The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has published a financial advice regulatory round-up focused on professional standards, licensee controls and advice quality. The update brings together recently released professional year guidance with warnings about missed reference checks, inaccurate professional indemnity insurance reporting, poor superannuation advice and advisers providing advice while unregistered. The professional year guidance explains requirements for supervision, written plans, tasks, milestones and logbooks, including the responsibilities of candidates, supervisors and Australian financial services licensees. ASIC also reminded recruiting licensees that they must take reasonable steps to obtain references under its reference checking protocol. Noncompliance can attract a civil penalty or administrative action, and licensees should apply additional monitoring where representatives move from firms with known compliance concerns. A review of 10 licensees reporting less than AUD 2 million in professional indemnity cover found that nine had understated their insurance through reporting errors and subsequently corrected their filings. The remaining licensee held inadequate cover and, after ASIC intervened, reported the breach and applied to cancel its licence as part of winding up. ASIC also directed advisers to verify clients’ superannuation accounts, contributions, transfer balance caps, tax and insurance implications before recommending contributions, rollovers or pensions, and reminded licensees to assess qualifications independently and ensure relevant providers are registered before giving personal advice to retail clients.
2026-09-09Australian Securities & Investments Commission
Australian Securities and Investments Commission issues financial advice update, flags reference check failures and superannuation advice risks
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has issued a financial advice update covering professional year obligations, reference checks, professional indemnity insurance and superannuation advice. Its surveillance found nine reporting errors among 10 licensees reporting less than AUD 2 million of cover, while one licensee held inadequate insurance and applied to cancel its licence. ASIC also warned licensees to verify adviser qualifications and registration and strengthen oversight of complex superannuation advice.