Now lawBusiness & Trade Introduced in the House of Representatives, 04 Sep 2025

Hidden owners of listed companies face new disclosure rules

This law comes from Treasury, the government's money department. It makes it harder to hide who really owns companies on the stock exchange. It lets the charities watchdog name some cases it is looking into. It means fewer checks on two money watchdogs. And it kept the $20,000 instant asset write-off going to 30 June 2026. That rule lets a small business claim the whole cost of equipment in one go.

Official name: Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025

Who it affects

• Big investors in listed companies: They must count and report more kinds of holdings, including deals that only pay out in cash.
• Foreign companies listed on the Australian stock exchange: They and their shareholders must report holdings in the same way as Australian companies.
• Reporters and uni researchers: They can look at the lists that show who owns shares, and pay no fee.
• Charities: The charities watchdog can now make some of its cases public before they finish.
• Small businesses that sell less than $10 million a year: They could claim the full cost of items under $20,000 in the first year of use, up to 30 June 2026.
• Power companies: Rules that ban some bad behaviour in power markets now last until 1 January 2031.

Hidden company owners dodge tax

This bill bundles lots of separate changes to money and tax laws into one. Treasury is the department that looks after these laws. The bill has seven parts.

The main part is about who really owns a company. Shares are sometimes held in someone else's name. The real owner is the person who controls them or makes money from them.

At the 2022 election, the government made a promise. It said it would fight tax dodging and make it clear who owns companies. The government's notes on the bill say hidden owners can dodge tax and commit money crimes.

This law is a first step. It is aimed at companies listed on the stock exchange. Those are companies whose shares anyone can buy and sell.

The other parts cover charities and the body that checks the money watchdogs. They also cover power market rules, a tax break for small business and a long list of small fixes.

Who really owns listed companies

The Corporations Act is the main law for companies. Under it, anyone who comes to own a big share of a listed company must tell people. A big share means 5% or more of its voting shares. They must tell the company and the stock exchange.

They must also report each time their share goes up or down by 1 percentage point or more. That means a move such as from 5% to 6% of the shares.

Some investors used side deals called derivatives to get around this. A derivative is a contract whose value follows a share price. You do not own the share itself.

Some of these deals pay out in cash. Until now, these mostly did not count. So investors could quietly build up power over a company.

Part 1 says all these share deals now count, including cash ones. Some bets that a share price will fall must also be reported.

Investors must report a 1 percentage point change in each kind of holding. That is true even if their total stays the same.

Anyone with a big share when a company first joins the stock exchange must also report it.

Foreign companies listed in Australia are now covered too. Before, these rules did not apply to them at all.

Tracing notices and tougher enforcement

A tracing notice is a demand to a shareholder. It makes them reveal who is really behind their shares. A listed company can send one. So can the company and finance watchdog, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

This law widens who can get a tracing notice. It now covers people who may fairly be thought to be linked to the company or to other holders. The watchdog can also set the layout of these notices. That makes the details easier to use.

Companies must keep a list of what tracing notices reveal. Company members could already see it for free. Now reporters and uni researchers can too. The company can still charge for copies.

Some people fail to answer these notices. The watchdog can now ask a court to freeze their shares. That can stop them using the shares, for example to vote.

The top penalties for crimes in this part of the law are doubled.

Say a fund quietly signs cash deals tied to 8% of a supermarket chain. Under the old rules, the market might never know. Now the fund must report that share.

Charities under investigation named

The charities watchdog is the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. It lists charities and checks they follow the rules. Secrecy rules mostly stopped it talking about cases it was looking into.

A 2018 review of charity law gave a view. It said people would trust charities more if they could see the watchdog acting on wrongdoing. Part 2 adds two new let-offs from the secrecy rules.

First, the head of the watchdog can let staff publish details of a new or current case. This is only if it would stop or reduce the risk of serious harm. The charity can object first.

The charity can ask for that choice to be checked. A tribunal or a court can do this. A tribunal is like a court but less formal.

Second, a possible problem might already be public. Then the head of the watchdog can say the watchdog is looking into it. This choice cannot be checked, so the watchdog can act fast.

Both have a public harm test. The watchdog's head must weigh up the harm to the charity or a person. That harm must not be too big compared with the good.

Fewer reviews of financial watchdogs

The Financial Regulator Assessment Authority checks how well two watchdogs do their jobs. One is the company and finance watchdog. The other watches over banks, insurers and super funds. It is called the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. Super funds hold the money people save for when they retire.

The checking body was set up in 2021. That came after the Banking Royal Commission, a big public investigation into banks.

It had to review each watchdog every two years. Part 3 changes this to every five years. The government says two years was too short for the watchdogs to act on what was found.

The first five-year review must happen between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2028. The checking body can now have no members between reviews.

Energy market misconduct rules kept

In 2018, the competition and consumer watchdog looked into power prices. After that, Parliament added special rules. They ban some bad behaviour in power markets. These include the markets for selling power to homes and for buying power in bulk.

These rules were due to end on 1 January 2026. The federal energy and environment department reviewed them. It found they had likely helped protect buyers. Part 6 keeps them going until 1 January 2031.

$20,000 write-off extended

A business usually claims the cost of tools and machines bit by bit over several years. The instant asset write-off lets a small business claim the whole cost in one go.

Part 7 kept the limit at $20,000. It covers businesses that sell less than $10 million a year. It covers items first used or put in between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. Without this law, the limit would have dropped to $1,000.

Say you run a café. You buy a $15,000 coffee machine in March 2026. You can claim all $15,000 in your 2025-26 tax return.

It also kept a pause on the lock-out rule going. Small businesses can choose a simpler tax system for claiming equipment. Normally a business that leaves that system cannot come back to it for five years. The pause lets those businesses come back and use the $20,000 write-off.

Missed GST credits claimable later

Parts 4 and 5 make many small fixes. GST is the 10% tax added to most things you buy. Disability services paid for under the Disability Services and Inclusion Act 2023 stay free of GST. That is a newer national law for disability services. This is backdated to 1 January 2024.

The High Court is Australia's top court. After a case there, businesses could not simply fix a GST return to claim a missed credit. A GST credit is GST a business paid on things it bought, which it can get back. A missed credit is one it forgot to claim. Now they can choose to claim missed GST and fuel tax credits in a later period. Fuel tax credits give businesses back some of the tax on fuel they use. This is backdated to 1 July 2012.

Sometimes the buyer pays the GST on a sale. Businesses can now count that GST as a cost on their income tax.

Other fixes make clear what the scam-fighting agencies can do. They protect all reports companies make on climate and the environment. They also say a charity board member who quits can tell the charities watchdog. That counts as telling the company and finance watchdog too.

Foreign investors must fill in the new online form properly. They can no longer write "see cover letter" in boxes.

The tax office can keep sending fine notices to company directors at the addresses the company and finance watchdog holds. Directors are the people who run a company. Two departments can now run the National Rental Affordability Scheme, a scheme for cheaper rentals.

Start date

Dr Andrew Leigh is the assistant minister for Treasury, charities and competition. He brought the bill to the House of Representatives on 4 September 2025. That is the lower house of Parliament. The House passed it on 8 October 2025.

The Senate is the other house of Parliament. It passed the bill on 27 November 2025.

The Governor-General is the King's representative. He signed it into law on 4 December 2025. It became Act No. 72 of 2025.

The new owner rules start 12 months later, on 4 December 2026. Most other parts started the next day. Some small fixes start at the next quarter of the year. Others are backdated.

How they voted

Its journey through Parliament

Official sources

• Bill page on aph.gov.au
• Text of the bill
• Explanatory memorandum
• Bills Digest

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