ASIC: licence checks, CFD rules and complaint routes

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is an independent Australian Government body established under the ASIC Act 2001. Much of its work is carried out under the Corporations Act. Its responsibilities span companies, financial services, markets and consumer credit.[1]

Authority

Australian Securities and Investments Commission

Jurisdiction

Australia

Authority type

Statutory regulator

Authority status

Active

Territorial scope

Australia. Applicable rules depend on the contracting entity, activity, product and client classification; an Australian group licence does not establish worldwide coverage.

Relevant markets

FX and CFDs; Exchange derivatives; Securities; Investment services; Insurance; Pensions

Remit

Australia’s independent corporate, markets, financial-services and consumer-credit regulator; licences financial-services providers and supervises domestic equity, derivatives and futures trading.

An Australian financial services licence belongs to the named legal person. A global brand can contract through different companies for different products or territories. Match the entity in the account agreement and product disclosure statement to the relevant AFS licensee or authorised-representative record. A company or business-name registration alone does not establish financial-services permission.[2][4]

If a claimed licensee website is missing, ASIC recommends caution and contact through independently checked licensee details. Missing website data does not by itself establish an unauthorised business. The directory below contains FXBrokers coverage rather than every entity on ASIC’s official register.[3]

Open the official register ↗

Check the exact legal entity, permissions, current status and scope in the official record. A brand connection in our coverage does not establish authorisation.

The CFD product intervention order applies to retail clients within its legal scope. Its leverage and account protections should not be carried across automatically to wholesale accounts, offshore group entities or different derivative products. ASIC has identified retail-to-wholesale misclassification as a material supervisory issue.[5][32]

Covered retail OTC derivative issuers must maintain net tangible assets of at least the greater of A$1 million and 10% of defined average revenue. The financial-resources instrument also imposes liquidity, cash-flow projection and audit requirements, with specified exclusions for APRA-regulated bodies, market participants and clearing participants. These are issuer obligations, not a reserve allocated to compensate each client.[10]

Client-money rules concern how money is held, used and reconciled. They are separate from negative-balance protection and compensation eligibility. ASIC’s guidance says a separate trust account for every customer is not required: money for multiple clients may be pooled.[9][8]

A trust arrangement should not be read as an insurance promise or a guarantee of full and immediate recovery after failure. The actual client-money pool, permitted withdrawals, contractual entitlement and any shortfall must be assessed in the particular administration. Compensation is a separate eligibility question.[9][24]

Address an account complaint to the company that provided the service. Its website, Financial Services Guide or Product Disclosure Statement should identify internal dispute resolution (IDR). If the outcome is unsatisfactory, or the firm has not resolved the complaint within the applicable process, AFCA is the independent route for eligible consumer and small-business disputes.[11]

For ordinary complaints under Rule B.4.3.1, the general AFCA deadline is the earlier of six years from when the complainant first knew, or reasonably should have known, of the loss and, where an IDR response was given before referral, two years from the date of that response. Different complaint categories have different rules. AFCA can consider special circumstances under B.4.4.2; an extension is not automatic. Preserve both dates and contact AFCA promptly.[15][13][16]

A report to ASIC supplies regulatory intelligence; it is not an application for an individual refund. ASIC cannot investigate every report and may contact the reporter only if it needs more information. A complaint seeking redress and a report of suspected misconduct can therefore have different recipients.[19][20]

Australia’s Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) expressly excludes foreign exchange and derivatives trading. It should not be described as a general safety net for an ASIC-regulated CFD account. Its existence, or a firm’s regulatory status, does not establish coverage for a trading loss.[24]

Other statutory funds can have different market and failure triggers: CSLR identifies the National Guarantee Fund, ASX Supplementary Compensation Fund and the ASX 24/Sydney Futures Exchange Fidelity Fund as possible alternative arrangements. Their mention does not extend them to OTC CFDs. For a failed broker, the liquidator or administrator’s notices and the specific product, market and claim basis determine the route to investigate.[24][25]

ASIC offers interpreter access through TIS National on 131 450 and National Relay Service assistance. Documents lodged with ASIC must be in English. Use the receiving body’s official channel for personal documents and account information.[27]

Resource availability describes the documented route. It does not establish eligibility, authorisation or compensation coverage.

The October proposal addresses options-linked CFDs, initial-margin treatment of opposing positions, inducements and discounts, and digital-asset terminology and settlement. Those changes are proposals as at 13 October 2026; the profile does not treat the proposed extension as enacted.[7]

For a named business, read the underlying warning, licence decision or court document and its current status. ASIC’s public-warning register and Moneysmart investor alerts serve different purposes from the licence register. ASIC’s annual reports and sector reports provide wider supervisory context; the connected coverage below is this publication’s own reporting.[29][23][33]