AUSTRALIA AND New Zealand’s corporate watchdogs signed an agreement last week aimed at simplifying the regulatory obligations of companies operating across the Tasman.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the New Zealand Companies Office is designed to promote greater regulatory cooperation between the two countries.

“We are looking at opportunities for alignment of processes and practices in order to simplify the corporate regulatory obligations for companies operating in both markets,” the New Zealand Registrar of Companies, Neville Harris and Jeffrey Lucy, Chairman of ASIC, said in a joint statement.

“The ongoing globalisation of markets allows for significant opportunity for us to learn from each other and work together on issues of mutual benefit.”

The regulators are also discussing aligning corporate registration processes, compliance and disclosure activities.

They have also working on progressing operational and technology cooperation; the importance of aligning other regulatory developments in each jurisdiction; joint enforcement strategies; and planning a programme of work to be shared by the two regulators.