Deemed Income from Unlisted Public Securities, Delisted & Suspended Shares

Unlisted public securities

Unlisted public securities are financial assets for deeming purposes whether or not:

• they are held in Australia or overseas, or
• dividends are paid.

The market value of unlisted public securities is combined with that of other financial assets for the calculation of deemed income. Actual dividends received are not counted as income.

For deeming purposes, unlisted public securities include shares in:

• unlisted public companies, and
• co-operatives.

Shares in unlisted public companies

The most common form of unlisted public securities are shares in public companies which are not listed on a stock exchange, but are available to the public. An 'unlisted public company' has the following characteristics:

• it has at least five members whose names appear in the Company's Memorandum of Association,
• there is no upper limit on membership numbers,
• it can offer securities to the public,
• there is no restriction on the transfer of shares, and
• the company must have an auditor and file annual reports.

If a company does not meet these criteria, it may be a private company.

Shares in co-operatives

A co-operative is an organisation established for the mutual benefit of its members for some specific purpose such as making loans or providing goods and services such as a food co-operative, or co-operative building society. Pensioners who are members of a co-operative are shareholders, and they may receive bonus shares in place of the payment of a rebate for past purchases. This is a notifiable event.    

Delisted and suspended company shares

Suspension or delisting of company shares can change the value of the security for deeming purposes, as described in the following table: