Licensed and exempt market operators

Anyone who operates a financial market in Australia must be licensed or exempted by the Minister.

A financial market is a facility through which offers to buy and sell financial products are regularly made and accepted.

ASIC is responsible for the supervision of operators of financial markets and market participants. Our main functions are to:

• advise the Minister about domestic or overseas market licence applications, changes to operating rules and other matters relating to financial markets
• assess, report on and enforce licensees’ compliance with their obligations, and
• enforce the prohibition on a person operating, or holding out that they operate, a financial market in Australia, if they are not licensed or exempt.

We will only grant a domestic or overseas market licence or exemption if we consider that all the relevant criteria are met. We may grant or refuse to grant a market licence, or exempt a facility from the market licensing obligations.

We also make market integrity rules and supervise compliance with these rules, and supervise trading on Australia's domestic licensed markets.

Related information

• Regulatory resources for market infrastructure licensees
  • RG 172 Financial markets: Domestic and overseas operators
  • RG 177 Australian market licences: Overseas operators
  • CP 116 Exempt professional financial markets
• Licensed domestic markets operating in Australia
• Licensed overseas markets operating in Australia
• Exempt markets operating in Australia

 

For enquiries contact:

Senior Manager
Market Infrastructure
ASIC
Level 5, 100 Market St
Sydney
NSW 2001 
Telephone: +61 2 9911 2000