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ASIC Australia Securities & Investment Commission

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) licenses and monitors financial services firms in Australia, and the Australian financial services (AFS) licence is the authorisation a broker needs before it deals with you. Any licence can be confirmed on ASIC's professional registers by name, licence number, ACN or ABN, and the free entry shows the licence status, any conditions and the licensee's own website address. Complaints go to the firm first and then to AFCA, whose service is free for consumers, and the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort pays up to $150,000 where an AFCA determination goes unpaid in four defined kinds of business. Retail CFD leverage is capped at 30:1 on major currency pairs, with standardised margin close-outs and negative balance protection.

Country
Australia
Jurisdiction
Government Reg.
Established in
1998
Forex Regulation
85
Overall Rating
226
Licensed Brokers
High
Transparency Index
Tier 1
Global Tier
IOSCO Member
FATF Member
The regulator
Updated

About ASIC

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) licenses and monitors financial services firms in Australia, and the Australian financial services (AFS) licence is the authorisation a broker needs before it deals with you. Any licence can be confirmed on ASIC's professional registers by name, licence number, ACN or ABN, and the free entry shows the licence status, any conditions and the licensee's own website address. Complaints go to the firm first and then to AFCA, whose service is free for consumers, and the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort pays up to $150,000 where an AFCA determination goes unpaid in four defined kinds of business. Retail CFD leverage is capped at 30:1 on major currency pairs, with standardised margin close-outs and negative balance protection.

Tier 1
Brokers on the record
226
Compensation cap
None
Retail leverage cap
1:28
Cost of a licence
AUD 50,000–100,000+

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the federal agency that regulates Australia's companies, financial services, markets and consumer credit. It started work on 1 July 1998, on the recommendations of the Wallis Inquiry. Its powers come from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 and the Corporations Act.

Most countries split this work between several regulators. Australia does not: companies, financial markets, investment services and consumer credit all sit with one body, which is why the same rule tends to mean the same thing across all four.

What the ASIC Act asks of it

Maintain and improve how the financial system performs, by watching institutions, firms and market participants.

Help investors and consumers take part on an informed basis, which means accurate information, in time to be useful.

Keep unnecessary process off businesses and individuals while still applying the law.

Receive, process and store company and financial records — and make them public, so a company can be looked up rather than taken on trust.

Enforce the law, through penalties or court action.

Consumers and investors

ASIC regulates firms, financial advisers, credit providers and other market participants. In practice that means investigating misleading advertising, bad financial advice and unfair lending agreements, and stepping in when a company ignores an obligation it owes.

Enforcement is only half of it. The other half is public education, and the reason both matter beyond the individual case is that confidence in the financial system is what keeps money moving through it.

Public registers

ASIC runs databases anyone can search: registered companies, financial service providers and credit licence holders. The principle behind them is that a market works better when the person on the other side of a deal can be checked.

How the work has changed

ASIC's emphasis has moved from company oversight towards complex financial products and new technology. Cybercrime and market manipulation are the kinds of risk it now prepares for.

On the record

Established
1998
Country
Australia flagAustralia
Oversight
Government body
Scope
Regulates forex and CFD brokers
Membership
IOSCO and FATF member
Transparency
High
Public register
ASIC Connect
Website
asic.gov.au
Phone
61 351773988
Online contact
feedback@asic.gov.au
Related site
afca.org.au
Protection check

What a licence from ASIC protects

No compensation scheme is recorded for firms licensed by ASIC; a dispute a firm will not settle can go to AFCA.

