The hard data on getting and retaining an AFSL
At the same time as advisers debate the issue of self-licensing in the wake of the Royal Commission, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has signalled that getting and keeping an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) is no easy task.
The regulator released its latest report on licensing and professional registrations and in doing so pointed out that less than half of the 2,879 applications considered in the period between July, 2017 and June, last year, were approved.
As well, ASIC’s executive director, assessment and intelligence, Warren Day said that over the same period, 12 AFSLs and 12 Credit licenses were suspended and approximately 15 per cent of the 191 AFSLs and 319 Credit licences were cancelled at the initiation of ASIC.
Day pointed out that ASIC’s licensing function provided a first gateway to ensuring applicants met minimum standards and that the regulator was seeking to help protect consumers by ensuring an appropriate level of scrutiny was applied to the applications.
The ASIC report said that in 2017-2018, ASIC considered approximately 2,879 applications, with 60 per cent relating to AFSL applications, 29 per cent relating to ACL applications and the remaining 11 per cent relating to professional auditor registrations.
Of the 2,879 total applications, 48 per cent (1,383) were approved, with 62 per cent of those applications approved in a form other than applied for by the applicant. Of the 1,383 approvals, 44 per cent were AFS licence approvals and 52 per cent were credit licence approvals.
ASIC assessed 329 applications for professional registration of auditors, of which 59 per cent were approved (comprising four per cent of all approvals).
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