ASIC deadline extension is a compliance gauge for small licensees, says FSC

The chief executive officer of the Financial Services Council (FSC) said that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is redirecting its attention towards self-licensed advisers, signalling a broader shift in regulatory approach coinciding with the appointment of the new commissioner, Alan Kirkland.

Speaking to ifa on an upcoming podcast, Mr Briggs highlighted a concern voiced by former ASIC commissioner Danielle Press regarding potential non-compliance in self-licensed or micro-licensed advice businesses, attributing the lack of scrutiny in this sector to resource constraints.

However, Mr Briggs cautioned that the landscape is expected to evolve under the guidance of newly appointed commissioner Mr Kirkland, leveraging his extensive background in advice matters.

Last month, Mr Kirkland extended the deadline on the obligation for licensees to register their advisers with ASIC by two weeks, following concerns that the previous 1 February deadline coincided with an inconvenient period.

“One of his first acts was to extend that deadline by a couple of weeks, but in some ways, I feel that is a bit of a test for the small advice businesses on behalf of ASIC,” Mr Briggs said.

He explained that through the extension and the appearance of doing the “right thing”, the regulator has effectively communicated its interest in assessing the compliance standards of small advice businesses.

Mr Briggs suggested that ASIC is essentially conveying to these businesses that the extension serves as a tool to gauge compliance levels. A lack of registration among micro-licenses and small advice businesses would be viewed as a red flag by ASIC, signalling broader systemic issues of non-compliance.

“I would encourage the entire advice industry, but the smaller advice licensees in particular to not give ASIC reason to be concerned,” Mr Briggs said.

“Get on, register in the time available, do everything you can to demonstrate to ASIC that the industry is now compliant and plays by the rules.”

Mr Briggs advised those licensees that are having technical difficulties with the registration process to turn to their association for help.

“Some of the advice licensees are members of the FSC and we’ve been talking to our members about their registration process,” he said.

The new registration obligation, initially introduced in the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response – Better Advice) Act 2021, has faced challenges from the outset due to parliamentary delays and the regulator’s technology issues.

While the deadline has now been pushed back several times, speaking to ifa recently, Mr Kirkland confirmed that there would be no further extensions.

He also noted that there are consequences for both the adviser and their licensee if they’re not registered by 16 February and they continue to provide advice.

To hear more from Mr Briggs, tune into the ifa podcast from Wednesday.