4 facts on record
  • No compensation schemeNo mandatory insurance (but strict fund segregation)
  • Negative balance protection
  • Complaints routeAFCA
  • Maximum leverage1:28

What is protected

Three layers apply. Client money for retail OTC derivatives is held on trust: under section 981B a client money account is generally operated as a trust account and the funds must be held on trust for the persons entitled to them, retail client money relating to OTC derivatives may no longer be used for the licensee's own purposes, and licensees holding reportable client money must reconcile it daily and monthly. Second, a licensee whose clients include retail clients must have dispute resolution and compensation arrangements and must be an AFCA member, and ASIC states that a firm that is not an AFCA member is in breach of its licence obligations. Third, the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort pays up to $150,000 to a consumer holding an unpaid AFCA determination, and only where that determination relates to personal financial advice, credit intermediation, securities dealing or credit provision, with other eligibility criteria applying. Retail CFD accounts also carry negative balance protection, which limits a retail client's CFD losses to the funds in their CFD trading account.

How to verify a licence

Open the professional registers search at https://www.asic.gov.au/online-services/search-asic-registers/professional-registers-search and search by the AFS licence number the firm quotes, or by its company name, ACN or ABN. The registers cover AFS licensees, AFS authorised representatives, credit licensees, credit representatives, registered managed investment schemes, auditors, liquidators and approved SMSF auditors, so filter by the register you want and check the result sits on that register: one entity can hold more than one registration. Read three things in the free entry: the registration or licence status, any conditions on the licence, and the AFS licensee website addresses, including the principal website address, which you can compare with the site asking for your money. Register changes are processed once a day and a timestamp shows when they were last updated. Financial advisers are listed separately on the financial advisers register, and ASIC also publishes banned and disqualified registers for organisations and for people, plus a public warning notices register, all reachable from https://www.asic.gov.au/online-services/search-asic-registers.

Open the registerOfficial website

How to complain

Information Sheet 174 sets the order. First make the complaint directly to the financial firm through its internal dispute resolution process, using the contact route in its website, Financial Services Guide or Product Disclosure Statement. If the firm has not resolved it, take the complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which can be reached on 1800 931 678 or online, and whose service is free for consumers. The firm must be an AFCA member, and membership can outlast the licence: ASIC's enforcement pages record firms whose AFS licence was cancelled that remain AFCA members, with previous complaint deadlines no longer applying for now. For most complaints an AFCA decision binds the firm once you accept it, and if you do not accept it you keep your legal rights to go to court. ASIC itself receives reports and uses them to detect systemic issues, and states that it does not intervene in disputes, resolve complaints, give legal advice or act to get your money back, and has no role in AFCA's decision making. If an AFCA determination in your favour goes unpaid because the firm is insolvent, the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort is the next step.

These are the rules ASIC sets for the firms it licenses, read from its own record. They say nothing about how any one broker applies them, or which of its companies would hold your account; that is checked on each broker's own page.
Licensing terms

Getting licensed by ASIC

A licence from ASIC costs AUD 50,000–100,000+ to obtain on the record and covers 6 instrument types.

AUD 50,000–100,000+
Licence types
AFSL – OTC Derivatives (Principal Dealer & Agency)
Business models allowed
Retail Agency (STP); Market Maker (Principal); Provide Liquidity (PoP)
Cost to obtain
AUD 50000-100000+
Coverage
Australia - Asia-Pacific - some global clients
Not served
USA - North Korea - Iran - other sanctioned countries

6 instruments regulated

  • Forex
  • Stocks
  • Fund
  • Options
  • Derivatives
  • Securities
From the documents
Reviewed

What ASIC's own documents say

18 facts read from 28 official documents published by ASIC, each quoted and linked to its source.

18 facts

Jurisdiction and scope

ASIC regulates financial services and consumer credit, and authorised financial markets, operating in Australia, and supervises trading on Australia's domestic licensed equity, derivatives and futures markets. An AFS licence authorises the licensee and its representatives to provide financial services to clients, covering financial product advice, dealing, making a market, operating registered managed investment schemes, custodial or depository services, trustee company services, crowd funding, superannuation trustee services, claims handling and corporate collective investment vehicles. Financial products in scope include shares, bonds, superannuation, interests in managed investment schemes, life insurance, general insurance, derivatives and margin lending facilities. Licence categories are split by client type and product complexity: the fee schedule prices separate authorisations for retail clients and for wholesale clients, and for low complexity and high complexity products. A firm may also be exempt from holding a licence, hold a limited AFS licence, or act as an authorised representative of a licensee, so the register entry is what tells you which entity carries the authorisation.

