Australian Securities & Investments Commission consolidates platform relief for IDPS and IDPS-like schemes in new instrument

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has issued a new legislative instrument for operators of investor directed portfolio services and IDPS-like schemes, replacing two 2023 instruments and consolidating ASIC’s main relief for platforms into a single framework. The update is intended to simplify the regime and includes substantive changes to requirements, most notably replacing quarterly reporting with electronic access to account information so investors can access their investment details more promptly. The new instrument centralizes relief that had previously been split between one instrument for responsible entities of IDPS-like schemes and another for operators of IDPSs. The earlier relief covered, among other things, managed investment scheme, fundraising, financial reporting and disclosure requirements for IDPS-like schemes, and relief for IDPS operators from managed investment scheme registration and certain financial product disclosure, hawking and fundraising provisions under the Corporations Act 2001. ASIC also said it removed and updated requirements and simplified the structure and language of the relief after consultation, including feedback received through its September 2025 regulatory simplification initiative and subsequent targeted consultation. ASIC said it will update Regulatory Guide 148 Platforms that are managed investment schemes and nominee and custody services in the coming months to reflect the new instrument.