This is Information Sheet 294 (INFO 294). This information sheet provides answers to frequently asked questions about the process of applying for an Australian financial services (AFS) licence.
Summary of what’s changing
Before 16 June 2025, to apply for or vary an AFS licence, you completed Form FS01 Application for an AFS licence or Form FS03 Application for variation of authorisation and other conditions through our eLicensing system. To apply to suspend or cancel an AFS licence, you emailed your application to ASIC and notified us of a change of details by lodging Form FS20 Change of detailsfor an Australian financial services licence through our eLicensing system.
While you will still be able to do these actions, they are now referred to as ‘transactions’ (rather than having form numbers) and will need to be completed through the ASIC Regulatory Portal.
If you have not already done so, you need to create and register your portal account by following the prompts for ASIC Regulatory Portal registration.
All information in the application transaction is collected as structured data through various fields. Some information can be provided in free text subject to character limits. The application fee you pay is calculated on the financial services and product authorisations you select.
You need to upload any documentation requested through the ASIC Regulatory Portal as you fill out the online transaction. We no longer need to send you an ASIC MOVEit address, and uploads are not subject to a 10 MB file limitation.
We no longer refer to core and non-core proofs – the only proof documents you need are People Proofs. We are no longer using licensing.afslproofs@asic.gov.au to send through proof documents. Instead, you can communicate with us about your application through the ASIC Regulatory Portal.
You can still communicate directly with the analyst and supervisor assessing your application through the ASIC staff member’s email. We have also created AFSLicensing@asic.gov.au so you can communicate with us about other matters not specific to a particular application.
If you have already submitted your application on the eLicensing system and we accept it for lodgement, you do not need to register or update your application in the ASIC Regulatory Portal.
Applications for an AFS licence made after 16 June 2025 must be made through the portal. You will need to create and register your portal account by following the prompts for ASIC Regulatory Portal registration and complete the application there.
From 16 June 2025, all applications for variations or cancellations of an AFS licence as well as notifications (including change of details, change of responsible manager and change of control) must be made using the ASIC Regulatory Portal.
The major improvements to your user experience include:
modern and streamlined interface with guidance in the transactions
improved pre-fill of information known to ASIC in the transactions
generated transaction content based on the applicant’s selections, ensuring that ASIC asks questions relevant to the applicant’s proposed financial services business
removal of core and non-core proof documents with questions now included in the application
no more separate uploads of documents through MOVEit after the application or notification is lodged, and
collection of ‘fit and proper person’ information in the application form rather than separately after an application has been lodged.
Your authorisation selections can be much more specific allowing for:
combination of personal and general advice for different financial products
combination of retail, wholesale and both retail and wholesale client authorisations for different financial services and products
combination of dealing and arranging authorisations, including dealing or arranging, or dealing and arranging, and
selection of derivatives and foreign exchange contract authorisations for hedging purposes only, which will reduce the number of questions asked.
The information we seek from you has also been reduced, removing the requirement to provide:
business references for responsible managers (however, we reserve the right to ask for them during assessment)
Australian bankruptcy certificates for ‘fit and proper persons’ and responsible managers, and
information on financial statements and financial resources (previously known as the B5 Financial Statements and Financial Resources proof) with an application – instead, we will ask you to provide relevant financial statements at the ‘requirements stage’ if we are looking to approve your application.
The new way to apply for an AFS licence
From 16 June 2025, you will need to apply for an AFS licence or a variation to an AFS licence online through the ASIC Regulatory Portal.
notice of change to fees and charges in a PDS, and
notice that a product in a PDS has ceased to be available.
The new application process changes the way authorisations can be selected by applicants:
If applicants select to provide financial services to retail and wholesale clients, they may select to limit some of their authorisations to either retail clients only or wholesale clients only.
If applicants select to provide financial product advice, they may select to limit the advice they provide for some products to general advice only.
If applicants select to provide dealing services, they may select either or both of the following:
deal in a financial product – this refers to dealing within the meaning of section 766C(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act), or
arrange for another person to deal in a financial product – this refers to arranging within the meaning of section 766C(2) of the Corporations Act.
For each type of dealing activity, the applicant will have to select the subtype of dealing activity they wish to engage in. Multiple subtypes of dealing activity for both dealing and arranging can be selected. The selections available are:
issue, apply for, acquire, vary or dispose of a financial product
apply for, acquire, vary or dispose of a financial product, and
underwrite the issue of a financial product.
Applicants selecting to provide advice or dealing services for derivatives and foreign exchange contracts may select to limit these authorisations for hedging purposes only.