Using this regulator

Ask for the AFS licence number and search it yourself rather than trusting a number printed in a footer. Check the licensee name against the trading name in front of you, because that firm may be an authorised representative and any later complaint belongs with the licensee. Compare the website address on the register entry with the site you are using, and read the conditions recorded on the licence, since they set what the firm may actually do. If you trade CFDs, treat retail leverage above 30:1 on a major currency pair as outside what the product intervention order permits. Keep the paperwork that identifies the licensee, the platform and the trustee, because an AFCA complaint asks for exactly that. Lodge with the firm first, then AFCA, and do it promptly even where a licence has been cancelled.

Good to know

This dossier covers licensing and its cost, the public registers, complaints and AFCA, the compensation scheme, client money and the retail CFD conditions.

Key facts

KeyVerifying a licence

Search a firm on ASIC's professional registers by licence number

A licence number on a broker website means nothing until it matches a live entry. Searching the number and then reading the status and the conditions tells you whether that firm may still provide the service it is offering you.

ASIC's professional registers search covers AFS licensees, AFS authorised representatives, credit licensees, credit representatives and registered managed investment schemes, and accepts an individual or company name, a registration or licence number, an ACN or an ABN. The free entry includes the registration or licence status and any conditions on the licence.

You can search the professional registers to find out about a person or an organisation registered or licensed with ASIC to provide a service.
Quoted in Professional registers searchRead the source
You can search by individual or company name, registration or licence number, ACN or ABN.
Quoted in Professional registers searchRead the source
check the services they are licensed to provide.
Quoted in Professional registers searchRead the source

Where in the document: Professional registers search, Key points and Information available on these registers

  • public register
  • licence verification
  • afs licence
KeyCompensation scheme

Compensation is capped at 150,000 dollars per eligible consumer

AUD 150,000

This is the floor under a collapsed firm, and it sits at the end of a sequence: an AFCA determination in your favour, non-payment by the firm, then a claim. A loss on a product outside those four kinds of business, or one that never reached a determination, is outside the scheme.

The Compensation Scheme of Last Resort pays up to $150,000 to a consumer holding an unpaid AFCA determination, and only where that determination relates to personal financial advice, credit intermediation, securities dealing or credit provision, with other eligibility criteria applying. A determination may be unpaid because the firm has become insolvent.

The CSLR will provide compensation of up to $150,000 to consumers who have an unpaid determination from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority relating to personal financial advice, credit intermediation, securities dealing or credit provision, and meet other eligibility criteria.
Quoted in Compensation Scheme of Last ResortRead the source
A determination may be unpaid because the financial institution subject to the determination has become insolvent.
Quoted in Compensation Scheme of Last ResortRead the source
If the financial firm is insolvent and fails to pay the compensation, the consumer may be able to make a claim with CSLR for a compensation payment if they meet the eligibility criteria.
Quoted in FAQs: CSLRRead the source

Where in the document: Compensation Scheme of Last Resort, opening paragraphs

  • retail clients
  • compensation
  • cslr
  • afca
KeyLeverage rules

Retail CFD leverage is capped at 30:1 on major currency pairs

1:3

Retail leverage above these caps falls outside what the order permits, so an offer of 100:1 on a major pair tells you the account is not being provided on these terms. Negative balance protection means a retail CFD account cannot leave you owing more than you put in.

ASIC's product intervention order restricts CFD leverage offered to retail clients to a maximum of 30:1 for a major currency pair, 5:1 for shares or other assets and 2:1 for crypto-assets, and it also protects against negative account balances by limiting a retail client's CFD losses to the funds in their CFD trading account.

