Frequently Asked Questions

Brokers are indicating that Professional Indemnity Insurance (PI) underwriters have a healthy appetite for small licensee cover within the domestic market.

The premium you‘ll pay depends on several factors including your last audit result, what products are on your APL and the authorisations you’re seeking. Well managed businesses with satisfactory professional standards are obtaining and renewing cover without unnecessary stress.

Small licensees aren’t finding it hard to obtain cover at a competitive premium. It’s generally less expensive than what they would have been paying to a large licensee. Plus, the excess is usually less too, starting at $10,000.
We suggest new licence applicants seek PI terms early to avoid surprises.

Undoubtedly there is a strong secondary market for AFSLs and it may seem more convenient to buy an existing licence. Asking prices range upwards from $30,000 depending on the authorisations held.

With either approach if you plan to act as a responsible manager you’ll need to apply to ASIC for appointment in that capacity. The documentation involved is similar to that for a new licence application.

The ASIC assessment fee for a new licence usually starts from $3,721. An important difference with a new licence is that you’re not buying anyone else’s hidden remediation costs.

We suggest you weigh up the costs and risks of both approaches in your decision making process.

You should allow for the following (costs vary based on revenue but these are a general guide):

– PI insurance (approx 1.5% of revenue), premiums starting from $12,000
– Accounting and audit starting from $2,200
– Compliance support starting from $6,600
– ASIC cost recovery levies from $1,500 (licensee) + variable cost (per adviser)

An approximate annual cost starting from $22,300.

ASIC prefers that licensees have at least two responsible managers. In some cases, that’s simply not possible, so a sole responsible manager will likely be acceptable e.g., if you’re a sole practitioner.

If you’re a sole responsible manager, it’s likely your licence will have a key person condition imposed. This sounds ominous but it’s actually just a reflection of risk to the licence and nothing to be overly concerned about.

If you’re planning on setting up your own AFSL, you should allow at least 3 months lead time to have your licence approved. Some licences are granted very quickly, others take a lot longer.

ASIC’s latest report card (Report 825 – November 2025) shows they approved 290 AFS licences between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025.

ASIC’s service charter timeframes are to decide 70% of applications within 150 days and 90% of cases within 240 days. ASIC met their performance targets for the reporting year:

– 77% were finalised within 150 days
– 91% within 240 days

Where licences were offered with alternative terms, that was generally as a result of the following:

– Key person condition imposed— if the applicant or licensee is heavily dependent on the competence of one or more responsible managers
– Authorisations changed—authorisations granted that were different from those sought by applicant, or authorisations refused
– Authorisations changed—authorisations granted that were specific to that applicant (tailored authorisations)
– Additional responsible manager appointed
– Additional conditions imposed
– Responsible manager rejected
– Authorisation refused

The information you need to supply with your application covers three main areas:

1. A description of your proposed business i.e. what it does, who your typical clients are, and what type of advice you provide
2. The skills and experience of your responsible managers, their qualifications, plus criminal history and bankruptcy checks
3. Financial projections for your business model

We help applicants prepare and collate these documents, then present them professionally to ASIC.

There are several steps to prepare an AFSL application on your behalf. We’ve found that when groups are ready, it takes most 3-4 weeks on average to be fully prepared to lodge their application.

Our process has been designed to make the journey straightforward and easy:

– Our preliminary briefing with you about the process and what to expect
– Discussing current ASIC processing timeframes
– Deciding what you’d like to offer as a licensee (it helps to think about the types of advice and product -authorisations you desire)
– Telling us about your business
– Preparing the application for you to sign off
– Collating the personal information for prospective responsible managers
– Lodging your application with ASIC
– Responding to ASIC questions
– Holding a transition briefing when your draft AFSL is offered.

We’ll work at your pace, whether you’re ready to start immediately or still in the planning stages. Timeframes can be adapted to your circumstances (except the ASIC bit). We’ll confirm when everything can happen for you.

As at June 2025, ASIC had approved 6,458 AFS licensees in total.

It depends on whether you view yourself as a practitioner or licensee.

