The Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding)
Bill was passed by the House of Representatives in February,
but quietly lapsed in the Senate despite a Senate committee giving
their support for the passage of the bill. The bill lapsed at
prorogation on 17th of April, the Senate resumed consideration of
it on 2nd of May, but it then lapsed again on 9th of May at the
dissolution of Parliament.
The future of a regulatory framework facilitating crowd-sourced
equity funding in Australia now lies in the hands of the party that
wins the election in July.
Both of the major parties have articulated a strong desire to
empower innovation in Australia, develop a culture of
entrepreneurship and capitalise Australia's strengths to boost
business activity. Start-ups are seen as integral to
developing future jobs and there is a need for policy that helps
grow these companies. Both parties have expressed interest in
the value of crowd-sourced equity funding as a method of
