ASIC values your right to complain, and we are committed to treating complaints seriously, dealing with them quickly, and using the information to improve our policies, systems and services. We treat all complaints confidentially in line with our Privacy Policy.
Before you lodge a complaint, we recommend that you:
first, try to sort it out with the person you have been dealing with (or via the phone number you have been given)
if you are not satisfied, talk to their manager
if you are still not satisfied, consider lodging a complaint.
ASIC's Service Charter outlines among other things our commitment to treating you with respect and courtesy in our dealings with you and we ask in return that you treat our staff with courtesy and respect.
If you are not satisfied with a fee waiver decision ASIC has made, you can request a review of our decision by submitting a further fee waiver application, together with any additional information or evidence to support your application.
We will only accept a complaint about a fee waiver decision after we have completed a review.
What do these complaints relate to?
These complaints relate to ASIC’s decisions about fee waivers.
We collect a range of fees from companies and other entities on behalf of the Australian government. We cannot waive annual review fees, document lodgement fees and most other fees levied under the law.
However, in limited cases, we can waive late fees.
We will only consider waiving a late fee if we are satisfied that the reasons leading to the late fee being levied were beyond the control of:
all the officers of the company, and
any representatives (including agents).
The most common reasons for which we grant fee waivers include:
illness, accident, death of an officeholder or rep
ASIC error or delay
other reasons outside of your control see Information Sheet 87 Fee waivers (INFO 87).
How does ASIC handle these complaints?
If we receive a complaint about a fee waiver decision, and we have previously completed a review of this decision at your request, an independent team within ASIC will review your complaint.
Timeframes
We aim to acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three business days of receiving it and finalise it within 28 calendar days.
What are the possible outcomes of such a complaint?
If you are unhappy with the outcome of our review of your complaint you have the right to complain to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
ASIC administers Australia’s public registers of companies, business names and finance industry professionals. This includes registering business names and companies, facilitating updates to these registers, and providing searching services for all of our public registers.
To support this function, ASIC’s Registry business provides telephone, email, and web-based information services to the Australian public and business community, primarily through our Customer Contact Centre. We also provide online lodgement and searching services through ASIC Connect.
What are these complaints about?
Members of the public may raise concerns about the delivery of the services mentioned above. These concerns may include:
decisions we make in the course of administering our responsibilities (e.g. whether or not we will register a business name)
actions we may or may not take in the course of performing our role
feedback and user experience issues arising from the services we provide.
If you have a service issue or general inquiry, the best place to have it resolved is through our Customer Contact Centre on 1300 300 630. Alternatively, see our Top call centre questions.
Managing your complaint
If you have called our Customer Contact Centre and remain dissatisfied, you can lodge a complaint using our Make a complaint about ASIC form, where an ASIC officer will contact you within 3 working days, or you can call our Complaint line on 1300 740 895.
The time we spend investigating your complaint depends on its seriousness and complexity, but we aim to resolve your complaint within 28 calendar days. If we are unable to resolve your complaint within this timeframe, we'll contact you to give you progress updates and keep you informed. You can also contact us to check the progress of your complaint.
What outcomes are possible?
The outcome of a complaint will depend on its nature and our powers and obligations under the laws we administer. Outcomes may include:
assisting you to fulfil an obligation with ASIC, i.e. helping you to lodge a document or make a payment
reaffirming our original decision
where our powers allow us, reviewing our original decision based on new information provided
using the complaint to consider improvements to our systems, processes or services.
If you remain dissatisfied with the response ASIC provides, you can complain to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
Information Sheet 153: How ASIC deals with reports of misconduct (INFO 153)
Information Sheet 151: ASIC’s approach to enforcement (INFO 151)
What do these complaints relate to?
These complaints are about the conduct of ASIC staff members in connection with our regulatory, investigative and enforcement work. These complaints may range from allegations of abuse of our office or powers to allegations of rudeness or inappropriate service.
How does ASIC handle these complaints?
Processes and procedures
Information Sheet 107: The Guidelines for managing allegations of misconduct against ASIC officers (INFO 107) governs how we handle these types of complaints. The Professional Standards Unit is the area in ASIC which is responsible for these types of complaints when we receive them.
Timeframes
We aim to acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three business days. The time it will take to review each matter will depend on the complexity of the matter. We will aim to complete less serious matters within 28 calendar days. Serious matters, due to their complexity, will generally take a longer time to resolve.
What are the possible outcomes of such a complaint?
We will inquire into the circumstances of each complaint, and we will advise you of our findings.
We collect personal information that is reasonably necessary for, or directly related to, one or more of our functions or activities under the legislation we administer.
We are bound by the Australian Privacy Principles which regulate how Australian Government agencies may collect, store, use and disclose personal information, and how individuals may access and correct information held about them.
We take steps to protect the personal information we hold against loss, unauthorised access, use, modification and disclosure, and against other misuse.
You are entitled to seek access to personal information we hold about you and request that we make corrections to that information.
If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your personal information, or if you are concerned, we have breached our obligations under the Privacy Act 1988, you may lodge a complaint.
How does ASIC handle these complaints?
You can make complaints about ASIC breaching the Australian Privacy Principles by lodging a complaint online or by writing to:
Complaints Officer (Privacy) Australian Securities and Investments Commission GPO Box 9827 Melbourne VIC 3001
If you are not satisfied with our response you can complain to the Australian Information Commissioner.
If you supply goods or services to us, you have the right to be treated fairly throughout the procurement process. As a supplier, you have the right to have complaints investigated quickly and without disadvantage.
If you have concerns relating to a procurement process and wish to discuss them informally, you can approach the relevant procurement contact officer in the first instance.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can lodge a complaint. Complaints can be:
raised under the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018 (GPJR Act); or
if the relevant procurement is not subject to the GPJR Act, lodged as a general procurement complaint.
Complaints under the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018
In certain circumstances, a supplier may raise a complaint under the Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Act 2018 (GPJR Act). Complaints made under the GPJR Act must be made in writing to the relevant entity immediately after becoming aware of the alleged breach of the relevant Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs). The procurement contact officer can inform you whether the procurement process is subject to the Act.
If your complaint concerns a procurement that is not subject to the GPJR Act, you may lodge a general procurement complaint. A general complaint can be made about any aspect of the procurement process and can relate to any procurement activity.
Once you have lodged your complaint an ASIC officer will contact you. We aim to do this within 3 business days. This officer will work with you to resolve your issue (or issues) and will keep you informed of the progress of the case.
The time we spend investigating your complaint depends on its seriousness and complexity, but we aim to finalise the matter within 28 calendar days.
Sometimes we may not be able to deal with your complaint in the timeframes set out above. If that is the case, we'll contact you to give you progress updates, so you know what is happening. You can also contact us to check the progress of your complaint.
ASIC is committed to the highest standards of integrity in all the work we do.
ASIC is under the jurisdiction of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
Anyone can submit a corruption report to the NACC. To find out more about what is considered corruption and how to make a report visit the NACC website.
