What Is an AFSL? A 2026 Guide for Financial Advice Practices

By Anthony Zaman, Director and Responsible Manager, Core Advice Collective. Reviewed by Anthony Zaman. Last reviewed 3 November 2026.

What is an AFSL? An Australian financial services licence (AFSL) is the licence ASIC grants under the Corporations Act 2001 that authorises a business and its representatives to provide financial services, such as financial product advice, to clients. A financial services business generally needs one, unless an exemption applies or it acts as an authorised representative of a licensee.

This guide is for advice practices and advisers. It explains what an AFSL covers, how to read one, the obligations that come with it, how a licence is applied for and checked, and when a practice can work under another business’s licence instead. Every regulatory point is taken from ASIC or the Federal Register of Legislation and was checked on 3 November 2026.

What is an AFSL and what does it cover?

An AFSL is a licence to carry on a financial services business. ASIC puts it simply: “An AFS licence authorises you and your representatives to provide financial services to clients.” ASIC also states that a licence is “required to conduct a financial services business”.

The Corporations Act 2001 defines the key terms. Section 766A sets out the meaning of “financial service”, and section 766B the meaning of “financial product advice”, “personal advice” and “general advice”. For an advice practice, the activity that matters most is financial product advice, but a licence can cover other services too.

Which activities count as financial services?

ASIC lists these activities as financial services that a licence can authorise:

Financial service	Typical example for advice practices
Provide financial product advice	Personal or general advice on super, investments or life insurance
Deal in a financial product	Applying for, acquiring or disposing of a product for a client
Make a market for a financial product	Not usually relevant to advice practices
Operate a registered managed investment scheme	Responsible entities, not advice practices
Provide a custodial or depository service	Holding assets on behalf of clients
Provide traditional trustee company services	Trustee companies
Provide a crowd-sourced funding service	Crowd-sourced funding intermediaries
Provide a superannuation trustee service	Super fund trustees
Provide a claims handling and settling service	Insurance claims handlers
Operate the business and conduct the affairs of a CCIV	Corporate collective investment vehicle directors

Source: ASIC, “Do you need an AFS licence?”. The examples column is our plain-language note, not ASIC’s wording.

Who needs an AFSL?

ASIC’s starting point is: “If you want to run a financial services business, you generally need to be authorised under an AFS licence.” That does not always mean holding your own licence. ASIC lists three alternatives:

• An exemption. Depending on your circumstances, you may be exempt from the requirement to hold a licence.
• A limited AFS licence. Some businesses can provide financial services under a limited licence.
• Authorised representative. You “may also choose to provide financial services as an authorised representative of an AFS licensee”.

Most advice practices choose between the first and last options in practice: hold their own AFSL, or be appointed as an authorised representative (often a corporate authorised representative) of a licensee. Our AFSL vs authorised representative comparison sets out the costs and obligations on each side.

How do you read an AFSL: authorisations and conditions

A licence is not a blanket permission. Two parts define what a licensee can do.

Authorisations

Each licence lists its financial service and product authorisations: which services (for example, providing financial product advice or dealing) and which product classes (for example, superannuation or securities). ASIC notes that a licence displayed by a licensee must show “your financial service and product authorisations”. The application fee is also “calculated on the financial services and product authorisations you select”.

Conditions

ASIC states: “Your AFS licence will include conditions that support the licensee obligations.” Pro Forma 209 “sets out the standard licence conditions which, subject to individual circumstances, will usually be applied to licences”, and “the prescribed conditions under reg 7.6.04 of the Corporations Regulations also apply”. Licences can also carry other conditions, such as key person conditions.

Example: Core Advice Collective’s advice authorisations

Core Advice Collective Pty Ltd holds AFSL 700341. Its authorisations cover providing financial product advice on deposit and payment products (non-basic deposit products), derivatives, government debentures, stocks or bonds, life products (investment life insurance and life risk insurance), managed investment schemes including IDPS and MDA services, retirement savings account products, securities and superannuation, and it can provide tax (financial) advice services. These are advice authorisations. Reading a licence this closely tells an adviser which advice they could give under it, and which services sit outside it. You can check any licence, including ours, on ASIC’s Professional Registers.

What obligations come with an AFSL?

