ASIC Form 5214 Sets 7-Day Notification Duty for CCIV Compliance Plan Auditor Changes

Key Takeaways

• ASIC's Form 5214 requires the corporate director of a corporate collective investment vehicle (CCIV) to notify ASIC within 7 days of a change of compliance plan auditor.
• The change may result from resignation, removal, death, or ineligibility.
• Compliance teams need to coordinate prior ASIC consent, public disclosure, and timely lodgement, because a resignation or removal does not take effect until the disclosure requirements are met.

Deep Dive

ASIC's Form 5214 requires the corporate director of a corporate collective investment vehicle (CCIV) to notify ASIC within 7 days of a change of compliance plan auditor. The change may result from resignation, removal, death, or ineligibility. Compliance teams need to coordinate prior ASIC consent, public disclosure, and timely lodgement, because a resignation or removal does not take effect until the disclosure requirements are met.

Form 5214, made under s1226K of the Corporations Act 2001 (version dated 1 July 2022), is the prescribed notification a corporate director must lodge when a CCIV's compliance plan auditor changes. It is not a new rule. It is a procedural form, and the document supplied here is the form and guide, not a policy change. The form captures the CCIV and corporate director details, the AFS licence number, the basis for the change (resignation, removal, death, or ineligibility under s1226F(3)), details of the ceasing auditor, and details and appointment date of the new auditor. A director or secretary of the corporate director must sign it, attesting that it is true and complete. Providing false or misleading information to ASIC is an offence.

The key timeline is lodgement within 7 days of the auditor change. The guide lists no lodgement fee and no late fee, but the absence of fees does not remove the compliance obligation. Sequencing matters. For a resignation, the auditor must first obtain ASIC consent using Form 5213. For a removal, the corporate director must first obtain consent using Form 5212. Consent is not required where the auditor has become ineligible under s1226F(3). Even after consent, the resignation or removal takes effect only on the day the required disclosure is made under RG 26.

Disclosure depends on the CCIV's status. A disclosing entity must give a standalone continuous disclosure notice to ASIC and any relevant market operator. A CCIV that is not a disclosing entity must notify members by a prominent public notice on the corporate director's website, by email, or in writing. Either notice must include details of the outgoing auditor, details of the proposed incoming auditor, and the reason for the change. Lodgement is by post to ASIC's Gippsland Mail Centre address, and annexures must meet formatting rules (A4, CCIV name and ACN, numbered pages, signed by the same signatory).

Recommended actions: (1) Build an auditor-change procedure that maps each trigger (resignation, removal, death, ineligibility) to the correct forms (5213, 5212, or none) and disclosure path. (2) Assign owners and a 7-day lodgement tracker, with pre-prepared templates for member and market notices. (3) Confirm the CCIV's disclosing entity status in advance. (4) Establish a sign-off and verification step for the director or secretary, given the offence for inaccurate information. (5) Monitor for auditor eligibility changes under s1226F(3) and confirm the new auditor's ASIC registration number before appointment.

Risk implications: Missing the sequencing or disclosure steps could leave a resignation or removal legally ineffective, creating a gap or uncertainty in compliance plan audit coverage. Late or inaccurate lodgement may attract regulatory scrutiny, affect AFS licence standing, and weaken investor confidence. Overall impact is moderate and operational, and it is manageable with documented controls.

Source: Australian Securities and Investments Commission