media release

IR 05-65 ASIC issues latest report on relief applications from financial service providers

Published

ASIC has released its latest report outlining some of its decisions on applications made by financial service providers for relief from the licensing, conduct, disclosure and managed investments provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act).

‘This is the fourth formal report that ASIC has released outlining its significant relief decisions since December 2004. The report provides participants in the financial services industry with insight into the factors that influence us in our decisions about whether or not to exercise our discretionary powers’, ASIC’s Director (Applications, Advice and Licensing), Regulation, Mr John Price said.

‘We publish these reports on a regular basis to ensure that members of the financial services industry and their advisers are able to keep up-to-date with the ongoing development of our operational policy’, Mr Price said.

The report, Overview of decisions on relief applications from financial services providers (May to August 2005), provides an overview of situations where ASIC has exercised, or refuse to exercise, its exemption and modification powers. ASIC is vested with these powers under the financial services provisions of Chapter 7 (inserted by the Financial Services Reform Act 2001) and the managed investments provisions of Chapter 5C of the Act. The report covers relief applications considered by ASIC between 1 May 2005 and 31 August 2005.

The report also outlines decisions ASIC made as to whether it would adopt a no-action position regarding specified non-compliance with Chapters 5C and 7 of the Act. It includes an appendix detailing the relief instruments ASIC has executed for the matters referred to in the report. For ease of reference, the appendix contains cross-references linking the instruments to the relevant paragraph(s) of the report.

Background

ASIC’s Applications and Advice team considers applications for relief from Chapters 5C and 7 of the Act.

The criteria that ASIC will apply in considering applications for relief are most recently outlined in:

  • Information Release [IR 03-29] ASIC issues additional guidance for FSR relief applicants;

  • Policy Statement 136 Managed investments: Discretionary powers and closely related schemes [PS 136];

  • Policy Statement 167 Licensing: Discretionary powers and transition [PS 167];

  • Policy Statement 169 Disclosure: Discretionary powers and transition [PS 169];

  • Policy Statement 176 Licensing: Discretionary powers – wholesale foreign financial services providers [PS 176];

  • Policy Statement 178 Foreign collective investment schemes [PS 178];

  • Policy Statement 182 Dollar disclosure [PS 182]; and

  • Policy Statement 185 Non-cash payment facilities [PS 185].

ASIC is required to publish a copy of each exemption and/or modification instrument issued in the ASIC Gazette.

Applications for relief must be in writing and should address the requirements set out in Policy Statement 51 Applications for relief [PS 51].

Applications can be submitted electronically to fsr.applications.manager@asic.gov.au.

More information on applying for relief is available at www.asic.gov.au/fsrrelief.

ASIC has published previous information releases on its relief decisions including:

  • Information Release [IR 05/41] ASIC issues latest report on relief applications from financial service providers (26 July 2005);

  • Information Release [IR 05-21] ASIC issues update report on relief applications from financial service providers (11 May 2005);

  • Information Release [IR 04-72] ASIC issues reports on recent relief applications from financial service providers (21 December 2004); and

  • Information Release [IR 03-31] ASIC provides overview of applications for relief under FSRA (10 October 2003).

End of release


Download a copy of the report

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