ASIC has released updated versions of Policy Statement 166 Licensing: Financial requirements [PS 166] and Pro Forma 209 Australian financial services licence conditions [PF 209].
ASIC has also withdrawn the following three licensing guides:
- Meeting the financial requirements for your AFS licence: Compliance with Policy Statement PS 166—An ASIC guide (January 2004)
- Responsible officers: Demonstrating compliance with organisational competency obligations—An ASIC guide (July 2003)
- Small business and your AFS licence: Compliance with Policy Statements 164 and 181—An ASIC guide (December 2004)
The guides are no longer needed as the key guidance they provide has been or will be incorporated into PS 166, the AFS licensing Kit (reissued in November 2005) and the planned update of Policy Statement 164 Licensing: Organisational capacities PS 164 which ASIC intends to issue by September 2007.
There are two minor changes to ASIC’s policy on financial requirements as follows:
- An amendment to the calculation of ‘surplus
liquid funds’ to allow the addition of a percentage of non-current
assets for certain AFS licensees who are eligible providers. - An amendment to the standard adjustments
that need to be made by AFS licenses who underwrite (or sub-underwrite)
financial products that are subject to statutory exposure periods.
The changes respond to industry related queries
about the application of ASIC’s financial requirements policy and some
of the existing licence conditions.
The changes come into effect immediately. An AFS
licensee who wishes to take advantage of the changes to PF 209 must
apply for a variation to its AFS licence using ASIC form FS03,
requesting that the revised versions of all of the conditions and
definitions in PF 209 apply under their licence.