What do I need to know before applying for an AFS licence?
If you run a financial services business, you generally need an AFS licence: see Do you need an AFS licence? You must lodge an application for an AFS licence online through the ASIC Regulatory Portal.
Before you do that, you need to:
know your business and understand which financial services and products you need to select in your application to allow you to carry on that business
understand the obligations of a licensee and have appropriate systems and processes in place to meet them, and
be able to provide the documents we require or may request to meet the licensee obligations.
The ASIC service charter sets out the timeframes we aim to achieve. However, the length of time it takes us to assess your application for an AFS licence will depend on:
the quality of the information you provide
our analysis of your business
the market you propose to operate in, and
any other information we consider relevant to assessing your application.
It’s important that you are open and transparent with us during the assessment process. Describing your proposed business properly, selecting all appropriate authorisations for that business, providing all the information and supporting documents we ask for and promptly responding to all other questions we may ask will help us to process your application as efficiently as possible.
If we grant you an AFS licence, you must comply with the obligations under sections 912A and 912B of the Corporations Act from the first day the licence takes effect for all the financial services and products covered by your licence. This means you will need to have the systems and processes in place to allow you to comply with your licence obligations at the time you apply for your licence.
Your AFS licence will include conditions that support the licensee obligations. You can find the standard licence conditions in Pro Forma 209 Australian financial services licence conditions (PF 209). We may also impose specific conditions that we consider are necessary for you to operate your financial business in a compliant manner with ‘tailored’ conditions that reflect your particular business. We will discuss these with you during the assessment process.
When you apply for an AFS licence, you need to provide information about your proposed financial services business. You will also need to provide supporting documents as part of your application.
The number and types of supporting documents required will depend on the complexity of the financial services and products in your application as well as our assessment of your business, the market you propose to operate in and the type of licence you are applying for. This is explained in more detail in Regulatory Guide 1 Applying for and varying an AFS licence (RG 1).
You will also need to provide supporting documents (called People Proofs) for your ‘fit and proper people’ and nominated responsible manager(s). This is explained in more detail in Section C of RG 1.
The application fee must be paid when you lodge your application. The portal calculates the statutory fee you need to pay and generates a payment remittance advice (this is not a tax invoice because statutory fees are GST-free). You can pay by BPAY or send a cheque.
Once you have started your application, you can save and resume it at any time before finalising and submitting it. The information you enter in your online application is protected by industry-standard encryption and stored on a secure server at ASIC.
The ASIC Regulatory Portal tailors the questions so that you are only asked about the financial services and products you are applying for. It’s important that you are clear about the financial services you intend to offer and select the correct authorisations.
Broadly, you will be asked questions about:
yourself as the applicant, your proposed business and the financial services and products you are seeking to be authorised to provide
your ‘fit and proper people’ and nominated responsible managers, and
your obligations as an AFS licensee and your ability to meet them.
Once you have answered all the questions and uploaded your supporting documents, it’s important that you review the application carefully before finalising and submitting it to ASIC. You need to ensure your answers are correct and you understand the declarations being made.
It’s a criminal offence to make false or misleading statements to ASIC. This also applies to information that you provide after you have lodged your application (e.g. when you respond to additional questions or requests from ASIC). Once you have submitted your online application, you will not be able to change your answers.
It is significantly more efficient for you to apply online through the portal. If you are unable to apply online, you can contact ASIC by phone on 1300 300 630.
Your inability to apply online will be taken into consideration in determining whether you have adequate technological resources to provide the financial services covered by your licence under section 912A(1)(d) of the Corporations Act. If we determine that you are unable to meet this obligation, we must not grant you a licence.
Note: It takes considerably longer to process applications that are not lodged online. The statutory application fee is also higher when you apply this way.
You will be able to see the questions that will be asked in the ‘Record of Transaction’ on the AFS Licensing Kit webpage. Please note, this is an extract of all the possible questions in the application form. The actual questions asked will depend on your application and the proposed licence authorisations you are seeking.
What happens after I submit my application?
Once you have completed and submitted your application through the ASIC Regulatory Portal, we will assign it to an ASIC licensing analyst for assessment.
We take a risk-based approach to assessing applications. This means that the time it takes to assess your application will vary depending on your business, the market you propose to operate in and any other information we determine is relevant to assessing your application.
We will contact you if we need more information or additional supporting documents. It’s important that you respond to all our requests promptly and within any timeframe indicated. If you are unable to comply within the stated timeframe, you can contact us to discuss the possibility of an extension of time.
