ASIC has released Consultation Paper 211, Facilitating electronic offers of securities: Update to RG 107 (CP 211) , which includes a proposed update to Regulatory Guide 107 Electronic Prospectuses (RG 107) to ensure that ASIC’s guidance reflects current market practices and technological advancements.

ASIC’s proposed guidance will cover:
(a) how to make electronic disclosure documents easy for investors to access, read, retrieve and save; and
(b) how to minimise exposure to the risks associated with electronic distribution, such as unauthorised tampering and security risks.

ASIC thinks it is good practice for offerors and distributors to continue to make free paper copies of disclosure documents and application forms available to investors on request.

ASIC also proposes that:
(a) to comply with the requirements of Chapter 6D, electronic disclosure documents must contain the same information in the same sequence and with the same prominence as the paper disclosure document lodged with ASIC; and
(b) it is good practice for electronic disclosure documents to only contain hypertext links within the disclosure document itself or to documents lodged with ASIC and incorporated by reference under section 712.