Australian Financial Services Licence
The ASIC-issued licence that authorises a person or entity to carry on a financial services business in Australia.
An Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) is issued by ASIC under Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and authorises the licensee to provide financial services — including providing financial product advice, dealing in financial products, making a market, and operating registered schemes. AFSL holders are subject to ongoing conduct obligations including the duty to provide services efficiently, honestly, and fairly.
“Licensees” in the advice industry typically operate as principal AFSL holders who appoint authorised representatives (advisers) to operate under the AFSL, with the licensee retaining responsibility for supervision and compliance.
The AFSL is the regulatory perimeter that defines what a financial services business can do, and what supervision and reporting obligations apply. For licensees operating an advice network, the AFSL means responsibility for every authorised representative’s conduct rolls up to the licensee, which is why supervision tooling, breach registers, and complaints handling matter as enterprise-grade systems, not spreadsheets.