ASIC has registered ASIC Corporations (Amendment) Instrument 2022/623 to extend to 31 March 2024, its transitional relief for foreign financial services providers (FFSPs) from the requirement to hold an Australian financial services (AFS) licence when providing specified financial services in Australia where:

(i) the financial services are provided to wholesale clients only;

(ii) the financial services are regulated by an overseas regulatory authority;

(iii) the regulatory regime overseen by the overseas regulatory authority is sufficiently equivalent to the Australian regulatory regime;

(iv) there are effective cooperation arrangements between the overseas regulatory authority and ASIC; and

(v) the FFSP meets all the relevant conditions of the relief.

The instrument also delays the commencement of the ASIC Corporations (Foreign Financial Services Providers—Funds Management Financial Services) Instrument 2020/199 until 1 April 2024. Under that instrument ASIC gives licensing relief to some providers of funds management financial services to certain categories of Australian professional investors.

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