30:1 for CFDs referencing an exchange rate for a major currency pair
QuotedRead the source
protect against negative account balances by limiting a retail client’s CFD losses to the funds in their CFD trading account
QuotedRead the source
ASIC has extended its product intervention order imposing conditions on the issue and distribution of contracts for difference (CFDs) for a further five years to 23 May 2027.
QuotedRead the source
leverage ratio limits ranging from 30:1 to 2:1
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: 20-254MR, restrictions taking effect 29 March 2021

  • retail clients
  • leverage cap
  • cfd
  • negative balance protection
KeyHow to complain

Complain to the firm first, then to AFCA at no cost

Going to AFCA before the firm has had the complaint costs you time, because the firm gets the first attempt. Accepting an AFCA decision makes it binding on the firm, so the choice to accept or decline is worth understanding before you make it.

Information Sheet 174 sets the order: the complaint goes to the financial firm first, and if the firm has not resolved it you take it to AFCA, whose service is free for consumers. For most complaints an AFCA decision binds the firm once you accept it, and declining it leaves your court rights intact.

First, you must make your complaint directly to the financial firm. This gives them an opportunity to resolve your complaint through their IDR process.
Quoted in Disputes with financial firms (Information Sheet 174)Read the source
For most complaints, AFCA’s decisions are binding on the financial firm (if you accept the decision). If you do not accept the decision, you keep your legal rights to take your complaint to court.
Quoted in Disputes with financial firms (Information Sheet 174)Read the source
AFCA is the external dispute resolution scheme for financial complaints in Australia and must deal with complaints independently and fairly. AFCA’s service is free for consumers.
Quoted in Shield Master FundRead the source

Where in the document: Disputes with financial firms (INFO 174), How to resolve your dispute at IDR and through AFCA

  • retail clients
  • complaint route
  • afca
KeyScope of authorisation

One licence can cover a chain of authorised representatives

The brand you deal with is often not the licence holder. Knowing the licensee's name is what lets you check the licence, read its conditions, and later lodge a complaint against the entity that carries it.

An AFS licence authorises the licensee and its representatives to provide financial services to clients, and a firm may instead operate as an authorised representative of a licensee, or under a limited AFS licence, or be exempt. Where advice comes from a representative, the complaint sits with the licensee.

An AFS licence authorises you and your representatives to provide financial services to clients.
QuotedRead the source
Depending on your circumstances, you may be exempt from the requirement to hold an AFS licence or you may provide financial services under a limited AFS licence. You may also choose to provide financial services as an authorised representative of an AFS licensee.
QuotedRead the source
Licensees are entities that hold an Australian financial services (AFS) licence, and they can authorise people and businesses to provide financial advice on their behalf. Your complaint will be with the licensee.
Quoted in Shield Master FundRead the source
Financial products include things such as shares, bonds, superannuation, interests in managed investment schemes, life insurance, general insurance, derivatives and margin lending facilities.
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: Do you need an AFS licence?, and Shield Master Fund, Complaints about financial advice

  • scope of authorisation
  • afs licence
  • authorised representative
KeyPublic register

The register records each licensee's own website address

If the site asking for your deposit is not the website recorded against that licence, you are dealing with something other than the licensed firm. One entity can also hold several registrations, so confirm the result you are reading sits on the register you meant to search.

Free information on the professional registers includes AFS licensee website addresses, including principal website address, along with the licence start date, the status and any conditions. Changes are processed once a day and a timestamp shows when the registers were last updated.

AFS licensee website addresses, including principal website address
Quoted in Professional registers searchRead the source
We process changes to the professional registers once a day. A timestamp shows when they were last updated.
Quoted in Professional registers searchRead the source
A person or an organisation may have more than one registration or licence on the professional registers. Check the search result is on the register you want to view.
Quoted in Professional registers searchRead the source

Where in the document: Professional registers search, Free information

  • public register
  • afs licence
  • website address

More facts, by topic

The register shows the licensee's website address, its conditions and its statusFree entries include the website addresses recorded against an AFS licence, the start date, the status and any conditions, with changes processed once a day. ASIC also publishes banned and disqualified registers for organisations and for people, and a public warning notices register.1 fact
UsefulPublic register

Banned and disqualified registers cover both firms and people

A licence check answers one question. These three registers answer the next: whether the firm, or the person behind it, has been banned from financial services or credit activities, and whether ASIC has published a notice about their conduct.