If you do not respond, your application may be decided based on the information we have, or we may issue you with a written notice to respond to our information request. If you receive such a notice, you may seek an extension of time to respond before that due date. However, if you attempt to seek an extension after the date specified, ASIC will not be able to grant you an extension.
If you do not lodge the information requested in the notice within the specified time to ASIC, the law will deem your application has been withdrawn. If this occurs, you will not have any right to appeal the deemed withdrawal, and the application fee will not be returned.
The information you provide in your application is confidential (including your supporting documents), except for information that is displayed on your licence certificate, as this information is available on ASIC’s public register of AFS licensees if you are granted a licence.
Under section 127 of the ASIC Act, ASIC can use and disclose information as permitted or required by law and for the purposes of performing its functions. For more information about how ASIC handles confidential information, see Regulatory Guide 103 Confidentiality and release of information (RG 103).
For more information on how ASIC handles personal information, see our Privacy policy on our website.
You can withdraw your application at any stage of the application process.
However, if you withdraw your application after we have accepted it for lodgement, the application fee will not be returned.
When will I get my AFS licence?
If we grant you an in-principle AFS licence, we will send you a ‘requirements letter’, which will include a draft licence containing the proposed service and product authorisations and other conditions on your licence.
You will need to carefully check the authorisations and other conditions on the draft licence offered by ASIC. If you do not agree with the offer terms, you can contact us to discuss your concerns.
The requirements letter will also set out any outstanding matters you need to finalise before your final licence is granted. For example, you might need to provide ASIC with details of your professional indemnity insurance or Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) membership. You will need to finalise these outstanding matters as quickly as possible. If you don’t do this in the timeframe specified in the requirements letter, we may withdraw our offer of an AFS licence. You can contact us for an extension of time if you have any problems finalising these outstanding matters by the date stated.
The requirements letter will also ask you to confirm that there have been no material changes to the information you provided in your application or in information later provided in support of your application. Your final licence will be granted after we receive this confirmation, and you have satisfied all requirements. Providing a false or misleading statement, including this confirmation, is grounds for ASIC to cancel your licence.
If your draft licence looks correct, you must formally confirm that you wish to proceed before we can send you your final licence. This can be done by signing the accompanying confirmation notice and sending it back to ASIC.
After we have received your signed confirmation notice accepting the offer for a draft licence, and all other requirements set out in the requirements letter have been satisfied, we will send you an electronic copy of your final licence certificate to the email address provided in your application.
If you intend on displaying a copy of your AFS licence, it will need to display your name, Australian Business Number (ABN) (or Australian Company Number (ACN) or Australian Registered Body Number (ARBN)), AFS licence number, the date your licence takes effect and your financial service and product authorisations.
It is your obligation to ensure that you comply with your licence obligations at all times. ASIC granting you an AFS licence is not legal advice about your ability to comply with your licence obligations or any other matter. Nor is it an endorsement of information or practices disclosed to ASIC in your AFS licence application or during the application process. ASIC may take regulatory action against you regardless of granting you an AFS licence.
Managed investment schemes
If your financial service authorisations include operating a registered scheme, you will need to register your scheme with us after you receive your offer of a draft licence. You must not lodge your scheme documents for registration before then. Once you have received your offer of a draft licence, you have up to four months to lodge your scheme documents.
It’s important to note that if you have not met the licensing requirements or have not provided the signed confirmation notice within 14 days of applying for registration of the scheme, your scheme registration application is likely to be refused.
Once we have agreed to register the scheme, we will grant your final licence and register the scheme on the same day.
Corporate collective investment vehicles
If you have applied to operate the business and conduct the affairs of a corporate collective investment vehicle (CCIV), you will need to register the CCIV. You can apply to register the CCIV after you receive your final AFS licence. Your CCIV registration application will be refused if you have not met the licensing requirements at the time you apply.
The initial sub-fund(s) of the CCIV are registered when the CCIV is registered. If your licence limits you to operating one retail CCIV (with a single sub-fund), you will need to ensure your registration application is consistent with your licence.
When we assess your application, we may conclude that you don’t meet all the requirements in section 913B of the Corporations Act. For example, if we have reason to believe you are unlikely to have the competence or resources to provide the financial services and products you have applied for, subject to offering you a hearing, ASIC may refuse to grant you a licence.
Before we can refuse to grant an AFS licence, you have a right to be heard. ASIC will refer your application to an ASIC ‘delegate’, who is an impartial person authorised to make the final decision.
