The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is extending for a further 12 months the transitional relief for foreign financial services providers (FFSPs) from the requirement to hold an Australian financial services (AFS) license when providing financial services to Australian wholesale clients.
The current transitional arrangements for sufficient equivalence relief and ASIC’s limited linkage exemption were due to expire on 31 March 2025.
To provide certainty for FFSPs currently relying on ASIC relief, ASIC will extend this transitional relief until 31 March 2026.
After that date, FFSPs will need to notify ASIC of their intention to rely on the new licensing exemption regime, unless they choose to opt-in to ASIC earlier.
The Australian Government has introduced legislation for a new licensing exemption regime for FFSPs under the Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions and Other Measures (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions and Other Measures) Bill 2023. The new regime is due to commence on 1 April 2025, subject to Parliament.
Entities not currently subject to an ASIC exemption will be able to notify ASIC of their reliance on the licensing exemption regime once it commences.
FFSPs that have obtained or been granted a foreign AFS license will be able to continue to carry on their financial services business in Australia under the license issued by ASIC.