Australian Securities & Investments Commission remakes relief for foreign AFS licensees and foreign ADIs and extends lease asset capital relief to 2031

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has remade its relief instrument for foreign companies that are Australian financial services (AFS) licensees and for foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs), and has extended separate relief on the regulatory treatment of lease assets in AFS licensee capital calculations. The remade foreign relief instrument replaces ASIC Corporations (Foreign Licensees and ADIs) Instrument 2016/186 and will expire on 1 April 2031. ASIC Corporations (Foreign Licensees and ADIs) Instrument 2026/121 exempts foreign licensees from record-keeping obligations and from lodging and auditing financial statements under Division 6 of Part 7.8 of the Corporations Act 2001, and exempts foreign ADIs from the requirement to hold an AFS licence when dealing in derivatives and foreign exchange contracts on their own behalf. The ASIC Corporations (Licence Conditions—Treatment of Lease Assets) Instrument 2021/229 has been extended for five years to 1 May 2031, continuing to allow certain AFS licensees to include lease assets (right-of-use assets) when calculating their net tangible assets, adjusted surplus liquid funds and surplus liquid funds; ASIC also noted it will make minor updates to Form 405 (Statement to verify financial statements of a foreign company). The measures follow a December 2025 consultation that received no submissions.