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Markets

Licensed and exempt markets

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

Anyone who operates a financial market in Australia must obtain a licence to do so, or otherwise be exempted.

ASIC is responsible for the supervision of operators of financial markets. We assess changes to licensee operating rules and applications for new market licences. Our main functions are to:

  • assess domestic or overseas market licence applications, changes to operating rules and other matters relating to financial markets
  • assess 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 Guide 172 Financial markets: Domestic and overseas operators (RG 172)