Practitioners juggle the competing interests of client versus licence administration. We’re continually told that running a licence involves work which gets in the way of enjoying client relationships. Some happily compromise, others won’t.

Established licensees are comfortable with operations and have established system driven processes. For them it’s not what, it’s how. “How should we respond when…?” They value the external validation and oversight which we can provide. 

Your supervision activities should be appropriate for the size of your operations. A risk based approach will provide you with a starting point (i.e. based on the key risks you face). Whether your number is two, four or more, ASIC expects you to keep an eye on your representatives and whether they’re following the rules.

We can help with outsourced audits for your business and are familiar with the major FP CRM systems for remote auditing. Prices are affordable and can be scaled to your needs. Get in touch with us to discuss your position.

We can help you source specific documents such as advice templates (SOA/ROA) and compliance and advice manuals from recognised financial services law firms. The purchase terms and conditions associated with those documents usually state they are only for use by the purchasing licensee and their advisers.

You may also find that your financial planning software includes a standardised advice template for subscribers.

Yes, we can. We are frequently asked to review licensee templates such as statements of advice, records of advice, policies and procedures and consent agreements.

We offer a range of document templates that you can tailor to your AFSL requirements. These are included as part of our licence application fee or can be purchased separately. They include:
– Operational proformas
– Policies and procedures
– Registers

We’re not advocates of starting over with an entirely fresh set of documents and procedures unless absolutely necessary. It’s likely you have already built a suite of documents that work for you – why not amend and update as required?

Yes, we can. We’re happy to work with your existing staff or resources in a collaborative approach. Let us know how you’d like this to look.

Yes, we can. Congratulations if you’ve already got your licence. If you’re looking for support or a change of scenery, get in touch and we’ll happily discuss your position with you.

AI systems are rapidly advancing and offer great scalability benefits to licensees. In fact we’ve piloted programs with two of the leading providers in the regtech space.

Regtech provides many efficiencies for auditing static rules across large samples of documents in a rapid manner. What they can’t do is tell you if advice is fit for purpose and whether a file is defendable. A qualitative assessment from a human is still the definitive approach for that. 

Using both in parallel is the ideal approach which is why we invest significant amounts of our own time to understand the emerging providers in this space.

No, support packages are optional. While our pre-designed packages offer a cost-effective way to access consistent support services, we’re flexible. We can create custom arrangements that match your specific needs, including pay-per-use options for when you only need occasional assistance.

We partner with a range of licensees and advisers across Australia. At the heart of it we’re a consultancy working with other small businesses. This provides us with a unique perspective on industry that our clients value.
As a small business, we’re agile and relationship focused. Our size is our strength, allowing us to adapt swiftly to industry changes and maintain open, responsive communication with our clients.

Yes, we have. Unfortunately, it seems that complaints have become a cost of business.

We’ve acted on multiple AFCA (and FOS before that) complaints for licensees and advisers. Decisions have been made in favour of licensees and complainants. Your best defence for any complaint is solid record keeping and sensible advice.

We’ve represented clients with ASIC across a range of matters, including:
– Licence applications and variations
– Responses to section 30 and section 33 notices compelling the production of certain books
– Administrative action covering enforceable undertakings

No. We bring practical industry expertise gained through years of hands-on licensee management and compliance work. Our insights come from direct operational experience, ongoing ASIC interaction, and deep understanding of day-to-day licensee needs.

We’ve worked with hundreds of advisers, plenty of accountants and a few lawyers as well! Each has a valuable place.

Lawyers provide you with an important benefit – your conversations with them are privileged. Their responses are legalistic as you’d expect, and costs are likely to be higher due to their background in the law and internal business resources.

Accountants are your ally for all things financial including structuring and taxation advice. They’ll ensure your licensee entity is correctly set-up, seeded and has the appropriate registrations in place.

We take a hands-on approach that keeps principals focused on their clients. Instead of automated services or just updating documents, we actively work alongside you to implement practical compliance solutions – both strategic and operational. You’ll always deal with real people who understand your business and keep you informed every step of the way.