Alongside the licence registers, ASIC publishes a banned and disqualified register for organisations, a separate one for people, and a public warning notices register, all listed on the Search ASIC registers page.

Search organisations disqualified or banned from providing financial services or engaging in credit activities.
Quoted in Search ASIC registersRead the source
Search people disqualified or banned from roles in corporations, financial services or the credit industry.
Quoted in Search ASIC registersRead the source
View notices ASIC has issued about the conduct of a person or entity in relation to a financial service or product.
Quoted in Search ASIC registersRead the source

Where in the document: Search ASIC registers, register list

  • public register
  • banned and disqualified
  • public warning notices
AFCA membership and compensation arrangements are licence obligations for retail clientsA firm serving retail clients must run internal dispute resolution, belong to AFCA and hold compensation arrangements. Joining AFCA must be notified to ASIC within 10 business days, and ASIC states a firm that is not an AFCA member is in breach of its licence obligations.1 fact
KeyWhat is protected

Retail-client licensees must hold AFCA membership and compensation arrangements

10 working days

These two things stand behind a retail account: a complaints process inside the firm and an independent one outside it, backed by compensation arrangements. Confirming AFCA membership before you deposit tells you the external route exists.

A licensee whose clients include retail clients has obligations covering dispute resolution and compensation arrangements, and every financial firm caught by the requirement must have internal dispute resolution procedures plus membership of AFCA. Licensees must notify ASIC within 10 business days of joining AFCA, and ASIC states that a firm that is not an AFCA member is in breach of its licence obligations.

When AFS licensees join AFCA, they must notify ASIC within 10 business days. If they are not a member of AFCA, they are in breach of their licence obligations.
QuotedRead the source
your dispute resolution and compensation arrangements (if your clients include retail clients)
QuotedRead the source
Financial firms* must have a dispute resolution system that consists of: internal dispute resolution (IDR) procedures that meet the standards or requirements made or approved by ASIC; and membership of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: AFS licensee obligations, External dispute resolution, and Dispute resolution

  • retail clients
  • compensation
  • afca
  • professional indemnity
Client money sits in a trust account and is reconciled daily and monthlySection 981B makes a client money account generally a trust account whose funds are held on trust, and retail client money relating to OTC derivatives may no longer be used for the licensee's own purposes. Reconciliation is required daily and monthly.1 fact
UsefulClient-money rules

Retail OTC derivative client money is held on trust and reconciled daily

This is the rule that decides whether your margin is the broker's working capital or money held for you. For an Australian licensed OTC derivative issuer, it is the latter, and the reconciliation duty is what makes a shortfall visible.

A client money account is generally operated as a trust account under section 981B of the Corporations Act and the funds must be held on trust for the persons entitled to them. Licensees holding reportable client money must perform daily and monthly reconciliations, and retail client money relating to OTC derivatives may no longer be used for the licensee's own purposes.

Under section 981B of the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act), a client money account is generally operated as a trust account and the funds in it must be held on trust for the persons entitled to them.
Clause Rule 2.1.1Read the source
Under Part 2.2 of the ASIC Client Money Reporting Rules, a licensee must perform daily and monthly reconciliations of the amount of reportable client money that, according to its records, it must hold in a client money account against the amount of reportable client money it is actually holding in that account.
Clause Part 2.2Read the source
client money that has been used in accordance with section 981D of the Corporations Act (noting that retail client money relating to OTC derivatives may no longer be used for this purpose)
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: Complying with the ASIC Client Money Reporting Rules 2017 (INFO 226), Rule 2.1.1 and Part 2.2

  • client money
  • segregation
  • otc derivatives
Compensation runs to $150,000 per consumer, for four kinds of businessUp to $150,000 is payable where an AFCA determination goes unpaid and the determination relates to personal financial advice, credit intermediation, securities dealing or credit provision. The scheme started on 2 April 2024 and is funded by levies on those same subsectors.1 fact
ContextCompensation scheme

The scheme started in April 2024 and is industry funded

The levied subsectors match the claim types the scheme pays out on, which is the quickest way to see whether your own claim type is inside or outside it.

