ASIC makes changes to record-keeping class order

In a statement this morning, the corporate regulator said it has made a clarification by way of an amendment to Class Order 14/923, Record-keeping obligations for Australian financial services licensees when giving personal advice. 

The amendment places “beyond doubt” that AFSLs licensees must have access to records for the period of time in which the records are required to be kept, even if a person other than that licensee holds the records.

It also makes explicit that authorised representatives who are advisers must keep records, and give the records to their authorising licensee if the licensee requests the records for the purposes of complying with financial services law, the statement said.

ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell said, “Advice licensees have ultimate responsibility for the advice given by their representatives and need to be able to monitor and supervise their representatives.

“Consumers should have trust and confidence that advice licensees have access to their representatives’ records so they can monitor the advice given by their representatives and remediate consumers if something goes wrong.”

ASIC said it recognises some advice licensees may need to make changes to their systems as a result of this class order.

“Therefore, ASIC will take a facilitative compliance approach for the first six months in relation to the obligation on advice licensees to ensure that they have access to records,” the statement said.

“Our facilitative compliance approach applies where advice licensees make a good-faith attempt to comply with the obligation but are unable to do so because of, for example, the need to make systems changes. This facilitative period will end on 26 April 2017.”