Statement of reasons

This notice, which comes into force on the day after the date of its notification in the Gazette, amends the Securities Act (Capricorn Society Limited) Exemption Notice 2003.

The effect of this amendment is—

• •to bring forward the expiry date of that notice from 30 June 2008 to 30 June 2007:

• •to replace a reference to shares issued under the Western Australia Co-operative and Provident Societies Act 1903 with shares issued under the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth of Australia:

• •to remove the exemptions from section 37A(1)(a) and 37A(2) of the Securities Act 1978 (the Act).

The Securities Commission considers that the amendments to the principal notice are appropriate for the following reasons:

• •the expiry date is brought forward because Capricorn Society Limited (Capricorn) will be able to rely on the Securities Act (Australian Issuers) Exemption Notice 2002 by 30 June 2007:

• •the amendment to the definition of specified equity securities reflects the fact that Capricorn is no longer registered under the Western Australia Co-operative and Provident Societies Act 1903. However, while Capricorn is now registered only under the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth of Australia, Capricorn continues to operate on a co-operative basis. It is appropriate, in these circumstances, for Capricorn to be able to continue offering shares to members in New Zealand in reliance on its exemption, as a transitional measure, until the time when Capricorn can start relying on the Securities Act (Australian Issuers) Exemption Notice 2002:

• •Capricorn provides New Zealand investors with an investment statement before subscription, in the same way as other Australian companies that offer securities in New Zealand are required to do. It is therefore appropriate to remove Capricorn's exemption from section 37A(1)(a) of the Act, as it is not required:

• •section 37A(2) of the Act has been repealed, and Capricorn's exemption from this section of the Act is redundant.