File-note checklist: what to keep on the client file for personal advice
Since September 2024 the law spells out what has to be kept on file for personal advice to a retail client, and for how long. This checklist sets out those records, the best interests evidence behind them, and the other documents with their own keeping rules.
Checked against the sources listed on this page on 7 October 2026. General information, not legal advice: your licensee’s own requirements come first.
Where the rule comes from
ASIC Instrument 2024/508 inserts a section 912G into the Corporations Act for financial services licensees and authorised representatives. It commenced in September 2024 and is repealed at the start of 1 October 2029. It applies to personal advice given to a retail client by a licensee or a licensee’s representative, and it places the obligation on the licensee.
What must be kept for each piece of personal advice
- 1
The information relied on and the action taken that shows you acted in the client’s best interests under s961B(1).
Where this comes from: s912G(2)(a). Keeping the records in item 2 satisfies this one.
- 2
If you rely on the s961B(2) safe harbour to show the duty was met: the information relied on and the action taken for each step.
Where this comes from: s912G(2)(b).
- 3
The advice given, including why it would be reasonable to conclude under s961G that it is appropriate to the client.
Where this comes from: s912G(2)(c).
- 4
Where you knew, or reasonably ought to have known, of a conflict between the client’s interests and those of a person listed in s961J(1): the information relied on and the action taken to give priority to the client.
Where this comes from: s912G(2)(d).
What evidences each best interests step
For each s961B(2) step, the file should show what you relied on and what you did. These are plain-English paraphrases; the exact words are in s961B(2).
- (a)
The objectives, financial situation and needs the client disclosed through their instructions.
Keep on file: The fact find, meeting notes and the client’s own emails.
- (b)
The subject matter of the advice sought, and the client’s relevant circumstances for it.
Keep on file: The agreed scope, and why anything was left out.
- (c)
Reasonable inquiries where information was reasonably apparently incomplete or inaccurate.
Keep on file: What was missing, what you asked and what the client said.
- (d)
Your assessment of whether you have the expertise, and a decline if not.
Keep on file: A note of the assessment, and any referral.
- (e)
A reasonable investigation of products, where a product recommendation was reasonable to consider, and your assessment of it.
Keep on file: The products considered and how they were compared.
- (f)
All judgements based on the client’s relevant circumstances.
Keep on file: The reasoning that links each recommendation to the circumstances at (b).
- (g)
Any other step reasonably in the client’s best interests at the time.
Keep on file: What it was and why.
How long, and who holds it
The licensee must ensure the records are kept for 7 years after the day the advice was given, and are accessible to it throughout that period so it can produce them, even if it stops being a licensee (s912G(3)). If an authorised representative keeps them, the representative must give them to the licensee on request within those 7 years, and keep them for 7 years unless they have been given to the licensee (s912G(4)).
Section 912G does not apply where the duty is met by the shorter steps in s961B(2)(a) to (c) for that product (s912G(6)). Apart from the conflict records in item 4, it also does not apply where no Statement of Advice is required, or where a record of further advice is kept under s946B(3A) (s912G(7)).
Other documents with their own keeping rules
| Document | How long | Where it is in the law |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of Advice, and any document or part of a document it mentions | 7 years after the day it is given to the client | reg 7.7.09C |
| Record of further advice | 7 years after the day the further advice is given | reg 7.7.09(3) |
| Ongoing fee arrangement consents, the disclosures before them, client notices and deduction consents | Records sufficient to show compliance; the list is in the regulation | s962X; reg 7.7A.11AA |
Questions advisers ask
What records must an adviser keep for personal advice?
Under s912G, inserted by ASIC Instrument 2024/508, the licensee must ensure records are kept of the information relied on and action taken to show the best interests duty was met (or each s961B(2) step, if the safe harbour is relied on), the advice and why it is appropriate under s961G, and how any conflict was resolved in the client’s favour under s961J.
How long must client advice records be kept?
For 7 years after the day the advice was given (s912G(3)). A Statement of Advice and the documents it mentions must also be kept for 7 years after it is given (reg 7.7.09C), and a record of further advice for 7 years (reg 7.7.09(3)).
Who is responsible for keeping the records, the adviser or the licensee?
The obligation sits with the licensee, which must ensure the records are kept and accessible. An authorised representative who keeps them must hand them to the licensee on request within the 7 years (s912G(4)).
Does the record-keeping rule apply to Records of Advice?
Mostly not. Apart from the conflict records, s912G does not apply where no Statement of Advice is required, or where a record of further advice is kept under s946B(3A) (s912G(7)). The record of further advice has its own content and keeping rules in reg 7.7.09.
Is the record-keeping instrument permanent?
No. ASIC Instrument 2024/508 is repealed at the start of 1 October 2029.