The Compensation Scheme of Last Resort is an independent, not-for-profit company that commenced operations on 2 April 2024, funded by annual levies on four subsectors of the financial services industry, beginning with licensees that provide personal advice to retail clients on relevant financial products.

The Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) is an independent, not-for-profit company which commenced operations on 2 April 2024.
Quoted in Compensation Scheme of Last ResortRead the source
licensees that provide personal advice to retail clients on relevant financial products
Quoted in FAQs: CSLRRead the source

Where in the document: FAQs: CSLR, How the CSLR works

  • compensation
  • cslr
  • industry levy
The firm first, then AFCA free of charge, and AFCA membership can outlast the licenceInformation Sheet 174 requires the complaint to go to the firm first, then to AFCA, whose service is free for consumers and whose decisions bind the firm for most complaints once accepted. ASIC states it does not resolve individual disputes or act to get money back.2 facts
UsefulHow to complain

A cancelled licence does not close the AFCA route

AFCA membership, not the licence, is what makes a complaint possible, so a failed broker is not automatically beyond reach. Check membership first, and lodge promptly rather than waiting for a liquidation to finish.

To lodge with AFCA the firm must be an AFCA member, and membership can outlast the licence. ASIC's Shield record states that it cancelled one adviser firm's AFS licence in August 2025, that the firm remains a member of AFCA, and that previous complaint deadlines no longer apply for now.

To lodge a complaint with AFCA, the financial firm you are complaining about must be an AFCA member.
Quoted in Shield Master FundRead the source
ASIC cancelled MWL’s AFS licence on 25 August 2025, but MWL remains a member of AFCA. Previous complaint deadlines no longer apply for now.
Quoted in Shield Master FundRead the source

Where in the document: Shield Master Fund, Complaints about financial advice table

  • complaint route
  • afca
  • licence cancellation
UsefulHow to complain

ASIC does not resolve individual disputes or recover money

Reporting a broker to ASIC and waiting for a refund is the common wrong turn. Reports feed supervision, while the money route runs through the firm, then AFCA, then the compensation scheme.

ASIC receives reports and tip offs confidentially and uses them to detect systemic issues in the financial system, and states that it does not intervene in disputes, resolve complaints, give legal advice or act to get your money back. Information Sheet 174 adds that ASIC has no role in resolving individual complaints or in AFCA's decision making.

We don't intervene in disputes, resolves complaints, give legal advice or act to get your money back
Quoted in Reporting misconduct to ASICRead the source
We can't respond to every report or tip off
Quoted in Reporting misconduct to ASICRead the source
ASIC has no role in resolving individual complaints or in AFCA’s decision making.
Quoted in Disputes with financial firms (Information Sheet 174)Read the source

Where in the document: Reporting misconduct to ASIC, What ASIC does and does not do

  • complaint route
  • afca
  • reporting misconduct
Competence, financial resources and dispute resolution are assessed before a licence issuesASIC considers competence for the specific business, sufficient financial resources, and the ability to meet training, compliance, insurance and dispute resolution obligations. Retail OTC derivative issuers and foreign exchange dealers carry enhanced financial obligations covering net tangible assets and cash flow projections.1 fact
UsefulLicensing requirements

ASIC weighs competence, financial resources and other obligations

If your broker issues OTC derivatives or deals in foreign exchange, its licence carries net tangible asset and cash flow projection requirements on top of the general obligations, which is a real difference between authorisation types.

