FAQs: Apply for relief

Below are frequently asked questions about:

ASIC's Regulatory Portal

What is the ASIC Regulatory Portal?

The ASIC Regulatory Portal will become your central access to our growing suite of regulatory services, which are being consolidated onto the portal over time.

Can I register on the portal now?

You can register for portal access at any time.

Anyone required to use the portal to transact with ASIC will need to register their own account.

Selecting the ‘I just want to register’ tile on the registration page is an easy way to set up an account.

For more information on how to register, see our user guide.

Note that many entities already have portal accounts for breach reporting and their annual industry funding obligations.

What are the benefits of using the portal?

  • Structured online transactions with mandatory fields and questions that make it easier for applicants to ensure the information ASIC requires is provided upfront. Links to the relevant ASIC regulatory guidance will be included.
  • Track the status of your applications via your portal account.
  • Correspond with ASIC online about submitted applications.
  • Fee estimates automatically calculated based on the information provided in the application.
  • Online payment options and a record of invoice history.
  • Attach supporting documentation.
  • Invite others to act on your behalf in the portal.
  • Restrict access so only select users can see and access your applications in the portal. 

Can someone act on my behalf in the portal?

  • Yes. If you would like someone to act on your behalf in the portal, you first need to invite them to connect to your account.
  • When inviting someone to connect you can define their Access level to control what they can and can’t do on your behalf. For example, you can authorise a trusted representative such an associate or agent to launch and edit a transaction, but not submit it.
  • There are four Access levels – Senior administrator, Administrator, Approver and Editor.
  • Only the Senior administrator or an Administrator of the account can invite other users to connect. If you registered the account, you will be the Senior administrator by default. 
  • The person you invite will receive an email with an invitation key. The invitee will need to register an account of their own if they don’t have one already.
  • For more information, including on how to invite someone to connect to your account, see the Administration section on the FAQ page.

Can I represent another entity (such as a company) in the portal?

  • You can submit the new transactions on behalf of other entities from your own portal account. The transactions in the portal are structured to make it easier for you to ensure the information ASIC requires is provided upfront.
  • Alternatively, to connect to the account of an entity (such as a company) and to act on its behalf in the portal, you must first be invited by the Senior administrator or an Administrator of that entity’s portal account.
  • See also:

How do I connect my portal account to a company?

Only a Director or Secretary of the company can perform the initial registration (explained below). They can then invite others to connect and act on their behalf. Many companies should already be registered on the portal to meet their annual industry funding obligations.

For more information on how to connect your portal account to another entity such as a company, see How do I connect my portal account to an entity, or multiple entities.

Steps to perform initial registration: 

  1. Go to the registration page - https://regulatoryportal.asic.gov.au/registration/
  2. Select ‘I want to act on behalf of a registered company or body’ tile.
  3. In the ‘Entity type' drop-down list select ‘Australian Registered Company’ and provide the relevant information to register. You will need to have the following on hand:
    • ASIC Identifier (Australian Company Number (ACN),
    • Corporate Key (for more information, see Corporate Key.
  4. Provide some personal contact details.
  5. Make final declaration.

How do I connect my portal account to a law firm partnership?

  • A partner can only connect to their partnership in the portal if the partnership exists on ASIC’s records. You can search our registers to check if a business name or Australian Business Number (ABN) is known to ASIC.
  • A partner will need to connect to the partnership either during the registration process (explained below) or through the ‘Connect to an entity’ function if they have already registered their individual account. 
  • The first partner to register and connect to the partnership will be the Senior administrator, who can then invite other portal users to connect to the partnership to act on its behalf.
  • The account will contain a record of all the transactions submitted by users acting on behalf of the partnership.
  • You can contact us if you need help connecting to a partnership in the portal.

Only a partner can perform the initial registration. Follow these steps to register: 

  1. Go to the registration page - https://regulatoryportal.asic.gov.au/registration/
  2. Select ‘I want to act on behalf of a registered company or body’ tile.
  3. In the 'Entity type' drop-down list select ‘Other’
  4. In the ‘Category’ drop-down list select ‘Partnership’ and provide the relevant information to register. Have either of these on hand to progress:
    • Australian Business Number (ABN) and ASIC key in relation to ABN
    • Australian financial services licence number and ASIC key in relation to an Australian financial services licence number
    • Australian credit licence number.
  5. Confirm that you are a current partner of the partnership.
  6. Provide some personal contact details.
  7. Make final declaration.

What are Access levels?

There are four Access levels – Senior administrator, Administrator, Approver and Editor.

  • Senior administrator – can launch, edit and submit a transaction, invite other users to the entity and view other administrative details for an entity
  • Administrator – can launch, edit and submit a transaction and invite other users to the entity.
  • Approver – can launch, edit and submit a form or transaction, and view other administrative details for an entity. Firms may invite senior staff to this level of access, so they can submit a transaction after a partner has approved the initial draft.
  • Editor – in general, can launch and edit a form and transaction, but they cannot submit it.

Can I restrict access to specific transactions in the portal?

Yes. Once you (or anyone invited to act on your behalf) launch a form or transaction, the portal will direct you to a transaction settings page. The transaction settings page asks if you want to restrict access to the transaction. To restrict access, click Yes – restrict access. This will take you to a set restrictions page, which allows you to select users on that account who can access the transaction.

Once you have set the restrictions for a transaction, you also have the option to add or remove users later.

More information on restricting access to transactions is on the FAQ page.

I am a registered agent – does this change impact other ASIC portals that I use?

No. This change does not impact how registered agents use the Registered Agent or Company Officeholders portals via the ASIC website.

