The government has released a consultation paper on extending crowd-sourced equity funding (CSEF) to small proprietary companies.
The consultation is part of the $5.5 billion Growing Jobs and Small Business package outlined in the 2015-16 Budget.
The paper sets out the Government’s intended approach to a CSEF framework for public companies and seeks views on whether this framework should be extended to proprietary companies.
Draft legislation is currently being developed in relation to public companies and will be released for public consultation prior to introduction.
AVCAL CEO, Yasser El-Ansary, said “we welcome the progress made on the policy framework to support equity crowdfunding. Australia has been lagging behind other developed economies in this area and we have some catching up to do.”
Equitise Co-Founder, Jonny Wilkinson, said “we’ve relished the opportunity to work with Minister Billson and his office in putting together such an important policy for businesses to access the capital they need to grow.”
The paper also asks whether the Corporations Act imposes any unnecessary compliance costs and fundraising constraints on proprietary companies.
The lack of reforms in this area to date have been criticised for forcing entrepreneurs to seek opportunities in countries where legal CSEF platforms are available.
