Check some basic facts about the people, companies or schemes you are thinking of dealing with before you get financial advice, hand over your money for an investment, or buy financial products.
You can run free safety checks on our databases to confirm people, companies and schemes are operating within the law:
Is this investment scheme registered by ASIC and being offered by a company licensed to sell this investment? Find out more
Getting advice or buying investments
Is this person or company licensed by ASIC to give you advice or sell you this investment? Find out more
Buying insurance
Can this insurance broker or agent legally sell you insurance? Find out more
Product disclosure statements (PDS)
Ask the person you're talking to for the PDS of the product they're trying to sell you. A PDS should set out, clearly and concisely, enough detail about the product for you to compare a range of similar financial products so that you can make an informed decision about which ones to invest in. More about PDSs
If you're thinking about investing in listed managed investment products (that is investments that can be traded on a financial market), then the PDS for it must be lodged with us. The following link opens a new window where you can run a free safety search on our OFFERlist database to see if a PDS has been lodged with us. Search now
Prospectuses and offer documents
Check if the issuer has lodged a prospectus with us. The following link allows you to run a free safety search on our OFFERlist database to see if a prospectus has been lodged with us. Search now
See also Investing in shares
Banned people
You can run a free safety check on our banned and disqualified persons database for names of people:
banned from giving financial advice or
directors who have been banned from managing a company.
The following link will take you to a new window where you can run a search for their names. Search now
Dealing with companies
Check if the company you're thinking of dealing with really is an Australian company. The following link opens a new window where you can run a free safety search on our National Names database to confirm a company exists. Search now
Watching a company
Want to keep an eye on what companies are doing? The following link opens a new window in our free Company Alert service. You can enter the names of companies you want to watch and you'll get an email overnight to tell you what forms they've lodged. Set up a Company Alert watch now
Company auditors and liquidators
Want to find out if a company auditor or liquidator is registered? The following link opens a new window where you can run a free search. Search now
Depositing money and banking
Is this bank, building society or credit union really authorised to accept your money? Go to the APRA website and check their list of 'Authorised deposit taking institutions'.
Find out more
Go to the APRA website and check their list of 'Authorised deposit taking institutions'. 
