Organisational competence and responsible managers
ASIC assesses the competence of your business through its "responsible managers" — the people who are directly responsible for the financial services you provide. You must nominate responsible managers with appropriate knowledge and skills, evidenced against recognised criteria such as relevant qualifications and industry experience.
Your responsible managers must collectively cover all the authorisations you apply for. ASIC expects them to be genuinely involved in the business, not just named on paper.
Financial resources
Licensees must have adequate financial resources to provide the services and to conduct the business in compliance with the law. Depending on the services, this can include base level financial requirements, cash needs, and in some cases net tangible assets or surplus liquid funds.
These requirements vary significantly with the type of authorisations sought — for example holding client money or operating a scheme attracts stricter financial conditions.
Compliance, risk and human resources
Beyond competence and capital, you must show you have adequate arrangements to operate compliantly, including:
- Documented compliance and risk-management systems
- Adequate technological and human resources for the scale of the business
- Arrangements for training and supervising representatives
- A dispute resolution system, including membership of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)
- Adequate compensation arrangements, typically professional indemnity insurance
- Conflict-of-interest management arrangements
Fit and proper requirements
ASIC must be satisfied there is no reason to believe the applicant, its officers and controllers are not fit and proper to be involved in a financial services business. This includes checks on the people who control or run the licensee.
Look up any AFSL, Credit, DCE or Remittance record by name, number, ABN or ACN.
Search the registerFrequently asked questions
What is a responsible manager?
A responsible manager is a person nominated to demonstrate the licensee's organisational competence — they are directly responsible for significant day-to-day decisions about the financial services provided, and must have appropriate knowledge and experience.
Do all AFSL holders need professional indemnity insurance?
Most licensees must have adequate compensation arrangements, and professional indemnity insurance is the usual way to meet this. Some entities meet it through alternative ASIC-approved arrangements.
Do AFSL financial requirements differ by activity?
Yes. The financial resource requirements scale with the authorisations sought — holding client money, dealing, or operating a managed investment scheme generally attract stricter requirements than advice-only licences.