Australian Financial Services Compliance

AFSL GENERAL OBLIGATIONS

 

G2 Compliance (G2) can assist your business with an application for an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).

 

The key obligations of an AFS Licensee are detailed in section 912A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and also discussed in ASIC Regulatory Guide 104 (Licensing: Meeting the general obligations).

 

​ASIC requires that the licensee:

• Do all things necessary to ensure that the financial services covered by your licence are provided efficiently, honestly and fairly;

• Have adequate arrangements in place for managing conflicts of interest;

• Comply with the conditions on your licence;

• Comply with the financial services laws which are quite broad;

• Take reasonable steps to ensure that your representatives comply with the financial services laws;

• Where not regulated by APRA, have adequate financial, technological and human resources to provide the financial services covered by your licence and to carry out supervisory arrangements;

• Maintain the competence to provide the financial services covered by your licence (this is through the Responsible Managers);

• Ensure that your representatives are adequately trained and competent to provide those financial services noting the new Professional Standards;

• If you provide financial services to retail clients, have a dispute resolution system which includes being a member of an ASIC approved external dispute resolution scheme; and

• establish and maintain adequate risk management systems.

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Other key obligations include:

• Maintaining appropriate professional indemnity insurance;

• Ensuring that representatives who are relevant providers are recorded and registered on the Financial Adviser Register;

• Appointing an ASIC registered company auditor; and

• Maintaining minimum financial obligations including having sufficient resources to meet your anticipated cash flow expenses.

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AFSL APPLICATION PROCESS

 

G2 will assist you with the AFSL application process in the following manner:

• Help you to determine the appropriate authorisations needed for your AFSL;

• Assess potential Responsible Managers and key persons against ASIC’s RG 105 requirements;

• Assist with the preparation of the e-licensing application

• Assist with preparing the Part E Proofs required by ASIC for the application (e.g. details of the business, organisational expertise and Responsible Managers, compliance arrangements, risk management, and other relevant information);

• Review and finalise the draft application before submitting it to ASIC;

• Assist with preparing the extra Proofs that will most likely be requested by ASIC during the assessment process for the application; and

• If need be, we can also act as point of contact with the ASIC analyst who assesses the application.