crowd-sourced equity funding (CSEF) laws this week, with the most recent Bill passing the House of Representatives and a recommendation from the Senate committee that it be passed by the Upper House, subject to a review after two years.

Unfortunately it remains a contentious Bill, with Labor continuing to push for changes to the laws and releasing a dissenting report.  Labor does not pull any punches, describing the approach to the CSEF laws as having ‘limited scrutiny of a flawed bill in an effort to rush through legislation that is likely to be superseded by a revised framework’.  Even if the Bill is finally passed, it will continue to be an area to watch for further changes.

In particular, there are ongoing objections to the ‘public company’ requirement from an number of stakeholders and industry participants.

For a refresher on the anticipated rules for CSEF see our prior blogs:

• Equity crowd funding back on the agenda, and
• Crowd funding: no joy for start-ups?

Ben Wood and Reece Walker