In assessing an application ASIC considers whether the applicant is competent to carry on the kind of financial services business specified, has sufficient financial resources, and can meet the other obligations of a licensee, including training, compliance, insurance and dispute resolution. Enhanced financial obligations apply to certain licensees, including retail OTC derivative issuers and foreign exchange dealers.

are competent to carry on the kind of financial services business specified in the application
QuotedRead the source
can meet the other obligations of an AFS licensee (such as training, compliance, insurance and dispute resolution).
QuotedRead the source
Enhanced financial obligations apply to AFS licensees following changes made to net tangible asset and preparation of cash flow projections requirements.
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: Applying for and managing an AFS licence, and AFS licensee obligations, Financial obligations

  • licensing requirements
  • otc derivatives
  • capital requirements
The regime reaches financial services and markets operating in AustraliaASIC regulates financial services, consumer credit and authorised financial markets operating in Australia, and supervises trading on the domestic licensed equity, derivatives and futures markets. An offshore affiliate of a licensed group is a separate entity, which the register entry makes visible.1 fact
ContextJurisdiction and limits

ASIC regulates services and markets operating in Australia

The licence speaks to the Australian entity and its Australian operations. An affiliate in the same group incorporated offshore is a different entity, and the register entry is what shows which one holds the licence you were shown.

ASIC regulates financial services and consumer credit, and authorised financial markets, operating in Australia. It licenses and monitors financial services businesses to ensure that they operate efficiently, honestly and fairly, and supervises trading on Australia's domestic licensed equity, derivatives and futures markets.

We regulate financial services and consumer credit, and authorised financial markets operating in Australia.
QuotedRead the source
We license and monitor financial services businesses to ensure that they operate efficiently, honestly and fairly.
QuotedRead the source
ASIC supervises trading on Australia’s domestic licensed equity, derivatives and futures markets.
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: Who we regulate

  • scope of authorisation
  • jurisdiction
  • offshore entities
A retail AFS licence application costs $3,721 to $7,537 onlineFrom 1 July 2026 a body corporate pays $3,721 for low complexity retail products and $7,537 for high complexity ones, with paper lodgement roughly half again. Varying licence conditions costs $2,470 for a body corporate.1 fact
UsefulCost to get licensed

An AFS licence application costs 3,721 to 7,537 dollars online

AUD 7,537

The price of entry is a few thousand dollars, so the fee is not what separates a licensed firm from an unlicensed one. What follows the fee is: the competence and financial resource tests, and the ongoing obligations attached to the licence.

From 1 July 2026 a body corporate applying online for an AFS licence covering retail clients pays $3,721 for low complexity products and $7,537 for high complexity products. Paper lodgement of the same applications costs $5,582 and $11,305, and varying licence conditions for a body corporate costs $2,470.

For retail clients and low complexity products FSL1E $3,721 Fee for service - not indexed annually Item 1(b)(i)
Clause Sch 1 Item 1(b)(i)Read the source
For retail clients and high complexity products FSL1G $7,537 Fee for service - not indexed annually Item 1(b)(ii)
Clause Sch 1 Item 1(b)(ii)Read the source
Vary AFS licence conditions for a body corporate FS03 $2,470 Fee for service - not indexed annually Item 3(b)
Clause Sch 1 Item 3(b)Read the source

Where in the document: Fees for commonly lodged documents (INFO 30), AFS and credit licensing, AFS licence

  • licence fee
  • cost to obtain
  • afs licence
68% of retail CFD investors lost money in FY2024, and gatekeepers have repaid 100%ASIC's own figure puts FY2024 retail CFD losses above $458 million, including $73 million in fees, across 68% of investors. Separately, two superannuation trustees gave court enforceable undertakings to repay members 100% of amounts invested, less withdrawals, and ASIC is a signatory to the IOSCO information sharing agreements.3 facts
UsefulOther useful facts

68 percent of retail CFD investors lost money in FY2024

68%

The regulator's own figure sets the odds for the product before you open a position, and it separates trading losses from the fee drag that is charged either way.

ASIC reports that in the 2024 financial year 68% of retail CFD investors lost money, totalling more than $458 million, including $73 million in fees. In the same review ASIC secured the return of nearly $40 million to more than 38,000 retail investors.

