Check whether a purchase crosses the 20 per cent threshold
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Record the lawyer's voting-power figures before and after the transaction. Record whether the company is listed or unlisted, and the member count the lawyer gives, counting joint holders of one parcel as one person. Record whether the acquisition is by the person or on their behalf, or is a legal or equitable interest that gives someone else a relevant interest. Record whether securities the person already held have become voting shares, or the votes attached to shares already held have increased. Flag an offer or an invitation that would cross a threshold if accepted. Do not calculate voting power and do not say the purchase is permitted.
- What the lawyer must review
- The lawyer calculates voting power, decides whether section 606 applies, and decides whether any section 611 exception other than the creep exception already checked is made out. Any defence of inadvertence, mistake or unawareness of a fact is the lawyer's, and ignorance of the law is disregarded.
- Written for / version
- US
Open a jurisdiction version of this task to see which instruments apply: US
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Record the lawyer's voting-power figures before and after the transaction. Record whether the company is listed or unlisted, and the member count the lawyer gives, counting joint holders of one parcel as one person. Record whether the acquisition is by the person or on their behalf, or is a legal or equitable interest that gives someone else a relevant interest. Record whether securities the person already held have become voting shares, or the votes attached to shares already held have increased. Flag an offer or an invitation that would cross a threshold if accepted. Do not calculate voting power and do not say the purchase is permitted. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- The prohibition is on acquiring a relevant interest in issued voting shares if the company is listed, or unlisted with more than 50 members. Joint holders of a particular parcel count as one person for that count.
- Voting power must increase from 20 per cent or below to more than 20 per cent, or from a starting point above 20 per cent and below 90 per cent. Section 610, which calculates voting power, was not opened. Use only the lawyer's figures.
- The acquisition may be through a transaction by or on behalf of the person, or through a legal or equitable interest that causes someone else to acquire the relevant interest. An offer or an invitation is caught if accepting it would contravene those rules.
- A person is also taken to acquire a relevant interest if securities they already held become voting shares, or the number of votes attached to voting shares they already held increases. The acquisition occurs then.
- Section 611 exceptions exist. Only item 9, the creep exception, was opened, and it is a separate task. Do not treat any other exception as made out. Sections 607 and 608 to 609B were not opened.
- It is a defence if the person proves the contravention was because of inadvertence or mistake, or because they were not aware of a relevant fact. Ignorance of the law is disregarded. The lawyer decides that defence.
Sources
- Corporations Act 2001 s 606, 20 per cent prohibition · 2026-10-22
These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.