ASIC has released a consultation paper and proposed regulatory guidance on criteria for exemption from Australian financial market licence provisions for professional markets.

ASIC will recommend exemptions for markets where all of the following defining characteristics are present:

• users are professional investors;
• products are not usually traded on public markets (e.g. excluding shares);
• trading is not anonymous; and
• the operator does not also operate a clearing and settlement facility for the market.

The consultation period on the proposed regulatory guidance closes on 19 October 2009.