In the 2024 financial year alone, 68% of retail CFD investors lost money, totalling more than $458 million, including $73 million in fees.
QuotedRead the source
ASIC has secured the return of nearly $40 million to more than 38,000 retail investors and driven substantial compliance improvement across Australia’s contracts for difference (CFD) sector following a whole of industry review.
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: 26-004MR, Background

  • retail clients
  • cfd
  • trading costs
UsefulOther useful facts

Court enforceable undertakings returned 100 percent of amounts invested

100%

Money can come back from the platform or trustee that made a product available, not only from the failed fund itself. That is worth knowing before treating a loss as unrecoverable, and it is a reason to identify every entity in the chain.

Under court enforceable undertakings accepted by ASIC, two superannuation trustees agreed to repay affected members 100% of the amounts they invested, less any amounts withdrawn: Macquarie Investment Management for Shield, covering over 3,000 members, and Netwealth Superannuation Services for First Guardian.

As part of a court-enforceable undertaking accepted by ASIC, Macquarie will return 100% of the amounts invested in Shield to affected members less any amounts withdrawn.
Quoted in Shield Master FundRead the source
As part of a court-enforceable undertaking accepted by ASIC, NSS will ensure members are compensated 100% of the amounts they invested in First Guardian less any amounts withdrawn.
Quoted in First Guardian Master FundRead the source

Where in the document: Shield Master Fund, 24 September 2025, and First Guardian Master Fund, 17 December 2025

  • compensation
  • court enforceable undertaking
  • superannuation trustee
ContextOther useful facts

ASIC signs the IOSCO information sharing agreements

Cross-border cooperation matters when a broker keeps part of its business offshore, because it is the channel through which ASIC and a foreign regulator exchange information about the same group.

ASIC is a signatory to the IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding, described as setting an international benchmark for cooperation among securities regulators, and also to the Enhanced Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding.

ASIC is a signatory to the IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMOU) which sets an international benchmark for cooperation among securities regulators to combat cross-border fraud and market misconduct.
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ASIC is also a signatory to the Enhanced Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (EMMOU) which contains additional powers to safeguard market integrity and stability, further protecting investors from fraud and misconduct.
QuotedRead the source

Where in the document: International regulatory and enforcement cooperation, IOSCO Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding

  • iosco
  • cross border cooperation

28 documents examined

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Read by Wikilix from ASIC's published documents; every fact links to the page or file it came from.Last reviewed
Licensed brokers

Brokers licensed by ASIC

226 brokers on the Wikilix record hold a licence from ASIC; the 10 highest-scored are below, and the finder searches them all.

226 brokers

  1. Rank 1Capital.com logo

    Capital.com

    Regulated    Bahamas flagBahamas · since 2016    Wikilix score 80.0
  2. Rank 2OANDA logo

    OANDA

    Regulated    United States flagUnited States · since 1996    Wikilix score 80.0
  3. Rank 3InteractiveBrokers logo

    InteractiveBrokers

    Regulated    Hong Kong flagHong Kong · since 1996    Wikilix score 78.0
  4. Rank 4StoneX logo

    StoneX

    Regulated    United States flagUnited States · since 1924    Wikilix score 75.0
  5. Rank 5IG logo

    IG

    Regulated    Bermuda flagBermuda · since 1974    Wikilix score 75.0
  6. Rank 6HANTEC FINANCIAL logo

    HANTEC FINANCIAL

    Regulated    Vanuatu flagVanuatu · since 1990    Wikilix score 75.0
  7. Rank 7Ebury logo

    Ebury

    Regulated    United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · since 2009    Wikilix score 73.0
  8. Rank 8ATFX logo

    ATFX

    Regulated    United Kingdom flagUnited Kingdom · since 2015    Wikilix score 73.0
  9. Rank 9BCR logo

    BCR

    Regulated    Australia flagAustralia · since 2008    Wikilix score 72.0
  10. Rank 10Forex Sport logo

    Forex Sport

    Regulated    Australia flagAustralia · since 2010    Wikilix score 71.0

About this information

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