From 1 April 2012, section 52(2) of the National Credit Act requires a credit licensee to include its Australian credit licence number when it identifies itself in certain documents and to identify that number as being the licensee’s Australian credit licence number.
How do you display your Australian Credit Licence Number? Can you use “ACL” or, when the Australian credit licence number is the same as an Australian Financial Services Licence number, say “ACL/AFSL”?
“the licensee must include its licence number in the following way: “Australian credit licence 12345”
It is not sufficient to only use an abbreviated form, such as “ACL 12345”.
However, we think that if a licensee or a licence number is referred to in a document more than once, it will be sufficient for the full description of the licence to be used once, and the abbreviated form to then be used in that document.
The documents in which the Australian credit licence number must be included are prescribed in regulation 13 of the NCCP Regulations 2010, as:
- a document that is required to be created or produced in accordance with Chapter 3 of the Act
- a printed advertisement that relates to the provision of credit to which the Code would apply
- a document that is required to be created, produced, given or published by a provision of the Code
- a document lodged with ASIC that relates to the provision of credit to which the Code would apply.
The Australian credit licence number does not have to be included in other business documents, such as business cards and letterhead. However, licensees should still ensure that this documentation is not confusing or misleading to consumers.”