The delegate will review the referral and send you a letter raising matters with you that they wish to have clarified before making a decision. You will have the opportunity to respond in the following ways:
You can notify the delegate that you wish to appear at a hearing and/or make submissions to further explain why you believe you should be granted a licence. If, after considering any submissions, the delegate decides not to grant you a licence, they will send you a further letter setting out their decision and reasons why. You will also be informed that you can apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review if you’re unhappy with the final decision.
You may decide to withdraw your application. As we have already accepted your application and assessed it, if you choose to withdraw your application, your application fee will be forfeited.
What do I need to tell ASIC after I am granted an AFS licence?
After you are granted your AFS licence, the Corporations Act obliges you to notify ASIC about certain things. For example, you need to tell us when:
you appoint an auditor
you appoint authorised representatives to operate under your AFS licence, or you revoke their appointment, or their details change (e.g. their address or other contact information)
the details of your responsible managers change
an entity starts to control, or stops controlling, your licence, and
you do not provide a financial service covered by your licence within six months of the licence being granted.
To find out what you need to notify ASIC about and the relevant timeframes and fees that apply, see Lodgement requirements for AFS licensees. This page also includes notifications relating to:
lodging your annual accounts and audit report, and
notifying us of reportable situations.
You can find out more about reportable situations in Regulatory Guide 78 Breach reporting by AFS licensees and credit licensees (RG 78).
How do I vary my AFS licence if my business changes?
If your business changes (e.g. you want your AFS licence to cover more financial services or products), you need to apply to vary your licence.
To vary your licence, you will need to apply online through the ASIC Regulatory Portal. If you are unable to apply online, you can contact ASIC by phone on 1300 300 630.
As noted above, your inability to apply online will be taken into consideration in determining whether you have adequate technological resources to provide the financial services covered by your licence under section 912A(1)(d) of the Corporations Act.
The process to do this is very similar to the process for completing and lodging an application for a new licence, which is outlined above.
Before applying to vary your licence, you need to:
understand which authorisations to select for any financial services or products you want to add to your licence (see RG 1 before you apply)
understand the obligations that apply to the variation you are requesting and be able to meet them (remember that you’ll be making declarations and certifications when you apply, and it’s a criminal offence to make false or misleading statements to ASIC), and
be able to provide supporting documents that demonstrate your capacity to provide the additional financial services or products.
You will need to select whether you are applying to vary:
the authorisation conditions on your AFS licence (i.e. your financial service and/or product authorisations), and/or
the other conditions on your licence (e.g. key person or standard licence conditions).
If your licence has a key person condition, and the responsible manager named as the key person is no longer a responsible manager in relation to your licence, you will need to apply to vary your licence. This can be done by either nominating another responsible manager as your key person, or your variation application will need to explain why you are no longer dependent on a single responsible manager.
If you are relying on a new responsible manager who has not already been appointed to the licence, you must complete ‘Notify change of responsible manager details of an Australian financial services licensee’ to add that responsible manager before you start the variation application. You can do this through the ASIC Regulatory Portal.
We will assess whether a key person condition must be retained or can be removed. If you are adding new responsible managers, you will need to provide supporting documents for each new person. For more information, see RG 1.
When you apply for a variation to your AFS licence, you need to provide information about the proposed changes to your financial services business. You will also need to provide supporting documents as part of your application. The information and supporting documents required will depend on the type of variation being sought.
For example:
If you are seeking to vary the financial services or products authorised on your AFS licence, you will need to provide information about your business and the proposed financial services and products you are seeking to be authorised to provide. You will also need to provide information about your processes and procedures that demonstrate compliance with your general obligations as an AFS licensee.
If you are seeking to vary another condition, you will need to provide us with additional information relevant to the variation. For example, if you are seeking to vary a key person condition, you will need to provide information about the competence of your responsible manager(s).
Regardless of the type of variation sought, you will need to provide information about your ‘fit and proper people’. You may also upload People Proofs during the application. However, these uploads are not mandatory to complete the variation application. People proofs may only be required for a subset of your ‘fit and proper people’ and these may be requested during ASIC’s assessment of your variation application.
Please note that this information sheet is a summary giving you basic information about a particular topic. It does not cover the whole of the relevant law regarding that topic, and it is not a substitute for professional advice. We encourage you to seek your own professional advice to find out how the applicable laws apply to you, as it is your responsibility to determine your obligations.
You should also note that because this information sheet avoids legal language wherever possible, it might include some generalisations about the application of the law. Some provisions of the law referred to have exceptions or important qualifications. In most cases, your particular circumstances must be taken into account when determining how the law applies to you.
Information sheets provide concise guidance on a specific process or compliance issue or an overview of detailed guidance.
