Extension of transitional relief

Extension of transitional relief

THE Australian Securities and Investments Commission has announced transitional relief from Australian Financial Services licensees from the obligation under section 921F of the Corporations Act to cite their AFS licence numbers on product disclosure statement documents.

The extension applies to stocks of PDSs, supplementary PDSs and associated application forms that have been printed and are available for distribution before the date on which the licensee was granted its AFS licence, where this date is before March 11.

Relief in relation to the citation of licence numbers is already provided by way of regulation 10.2.44A of the Corporations Regulations but only until March 11.

The extended relief will apply until October 1.

After that time all AFS licensees must cite AFS licence numbers on all documentation prescribed by the corporations regulations for the purpose of section 912F.

To rely on the relief AFS licensees must notify their consumers of the AFS licence number in alternative ways such as:

 Prominently citing their AFS licence numbers on the confirmation of transaction statement they have to provide;

 Prominently setting out their AFS licence number in a manner reasonably likely to come to the attention about the relevant product on their website, if the licensee has a website; and

 Prominently displaying the AFS licence number in an area easily accessed by the public at each place the licensee carries out business if it has no website.