What if I can’t use the portal to apply?

You should submit your application for relief through the ASIC Regulatory Portal. Applications for relief can be submitted by email only in instances where there are accessibility limitations, or where the ASIC Regulatory Portal is unavailable.

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Invoices in the Regulatory Portal

Who receives the invoice statement for the transaction I submit?

There are three possible ways a transaction can be submitted to ASIC and each of them will determine where the invoice statement is issued.

1. Submitting as a law firm partnership

  • While the transactions may be submitted to ASIC on behalf of a client, the debt for each transaction will be raised against the law firm partnership and will be shown on the invoice statement issued to the partnership.
  • Each outstanding transaction will be listed on the one invoice statement as a separate line item, rather than separate invoices for each transaction.
  • This would be the preferred option for law firms who want their employees to submit transactions on behalf of their clients under a centralised law firm account.

2. Submitting as a company

  • The debt for each transaction will be raised against the company and will be displayed on their invoice statement.
  • The invoice statement will show all transactions submitted by users who have connected to the company account to act on its behalf. This could be either employees of the company or anyone invited to act on its behalf in the portal, such as a lawyer.

3. Submitting as an individual

  • You can submit transactions to ASIC on behalf of yourself or a client from your individual portal account.
  • In this scenario, you are not connected to the portal account of a client entity such as company, however you can still submit transactions on their behalf.
  • The debt for each transaction will be raised against you as the individual who submitted the transaction and will be displayed on your invoice statement.

Are all transactions submitted through the portal shown on the same invoice statement?

Yes. Each outstanding transaction will be listed on the one invoice statement as a separate line item, rather than separate invoices for each transaction.

If the transaction is submitted on behalf a client, the name of the client will appear on the relevant transaction line item.

How often are invoice statements issued in the portal?

Weekly. A new invoice statement will be issued in the week following the submission of a new transaction(s).

Where can I find my invoice statement?

Invoice statements are available from the billing Administration drop down menu. Note that there is a separate invoice tab in the portal for invoice statements issued for ASIC industry funding transactions.

When do I have to pay the invoice?

Invoices are due for payment immediately.

Can I pay before I receive an invoice?

It is recommended you wait until a new invoice statement is issued each week before making payment. This will ensure that all your latest transactions and payments are displayed.

If you have paid an amount for a transaction before a new invoice statement has been issued, send your remittance to regulatorypayments@asic.gov.au.

Ensure you include the document number in your email to ASIC. This will ensure the payment can be matched to the relevant transaction(s) on ASIC’s records.

What if I don’t pay the full amount as shown on the invoice?

When not paying the full amount, we expect you to provide remittance to ensure the payment can be matched to the relevant transaction on ASIC’s records. Send your remittance along with the ASIC reference number(s) shown on your invoice statement to regulatorypayments@asic.gov.au.

What is the ‘ASIC reference’ on my invoice statement?

The first 9 characters and digits is the document number assigned to the transaction by ASIC. The remaining characters and digits are for ASIC’s records only.

For example: ASIC reference = “IU0234609 764B”

IU0234609 is the document number for your records, 764B is for ASIC’s records only.

Ensure you include the ASIC references if you are providing remittance to ASIC.

What are indicative fees?

Some transactions in the portal will provide an indicative fee. After your transaction is submitted to ASIC, we will review the indicative fee that was shown and confirm that the correct fee is charged.

The fee displayed on the transaction is indicative only and is subject to change once the transaction is submitted. Fees displayed as $0 may still incur a fee and we will contact you if this is the case.

For indicative fees, you will not be able to pay by credit card using the ‘pay now’ feature. You will need to wait for the new invoice statement to be issued.

I’ve provided ‘applicant billing contact details’ in the transaction, does this mean the invoice will be issued to the applicant?

No. These details will only be used to name the applicant on your invoice.

How will ASIC notify me when a new invoice statement is available?

An automatic notification email will be sent to the nominated billing contact for the entity. A billing contact is always provided as part of the portal account registration process. This is the Senior administrator of the account by default unless a different contact is provided. All users connected to the entity can view invoice statements and reminder notices and make payments.

How do I view or change the billing contacts for the entity?

To view or edit the entity billing contacts, click Administration in the top navigation bar. This will reveal a drop-down menu. Select Entity contacts. This will take you to the Entity contacts tab. Click Edit.

How do I pay?

Payment options are provided on the invoice. Refer to our detailed FAQs for more detail on how to pay in the portal.

What is the ‘pay now’ option in the transaction?

The credit card payment option – ‘pay now’ - is only available on some transactions. This option will appear at the end of the transaction. In these circumstances, you will be required to pay the fee shown before we will process the transaction.

Has ASIC changed the fees charged for the new transactions available in the portal?

No. The fees ASIC charges for applications for relief and the lodgement of corporate finance and fundraising documents are set under legislation and have not changed. See also, ASIC fees.

I have an enquiry regarding my invoice, who can I contact?

You can contact ASIC.

In your correspondence, you must include information for ASIC to be able to identify you or your organisation. This should include the account name and number, and ASIC reference numbers as shown on your invoice statement, the amount you have paid, and a clear description of what you need help with. Attach your remittance if your enquiry is about a payment made.

Where can I send my cheque?

If paying by cheque, you will need to include a cover sheet with the portal transaction reference number included. Also include your account number which starts with ‘60’.

Make cheques payable to ‘ASIC’ and send to:

Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Locked Bag 5000
Gippsland Mail Centre VIC 3841

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Last updated: 05/03/2024 10:43