Australia: access to company share registers - proper purpose test proposed

The Treasury has published a paper - see here (pdf) or here (rtf) - in which it sets out a proposal to subject access to company share registers to a proper purpose test. According to the Treasury's paper:

The test would require a person to state, in writing, the purpose for which they are seeking to access the company’s register. If the company considers that purpose to be improper, the applicant will have the right to have the decision reviewed by a court.

The proposed test specifically targets improper uses of a register and will preclude the use of a register for the purpose of making unsolicited share offers for less than market value. The test does not seek to permit specific behaviours and as such would not set out proper purposes. Instead, the test will operate to exclude undesirable uses of the information on a register and, as such, would specify certain improper purposes. Accordingly, this method will be more effective in preventing the types of behaviour associated with use of a register that are causing concern, rather than attempting to define all purposes that could be considered proper".