ASIC says licensees “have a general obligation to provide efficient, honest and fair financial services”. The general obligations sit in section 912A(1) of the Corporations Act. ASIC summarises them like this:

Obligation area (ASIC summary)	What it means for an advice practice
Conduct and disclosure	How advice is given and documented, and what clients are told
Provision of financial services	Providing services efficiently, honestly and fairly
Competence of responsible managers	Nominated responsible managers with the right knowledge and skills
Training and competence of advisers and authorised representatives	Monitoring and supervising the people who advise under the licence
Compliance, conflicts of interest and risk management	A compliance plan, conflicts arrangements and risk management systems
Financial, technological and human resources	Enough capital, systems and staff for the business
Dispute resolution and compensation (retail clients)	Internal dispute resolution, AFCA membership and compensation arrangements such as PI insurance (RG 126)

Source: ASIC, “AFS licensee obligations”. The right-hand column is our plain-language note.

Two specific points from the same ASIC page: licensees that join AFCA “must notify ASIC within 10 business days”, and “If they are not a member of AFCA, they are in breach of their licence obligations”. Licensees must also notify ASIC of all reportable situations through the ASIC Regulatory Portal. For the ongoing costs of holding a licence, see our AFSL vs authorised representative guide.

How do you apply for an AFSL?

1. Read RG 1. ASIC says applicants need to read the AFS Licensing Kit, Regulatory Guide 1 “Applying for and varying an AFS licence” (issued 16 June 2025).
2. Choose the authorisations. Decide which services, products and client types you need. This drives the application fee.
3. Prepare People Proofs. ASIC no longer refers to core and non-core proofs: “the only proof documents you need are People Proofs”, supplied for your fit and proper people and nominated responsible managers.
4. Lodge on the ASIC Regulatory Portal. Applications made after 16 June 2025 must be made through the portal, and the application fee must be paid when you lodge.
5. Show you can meet the standards. ASIC assesses whether you are competent to carry on the business, have sufficient financial resources and can meet the other licensee obligations, such as training, compliance, insurance and dispute resolution.

How long does it take? ASIC’s service charter (19 July 2026) aims to decide 70% of complete applications within 150 days and 90% within 240 days. These are ASIC’s targets, not commitments, and ASIC notes applications take longer if they raise complex issues or information is missing.

How do you check an AFSL?

ASIC’s Professional Registers cover AFS licensees and AFS authorised representatives, and “Most information on the professional registers is available for free”. A search shows the name, licence or registration number, address, start date, status and “any conditions on the registration or licence”. ASIC processes changes “once a day” and shows a timestamp.

Individual advisers are not on the Professional Registers. ASIC points to the Financial Advisers Register on Moneysmart, which is managed by ASIC and lists only individuals. Our guide to the Financial Advisers Register and adviser registration explains what it shows.

Quick checklist

• Search the licensee name or AFSL number on ASIC’s Professional Registers and confirm the status is current.
• Read the authorisations: do they cover the advice and products in question, and retail clients?
• Read the conditions on the licence.
• For an authorised representative, check the AR number and which licensee authorised it.
• For an individual adviser, check the Financial Advisers Register and the licensee shown there.

Do you need your own AFSL to give financial advice?

No. An adviser or practice can provide financial services as an authorised representative. ASIC explains: “An AFS licensee may appoint ‘authorised representatives’ to provide specified financial services on its behalf.” Key points from ASIC’s page on appointing and ceasing authorised representatives (7 April 2025):

• Authorisation is given by written notice (sections 916A(1) and 916B(3)).
• The licensee must notify ASIC within 30 business days of the date an authorisation is issued (section 916F(1)).
• “Generally, an AFS licensee cannot be the authorised representative of another AFS licensee”. This matters for a self-licensed practice considering authorisation.
• An employee or director of a licensee is a representative of the licensee and does not need to be appointed as an authorised representative.
• An individual who gives personal advice to retail clients on relevant financial products must be appointed to the Financial Advisers Register and registered with ASIC before providing that advice.

The step-by-step process is in our guide to how to become an authorised representative, and our licensee selection checklist covers what to ask before you sign.

Common mistakes with AFSLs

• Treating a licence number as the whole check. A current licence may not cover the product, service or client type involved. Read the authorisations.
• Ignoring conditions. ASIC describes licence conditions as supporting the licensee obligations, and the prescribed conditions in reg 7.6.04 also apply. Read them with the authorisations.
• Confusing the registers. Licensees and authorised representatives are on the Professional Registers; individual advisers are on the Financial Advisers Register.
• Assuming an adviser listed on the FAR is registered. Registration with ASIC is a separate step that must be complete before personal advice to retail clients.
• Planning an AFSL application on a fixed date. ASIC’s timeframes are targets for complete applications. Gaps in People Proofs or complex issues add time.
• Overlooking the qualifications standard. A licence does not change the individual standards each adviser must meet. See our qualifications standard guide.

Frequently asked questions